Spouse Network News

DODEA Seniors' Test Scores in Line With National Decline

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:43:29 GMT

Like their peers across the United States, this year’s graduating seniors in DODEA schools scored lower than the previous year in every category on the SAT exam.

Keeping Relationships Healthy

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:06:07 GMT

If you could have the ideal loving relationship, what would that look like? For some couples, it would involve a lot of time together and shared interests, and for others, it may include more space and time spent separately.

Coping With Deployment Separation

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:05:14 GMT

Separation from a loved one who is deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan can be an emotionally difficult time for all family members. The emotions can vary from low energy levels, feelings of sadness, anger, excitement, restlessness, tension, frustration, resentment and depression.

Special-Needs Families Offer Insights on Challenges

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:22:19 GMT

Military families with special needs would benefit from better consistency in services, more effective communication and improved health care education.

Program Gives Spouses Career Options

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:24:53 GMT

Balancing a civilian career with a military spouse's career can be tough. While the servicemember might see a PCS move as an inconvenience associated with furthering their military career, such moves can leave spouses stuck hoping to find a new job in a new area.

Marine's Widow Grateful for Ring's Return

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:09:28 GMT

Sgt. Jared Hammonds frantically scanned an Afghan poppy field, searching for a glint of silver in the soil. The 27-year-old Marine reservist was looking for a wedding band. It belonged to his dead comrade, lying a few feet away.

Debating Future of DoD Schools

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:11:59 GMT

Setting up for class, Josh Thom's video-communications students at Quantico Middle/High School flip on the lights in their "studio," a workspace crudely fashioned from a former home economics kitchen. Minutes later, Thom is at the breaker box in the hallway, showing students how to reset the blown fuse.

Official: Mil Spouse Jobless Rate 26 Percent

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:01:01 GMT

The Pentagon’s effort to build a network of companies interested in hiring military spouses is more about leveling the playing field than obtaining preference for the unemployed wives and husbands, says the Pentagon’s top family policy official.

Navy Orders Personal Contact Info Verification

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:11:23 GMT

Navy is currently conducting a semi-annual Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS) verification requiring all Navy personnel to verify and update their personal contact information in NFAAS, officials said Sept. 27.

First Lady Uses Reality TV to Bring Attention to Vets

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:13:10 GMT

First lady Michelle Obama found an unusual ally -- reality TV -- in her effort to bring attention to the needs of military families.

Resilience Center Helps Families Cope

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:25:47 GMT

Fort Bliss' new Family Resilience Center offers Army civilians, Soldiers and their families a wide array of coping and stress management skills, which can be used to overcome a gamut of military and personal challenges, including classes in parenting skills and financial readiness.

Airmen Make Surprise Return to Meet Newborns

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:00:54 GMT

Keith Graft just spent the last six months in a hot, lonesome war zone halfway around the world. But it was last Tuesday in Atlanta that felt like the longest night of his life.

Kids Learn to Cope With Separations

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:04:50 GMT

When troops deploy, it's up to their spouses to do what they can to hold the family together until they're reunited. However, military children are required to make sacrifices, too, often stepping up to fill the temporary void left by their servicemember parent.

First Lady: Mil Families Deserve Nation's Support

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:38:47 GMT

Servicemembers and their families have done all the nation has asked of them over this past decade of war; it's now time for the nation to return their service and sacrifice with honor and appreciation, First Lady Michelle Obama wrote in a USA Today op-ed.

Families Booted From Damaged Fort Monroe Housing

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:27:38 GMT

Just days before the Army was due to leave Fort Monroe after 400 years as a military citadel on the Peninsula, dozens of military families were given their marching orders to leave their apartments.

Army Widow Shares Impact of Suicide

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:23:59 GMT

One Fort Carson family knows firsthand the heartache and pain that accompanies a suicide. Sheila Olden has battled with the aftermath of her husband's suicide. Sgt. 1st Class Brad Olden took his own life Feb. 1, 2010, and left a slew of unanswered questions behind.

Military Couple Wins Dream Wedding

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:14:42 GMT

Marine Staff Sgt. Christopher Weil and his fiancee Tonya Moser, a disabled Marine veteran, will be married in style on Veterans Day, courtesy of a number of Onslow County businesses and a local event planner.

More Time on Spouse Hiring Prefs

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:07:26 GMT

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management published final regulations recently to give military spouses of deceased and 100 percent disabled veterans as much time as they need to apply for a federal job under the military spouse hiring authority.

Survivor Supports Families in Wake of 9-11

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:57:08 GMT

It’s been a decade since American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, but Bonnie Carroll vividly recalls the aftermath.

DoD Establishes School Attendance Policy

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:14:46 GMT

A new Defense Department school policy underscores the importance of student attendance, while also considering military families’ unique needs, the acting director of the Department of Defense Education Activity said.