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Blog post of Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)
Image description. Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (MC&FP) End of image description.

Expectant and New Parents: This One's For You! Military couples are resilient and strong. They have learned to adapt to challenges such as deployments and relocations, leveraging these times as opportunities for growth and exploration. But, when a couple finds out they are having a child, they confront a new set of challenges. New parents may have imagined being home to experience the first few months of their child's life, but deployments can make that impossible. New mothers and fathers may have imagined having their own parents close for support with their newborn, only to find themselves hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from extended family and friends. We understand the unique challenges that military parents must face, and there are resources and services in place to ensure that new parentsno matter where they are locatedare empowered with the resources they need. Your installation's New Parent Support Program (NPSP) is designed to support military families with adapting to parenthood and to thrive. The program supports military families who are expecting a child or who have a child or children up to three years of age. The NPSP provides important benefits such as home visits by NPSP staff, supervised playgroups, parenting classes, and access to books, booklets, and other written materials on parenting. NPSP staff members are credentialed professionals in your communities who know the answers to your questions and can refer you to additional resources when necessary. Information shared with the staff is confidential, so new parents can share their worries and concerns in a safe and non-judgmental environment with a supportive person. During a requested home visit, the NPSP staff member provides advice regarding normal growth and development and addresses common concerns regarding issues such as nutrition, behavior management, sleep challenges, and more. New parents can also take parenting classes to learn more about positive parenting, family communication and problem solving. The NPSP can put you in touch with local resources, play groups, and other fun activities for your family.

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What makes this program so valuable is the relationship that new parents form with the NPSP staff. If you are a new parent or you are expecting a child soon, I encourage you to contact your local NPSP and meet with a staff member as soon as you can. Sign up for free weekly emails full of advice and tips, or check out important information and podcasts on relevant parenting topics through MilitaryHOMEFRONT. Please join our discussion. Have you worked with your installation's NPSP? Do you have additional advice for new parents or questions of your own? Please share your thoughts! The first three years of child development are critical. The NPSP is here to help. Congratulations to all of our new military families and families-to-be out there! Until next time, be well!

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Joining Forces
Joining Forces

NCAA Will Celebrate Military Families at More Than 600 Events in 2012 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is joining forces with First Lady Michelle Obama to recognize, honor and support our troops and their families. Throughout 2012, the NCAA will highlight the sacrifices made by service members and their families across its 89 championship events that span 23 sports. "Our nation's service members demonstrate the kind of example we should all try to set for young people, and we at the NCAA are honored to recognize military members and families across the 89 championship events we host every year," said NCAA President Emmert. "As student-athletes learn in practice every day, each of us must rely on others to succeed; from here on in, military members and their families can look to the NCAA for the recognition and thanks they so richly deserve." That recognition will include public address announcements at all finals sites as well as at approximately 600 preliminary round sites; access to youth clinics for children of military families (Men's and Women's Final Four and other NCAA-sponsored clinics; designated seating areas at select special events for military families; inviting military personnel to serve as honorary team or game captains; and behind-the-scenes tours prior to select championship competitions for families of military personnel A new video featuring the First Lady and NCAA President Mark Emmert will air for the first time on Saturday, January 7th at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) title game -- but you can see it here first.

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Weekly Tips
Military Community and Family Policy Weekly Tips

Nutrition Tip of the Week - Staying Healthy & On Budget (Part II) Looking for more tips to help you stay healthy on a budget? Then take a look at these: Convenience costs. Go back to the basics: convenience foods like frozen dinners, pre-cut vegetables, and instant rice, oatmeal, or grits will cost you more than if you were to make them from scratch yourself. Take the time to prepare your own and save! Easy on your wallet. Certain foods are typically low-cost options all year round. Try beans for a less expensive protein food. For vegetables, buy carrots, greens, or potatoes. As for fruits, apples and bananas are good choices. Cook once, eat all week. Prepare a large batch of favorite recipes on your day off (double or triple the recipe). Freeze in individual containers. Use them throughout the week and you won't have to spend money on take-out meals. Get your creative juices flowing. Spice up your leftovers use them in new ways. For example, try leftover chicken in a stir-fry or over a garden salad or make chicken chili. Remember, throwing away food is throwing away your money! Eating out. Restaurants can be expensive. Save money by getting the early bird special, going out for lunch instead of dinner, or looking for two-for-one deals. Stick to water instead of ordering other beverages, which add to the bill.

Parenting Tip of the Week - Ways to Support Your Children Through Family Changes As a parent, how would you describe qualities of military children? Educators working with military children have identified the following as qualities of the military child: strong family bonds, parents who are involved in their children's education, experiences from many different cultures and geographic areas, a cooperative spirit, and independence to name a few. Here are ways to support your children through family changes and nurture their unique qualities: Watch for changes and talk about it. Take notice of mood or behavior changes and provide children with opportunities to talk about their feelings. Involve children in the process. Whether it's an upcoming relocation, parent deployment, or other expected change, provide open and transparent information to your children. Stick to an existing schedule. Children of all ages thrive on routine, so try to keep bedtime, mealtime, and other routines the same. Take advantage of existing supports. The Department of Defense has created multiple websites and publications to provide information about every aspect of moving and relocating children and supporting your familys needs. You can start by visiting the MilitaryHOMFRONT website.

Let's Move/Childhood Obesity Tip of the Week - Tips for Making Healthy Food More Fun for Children Encourage children to eat vegetables and fruits by making it fun. Provide healthy ingredients and let kids help with preparation, based on their age and skills. Kids may try foods they avoided in the past if
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they helped make them. Smoothie creations. Blend fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk with fruit pieces and crushed ice. Use fresh, frozen, canned, and even overripe fruits. Try bananas, berries, peaches, or pineapple. If you freeze the fruit first, you can even skip the ice! Delicious dippers. Kids love to dip their foods. Whip up a quick dip for veggies with yogurt and seasonings such as herbs or garlic. Serve with raw vegetables like broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower. Fruit chunks go great with a yogurt and cinnamon or vanilla dip. Caterpillar kabobs. Assemble chunks of melon, apple, orange, and pear on skewers for a fruity kabob. For a raw veggie version, use vegetables like zucchini, cucumber, squash, sweet peppers, or tomatoes. Personalized pizzas. Set up a pizza-making station in the kitchen. Use whole-wheat English muffins, bagels, or pita bread as the crust. Have tomato sauce, low-fat cheese, and cut-up vegetables or fruits for toppings. Let kids choose their own favorites. Then pop the pizzas into the oven to warm. Fruity peanut butterfly. Start with carrot sticks or celery for the body. Attach wings made of thinly sliced apples with peanut butter and decorate with halved grapes or dried fruit. Frosty fruits. Frozen treats are bound to be popular in the warm months. Just put fresh fruits such as melon chunks in the freezer (rinse first). Make "popsicles" by inserting sticks into peeled bananas and freezing. Bugs on a log. Use celery, cucumber, or carrot sticks as the log and add peanut butter. Top with dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, or cherries, depending on what bugs you want! Homemade trail mix. Skip the pre-made trail mix and make your own. Use your favorite nuts and dried fruits, such as unsalted peanuts, cashews, walnuts, or sunflower seeds mixed with dried apples, pineapple, cherries, apricots, or raisins. Add whole-grain cereals to the mix, too. Potato person. Decorate half a baked potato. Use sliced cherry tomatoes, peas, and low-fat cheese on the potato to make a funny face. Put kids in charge. Ask your child to name new veggie or fruit creations. Let them arrange raw veggies or fruits into a fun shape or design.

Financial Tip of the Week - Paying Off Holiday Debt We do a lot of overindulging during the holidays. We take an extra day off work, eat an extra piece (or two) of pie, and sometimes charge more than we can afford on our credit cards. With the holidays at an end, and post-holiday credit card bills rolling in, it's time to create a plan to pay off any debt we may have incurred during the holidays. Cut back on spending. The first step in getting out of debt is to stop borrowing. If you overspent during the holidays you need to cut back your post-holiday spending. It may help to cut up your credit cards or lock them away in a safe place. Make a budget. Cut out any expenses you can and plan to pay off your debt as quickly as possible. While you are making a budget, figure out the most you can afford to pay each month to reduce your debts, then make those payments without fail. Create a payment plan. If you have debts on more than one credit card, either pay off the card with the highest interest rate first and work your way down to the card with the lowest rate, or pay off the smallest loan first and work your way up to the largest. Once you've paid off your debts. Don't give in to the temptation to start over-spending again. Instead, take the money you were paying each month on your debts and begin to save it. Better yet, save it automatically. That will give you a financial cushion the next time an emergency strikes.

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Plan for next holiday season. Start saving now to avoid debt next holiday season. Take a look at what you spent the last few months, on gifts, travel, food, and other holiday related items. Divide that amount by 12 and put that much away in a savings account.

Military OneSource Tip of the Week - Identity Theft: What To Do If Your Personal Information Has Been Compromised The bottom line for online threats like phishing, spyware, and hackers is identity theft. ID theft occurs when someone uses your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. That's why it's important to protect your personal information. To find out how to deter and detect identity theft, visit Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft website. According to OnGuard Online, if your personal information is accidentally disclosed or deliberately stolen, taking certain steps quickly can minimize the potential for the theft of your identity. Place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit reports, and review the reports carefully. The alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have toll-free numbers for placing an initial ninety-day fraud alert; a call to one company is sufficient: TransUnion: (800) 680-7289 Experian: (888) EXPERIAN or (888) 397-3742 Equifax: (800) 525-6285

Placing a fraud alert entitles you to free copies of your credit reports. Look for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain. Close accounts. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or established fraudulently: Call the security or fraud departments of each company where an account was opened or changed without your okay. Follow up in writing, with copies of supporting documents. Use the ID Theft Affidavit to support your written statement. Ask for verification that the disputed account has been closed and the fraudulent debts discharged. Keep copies of documents and records of your conversations about the theft.

File a police report. File a report with law enforcement officials to help you with creditors who may want proof of the crime. This report will also help you claim your rights as a victim of identity theft. Spouse Tip of the Week - Work-Life Planning for Military Spouses What does it mean to be "married to the military?" It means compromise. It means sacrifice. It means taking turns focusing on his career and her career. It means sharing parenting responsibilities in-between deployments. It means looking at a military career and seeing opportunities for both of you. When you're married to the military, the military comes first. There are orders that have to be followed and places you have to live. Because of military obligations, there are many decisions that have already been made for you. But you can still have it all if you are creative and plan ahead. Before you get married, it's important to think about what you want out of life a career, children,
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adventures living overseas, high-demand positions that will take you to levels you've never known before? Whatever combination you choose, there are trade-offs and windows of opportunity. So, plan ahead and spend your time wisely. It all starts before you "marry the military." One great advantage of marrying the military is their education benefits, especially the Post-9/11 Education Benefits which can be transferred to family members if the service member so chooses. Regardless of your level of education, learning is never over. It's an on-going process for both of you. Some education is formal (e.g., offered by the military as well as post-secondary institutions) and some is gained by volunteer or paid work experience. In order to stay at the top of your game, you will need to seek the level of education and training that is recognized and required by your chosen fields of interest. The Department of Labor's Career OneStop website will help you explore portable career fields, occupations, licenses, certificates, degrees and other credentials needed for career success now, at time of transition out of military service, and at time of retirement. If you're not sure what career you are interested in pursuing, call Military OneSource's Spouse Career Center at (800) 342-9647 and ask to speak with a consultant who can help you with Career Exploration. These career and education counselors can help you with career interest tests, core values selfassessments, skills inventories, career field information, financial assistance resources for education, and other tools and support services that will help you define your way ahead. Also, be sure to check out the Department of Education's new online tool that helps you compare and choose a school that is affordable and provides high quality education, degrees, licenses, and credentials that employers value, before you sign any contracts for programs of study or take out educational loans you will have to pay back. Take a look at your service member's military obligations how many years will he or she be in the military? Will you have to live overseas? How much time will you spend apart (e.g., military training tours, combat duty, deployments)? These might be perfect times to pursue training and education that will prepare you for your own career opportunities and advancements. So use these times wisely. Take time to map it out. Put this information on a time line, so you can see an evolving schedule that highlights when the best times will be to pursue training and education for yourself. Remember, if one of your personal and professional goals is for a portable career, the more education and training you have, the more income you will be able to produce. With this in mind, there are two resources you will want to check out immediately: The My Career Advancement Accounts (Mica) program and the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP). MyCAA provides up to $4,000 of financial assistance to eligible spouses who are pursuing an Associates Degree, license or credential required by portable career employment. To learn more about MyCAA eligibility and to sign up for a MyCAA Account, visit their website. MSEP is a recruitment and employment solution that brings military spouse job seekers together with Fortune 500 Plus employers who want to recruit, hire, retain and promote them into portable career job opportunities. To sign up for an account, visit their web portal. Post your rsum and look at thousands of jobs posted by over 100 military friendly employers. Make it easy for them to find you. Some will invite you to apply for their job openings.

Now, what about children, parenting responsibilities, child care and transportation needs? When will you be ready to be in the work force? Can you balance the demands of parenting and employment? Again, Military OneSource counselors can help. They have resources and referrals that can help you decide when the right time is for you to enter or re-enter the job market. They can help you find high quality child care on and off base, transportation options that will reliably get you to work on time, backup plans to help meet emergency child care needs, and work options that will allow you to work flexible
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hours from flexible locations (e.g., telecommuting and own-your-own business opportunities). These counselors are great coaches, but you will be the decision-maker. After all, it's your work-life plan you are developing. Finally, the issue of relocation, a key component and something you can expect when you're married to the military. Every few years, your service member will be receiving military orders to a new job. Sometimes this means a move to a new duty station or community. Will you relocate with your service member? That depends on whether you are allowed to accompany him or her, and whether it is in the best interest of your family, especially your children. So, check out the relocation assistance tools available on the MilitaryHOMEFRONT website. You should find Relocation Planning Guides, online tools, and a MilitaryINSTALLATIONS database that contains valuable information and points of contact at military bases worldwide. This will make moving so much easier. If you are going to seek employment at the new duty station, you will want to check out military spouse employment preference programs and special hiring authorities so you can ask about them six weeks or so before moving. Visit the Office of Personnel Management's websites to learn more about getting started and maintaining a federal government career especially one with the Department of Defense. Here are the best sites to visit: Office of Personnel Management, USAJobs portal, and Feds Hire Vets website. So, what is your work-life map starting to look like? Where are your windows of opportunity? Which benefits and resources are you going to use to help you reach your goals? Starting with today, when will you go to school? When will you start your career? When will you have children and perhaps be a stayat-home parent for some period of time? When will you enter or re-enter the workforce? When do you expect to have an empty nest? When will you retire? It's all up to you. Take advantage of the windows of opportunity provided to you by the military and the wonderful support services and resources it provides. Good luck, you're about to find out that being married to the military is a good deal. Relocation Tip of the Week - The Basics of Home Preparation Everything from floors to windows must be spotless, including the oven and other major appliances. Skylights should be crystal-clear, too. Do not forget to make bathrooms shine! Kill offensive odors (pet owners need to pay particular attention to this). Odors are the first thing buyers notice and are often a permanent turnoff. The following are the basic things you want to do. Depending on the condition of your home, you may need to do some repairs. Eliminate Clutter or Stage Your Home for Sale Put away small kitchen appliances and other items that are sitting on countertops and tables. Remove photographs and other small items from table-tops. Organize closets and cabinets. Remove broken furniture. Remove furniture that is "crowding" a room. The goal is to make a home look spacious, clean, and appealing. More details and suggestions are contained in eliminate clutter attachment above.

Outside Tasks
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Clean the drain gutters. Buyers nearly always comment if gutters are full of leaves and it makes them question other maintenance issues. Store or organize items that make the yard look messy. Make your front entry inviting. Decorate it, paint the door, or buy a new door. It is the first look at your house, so make it a good one. The real estate industry calls the outside "curb appeal."

If the Home is Vacant Vacant homes often assault home buyers with a blast of stale or mildew-laden air, and once buyers smell mildew, they are out the door. During cold months, the interior of a house without heat always feels colder than it is outside. Leaving the heat or air conditioning running while a home is on the market reduces odors and makes the house more inviting. Keep the exterior of the house, lawn, and landscaping tidy, even if you have to hire someone to do it.

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In the News
We've captured the latest Quality of Life (QOL) information, as well as recent additions to the Military Community & Family Policy (MC&FP) collection of websites, including MilitaryHOMEFRONT. All in one location! For a complete listing of QOL topic areas and information, please return to the MilitaryHOMEFRONT homepage. In the News Notable Quality of Life developments and Department of Defense announcements and alerts. Medical Colleges Pledge to Care for Troops, Families First Lady Michelle Obama announced a commitment from the nation's medical colleges to better train civilian health-care providers in caring for war veterans and their families and to push for more research in the wounds of war. AmeriCorps Recruiting Our Nation's Heroes Recognizing the unique skills and leadership abilities of America's veterans, the Corporation for National and Community Service is joining forces to recruit more veterans to serve in AmeriCorps. Using the skills they honed overseas, veterans are continuing to serve on the home front through AmeriCorps. Military Personnel Get Free Help with Taxes The military has a strong Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. The Armed Forces Tax Council consists of the tax program coordinators for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer Military researchers have developed a cutting-edge cancer vaccine that's slashing breast cancer recurrence rates and giving some survivors a better shot at a cancer-free future. After more than a decade of research and testing, the cancer vaccine, dubbed E-75, soon will move on to its final phase of testing to earn Food and Drug Administration approval. Obama Vows to 'Keep Faith' with Families Senior leaders yesterday underscored their commitment to caring for troops, veterans and their families, and the programs that support them, in a briefing that laid the groundwork for future defense spending. LivingFit Helps Airmen, Families Reach Weight Loss Goals A new year often begins with resolutions to lose weight and get in shape. Air Force services officials recently launched a new program designed to help Airmen and families accomplish this common goal through proper nutrition and activity. Filing Taxes When a Service Member is Deployed The Internal Revenue Service has recognized that service members and their families often face special circumstances, and has put in place ways to make this annual obligation less of a burden. Vision Center of Excellence Promotes Eye-injury Research, Care Next month will mark a major milestone in advancing care for wounded warriors suffering debilitating eye injuries with a ribbon-cutting at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

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Guard and Reserve

Image description. Two National Guard service members End of image description.

No Sales Scheduled for January 2012 Feb. 3-4 - Air National Guard - Portland, OR Feb. 18-19 - 116th Refueling Squadron - Moses Lake, WA Mar. 3-4 - Guard and Reserve - Charleston, WV Mar. 9-10 - Army National Guard - Walla-Walla, WA

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