Army Household6

Happy Halloween to all! Can you believe it’s Halloween already? Wow time is just flying by! We will be packing up our stuff in just 3 short weeks! Dan starts out-processing on Monday. WOOHOO!

We have a lot of cool upcoming stuff here on Army Household6 :

Operation HASMO (Help a Service Member Out) has its own home now, complete with blog. Check it out: http://www.helpaservicememberout.org .

A really cool contest to celebrate Veteran’s Day and to win the book, Mrs Lieutenant : A Sharon Gold novel . The contest details will start on Monday so make sure to check it out. I’ll even have an interview that I did with the author, Phyllis Zimbler Miller.

Speaking of Veterans, did you know that November is Warrior Care Month? So, I’ll have a series of posts in November about our veterans, celebrating Veterans Day and taking care of our veterans and wounded warriors. I might even had a video interview or two with some special guests!  : )

WHEW! All that before we pack up and leave! Of course, during our “adventure” across the midwestern plains to Colorado, I’ll be blogging and Twittering our adventures (and probably misadventures as well)  : )

Have a fun and safe night tonight and don’t eat too much candy! : )

(Hat Tip : SpouseBuzz) I saw this on SpouseBuzz and thought it was a really cool idea! 

MILITARY WIVES FIND SUPPORT FROM EACH OTHER MILITARY WIVES CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN NASHVILLE NOV. 7-8

Nashville, Tenn. – No matter whom Americans elect to the White House this November, military wives will still be coping with the ups and downs of military life, including deployments.

While many families throughout the United States will be welcoming their loved ones home soon, there also be those saying goodbye for year-long deployments. But they don’t have to be on their own.

Wives of Faith is a faith-based military wives support organization that was started by a Navy reservist wife and an active Army wife in 2006 to connect, encourage and support military wives who do not live near a military installation or lack the resources or knowledge they need to succeed as a military wife in their marriages, families and deployments when they apply. 

The group will hold its first weekend conference in Nashville, Tenn., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7-8. The theme, “This is the Day,” encourages military wives – active, reserve or Guard – to embrace the day God has for them now, instead of always looking to tomorrow for happiness.

“So often, we look at the next week, the next month, the end of this deployment, the beginning of the next one, and we never quite know what to do with today,” said Sara Horn, a co-founder and the executive director for the organization, whose own husband was deployed for most of 2007. She said several wives from as far away as Washington state and Pennsylvania have already registered. “Military wives are often on an emotional roller coaster, and if you live far away from a family readiness group or your husband’s installation, you can feel very alone and civilian friends don’t always know what to say or how to help. Our goal is to bring wives together and connect them to help each other.”

Whether military wives are going through deployment or not, the conference is open to all active, reserve or guard wives. Conference speakers include Babette Maxwell, founder of Military Spouse Magazine; Marshelle Carter Waddell, author of Hope for the Home Front; Carol McGlothlin, author of Medals Above My Heart; Judith Fuller, a Ft. Campbell Army wife; and Sara Horn, author of Weekend Warrior No More.  Sponsors include Military Spouse Magazine, Financial Peace University and the Milton Hershey School.

Registration is $55 for the Friday night and Saturday event, or attend Saturday only for $35. Both rates include a one-year subscription to Military Spouse Magazine and lunch on Saturday. A childcare option is also available. More information and registration is available at www.wivesoffaith.org, or contact the Wives of Faith office at  (615) 302-1932  

I was recently interviewed by Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology about being Household6 and our military girlfriend relationships.I had so much doing the interview and I lived being interviewed for a change! : )  Debba has a ton of great information over there all about our girlfriends… so make sure to stop by her site!  : ) 

You can listen to it at  http://girlfriendology.com/1363/podcast-72-girlfriendology-interviews-tammy-munson/ or click the media player below.

PS. Also I’m going to be on Spouse Buzz Radio tonight (October 9) at 9pm ET talking about my newest JV project, Parent Zone . I’ll be joined by LAW (Parent Zone founder) and Some Soldier’s mom (Military Parent Blogger of the Year) So make sure that you tune in for that! 

I got to the event a bit early and was wowed at the site of the all the people that are here at the Washington Convention Center… soldiers, family members,etc. I haven’t made it down to the exhibitor floor yet as I stopped to watch the opening ceremony of conference. I have to say that was pretty cool.

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren was the keynote speaker. Sec. Geren spoke a lot about soldiers and their familes. He talked the strength of the Army were soldiers and families taking care of soldiers and families.

During the Press conference, GEN Casey talked about what they were going to do as an entity. THere was some brief discussion about what lies ahead. It seems that Gen Casey and the rest of the Army is going to focus on the Army families, among other things.

The thing i was most impressed with are the number of initiatives that they have proposed that will help all Army families, not just the Army spouse and the Army brats under 18. For we all now that the “Army family” extends beyond just that. It includes soldier’s parents, brothers and sisters

After the big press conference with Secretary Geren and GEN Casey, I ventured down to the Expo floor. I was completely wowed at the amount and caliber of the  vendors that were there not to mention the amount of “brass” that was there . Everytime I turned around I was bumping into some member of Senior Army Leadership.  : )

The highlight of the day was definitely meeting Mrs. Casey. I tried to ask a question during their presenation and didn’t get a chance. I approached her Aide about asking a couple of questions to her. We talked for a few minutes about being an Army wife, and some of things that she and GEN Casey talked about. I talked to her about the website that LAW and I have been working on and she was very interested in providing more support for parents of our single soldiers.

The day ended with a Bloggers’ Roundtable with several members of Army leadership, including MG MacDonald (Commanding General of MWR Command)  .  We talked about several key topics from casualty assistance to more support for parents of our single soldiers. We talked a great deal about doing more for our single soldiers and the Army is going to be creating some publications and information specifically for those parents of our single soldiers. Make sure to check out Parents Zone for more information.

Overall the theme of the day was that if the family isn’t ready, the unit isn’t ready. I wholeheartedly agree with this. We need to make sure that all soldiers and their families are truly ready for the mission, whatever the mission is.

I’ll be posting some of the pictures tomorrow along with a recap of day two, so stay tuned…

On Monday afternoon, AUSA held its first of 3 Family Forums during this week. This one featured GEN Casey and Mrs. Casey.

The room was completely packed with  Army spouses. It was pretty amazing to see as it was standing room only of FRG Leaders, Army spouses, soldiers and Army Spouse Employment partners. The vibe in the room was absolutely amazing!

Mrs. Casey talked a great deal of the stresses that we endure a great deal but we also get a lot too.  She suggested that ” we live in an attitude of gratitude.”  She also talked about about how our life is a balance of being mom, Army wife, Household manager, etc. She even admitted that after 38 years of Army life that she sometimes isn’t able to “juggle all the balls in the air.”

GEN Casey talked a great deal about soldiers and families as well as  his commitment to Army Families. He said ” we need to sustain soldiers and families , for its all about the people. ” He spoke of how he is working on implementing a 6 month reset from deployment (basically dry dock, no training, nothing).

He also mentioned that we are not going back to the ways of pre-9/11 and our need to transfer all our support programs to support soldiers and families as well as working to have 1 year deployments with 2 years at home.

GEN Casey also described FY 2009 as the year of deliverance! He stated that we have to do a better job of getting the word out. The Army is also going to focus on demystifying the healthcare system and making things standard no matter what location you are at. He did ask from a commitment from us ( Army families) that the Army needs our help to make this happen.. it’s a partnership after all!

GEN Casey also talked about our single soldiers too . He said that many of our programs focus on the married soldiers and their families but we need to remember our single soldiers as well. The Army is going to invest more time and opportunities into meeting their needs as well as the needs of those soldiers’ families. (parents, sisters, girlfriends, etc)

There is more information coming on this point in a later post . LAW (of ParentsZone) got to participate in a Bloggers Roundtable and we talked a bit about supporting parents.

I received this info from the editors at Military.com –

We want to know how you plan to celebrate Veterans Day. Record a short video message detailing how your family or your local military community celebrates this holiday. Then, upload your video titled, “How I Plan to Celebrate Veterans Day,” to Military.com’s Shock & Awe channel. Videos will be featured on our Spouse Network and the Family Newsletter.

I asked one of the editors (Kelly Johnson) over there about parents, family members posting their videos as well. She said that ” Anyone from the military community can upload a video — kids, spouses, servicemembers, etc. ”

So go ahead and post your video over at Military.com and then make sure to tell me about it. I’ll be posting mine here as well and we loved to feature a few on the blog as well. If you want to just send it to me directly, feel free to post the video URL in the comments section or email to me at tammy dot munson at gmail dot com

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

President Bush understands that military families throughout our country are making great sacrifices as their loved ones serve at home and abroad. Throughout his Administration, he has been committed to ensuring that our service members and their families receive the highest level of support from our grateful Nation. After many of America’s service members requested the ability to transfer unused GI education benefits to their family members, President Bush called on Congress in his 2008 State of the Union to fulfill their important request.

Throughout the past five months, President Bush and members of his Administration have worked hard to ensure that an expansion of GI benefits includes transferability. Yesterday, House leaders reached a bipartisan agreement on a supplemental war funding bill that would deliver critical support to our men and women in uniform.

The President is pleased that Congress answered his call to ensure that military families will soon be able to transfer their unused education benefits to their spouse or children. This legislation will build upon the GI Bill’s historic legacy of ensuring brighter futures for service members and their families. We urge both the House and Senate to immediately pass this bipartisan agreement.

President Bush also continues to call upon Congress to support his other initiatives which would strengthen support for our military families, including expanding access to childcare, creating new authorities to appoint qualified spouses into civil service jobs, and providing education opportunities and job training for military spouses. President Bush strongly believes that these additional measures will help further demonstrate America’s strong appreciation for the sacrifices of America’s service members and their families.

So come on Ladies (and Gentlemen too) let’s all encourage our representatives in Congress to start doing their job and get the work done! If you don’t know who represents your area or their contact info, then you can find out by going to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

Let’s make them hear our voice!

I saw this come across the The Military Report over at Military.com

U.S. Representative John Carter (R- Fort Hood) introduced the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (H.R. 6070) in the House, which would amend the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA). SCRA gives servicemembers the ability to maintain a home of residency, regardless of placement by military orders, which has given servicemembers tax relief and also made a change in driver’s licenses and vehicle registration unnecessary. The bill gives military spouses the same benefits as they relocate with their active-duty spouses.

I personally never really had to worry about the issue with driver’s licenses and vehicle registration due to MN (our state of residence) already having a law similarly to this. I hope that Congress can get off their ‘duff’ and get this voted on, approved and signed by Pres Bush very soon.

Lots of military spouses could use a law like this. I commend Rep Carter for putting together something like this for us Milspouses! We all know how hard we work and sacrifice for our military husbands but its nice to know that others (especially those in Congress) appreciate it too!

So what are your thoughts… sound off!

I started watching Army Wives by accident. I was flipping through channels one Sunday night and happened to come across it on Lifetime. It was the second show of season one. I was sucked in from the get go. Maybe it was because I wasn’t involved with an Army man back then and I’ve always been intrigued by military life. Now that season two is ready to start (Sunday, June 8th) I’m not sure that I’ll be able to watch it. It’s completely different now that I’m involved with a soldier. TV doesn’t always portray things realistically but even more than that, season two seems a little less intriguing because I’m dating an Army man that is deployed in Iraq right now so the show  hits a little closer to home now that I’m going through it in real life.

Tammy (Household6)  and I were chatting about the show and we started talking about which character we were. Hands down, I’m a Roxy. In so many ways I’m not like her, like her loud outspoken personality - that’s so not me - but there is one huge way I’m just like her and relate to her character. She didn’t know anything about the Army lifestyle. She met a soldier while at work one night and after a whirlwind courtship (about 4 days I think it was) she decided to marry him. She packed up her kids and moved onto an Army base. Although Seth and I aren’t married, or haven’t even met face to face yet, and I’m not living on an Army base hanging out with other Army wives, I’m learning as I go along, just as Roxy does. I don’t think there was anyway I could be prepared for all that goes along with being involved with a soldier, but I certainly wouldn’t change it for the world! I’m one proud Army girlfriend.

Which Army wife are you?

Pamela Moran - the woman that struggles to keep her family from financial doom, married to a Delta Force man and has to deal her husband’s secret assignments

Denise Sherwood - the devoted homemaker who has a troubled teen and hasn’t known much outside of Army life. Her father is from a long line of military men

Roxy LaBlanc - a single mom who married an Army Private First Class soldier after only knowing him a couple days

Claudia Joy Holden - the strong and respected wife, the heart of the military goings-on where they are stationed at and married to a recently appointed post commander Brigadier General and she’ll now have to face new challenges because of her husband’s promotion
Leave a comment and let me know!