Family Readiness

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Telling Your Family About Joining the Military

We’ve all seen the movies/commercials where the young man comes home, excited and nervous, sits his parents down, and explains to them that he’s joined the military. Usually the mom cries and the dad gruffly pats him on the back with a “Congratulations, are you sure about this?” Then talk...
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Extended Family in a Military World

My husband and I are both from California. Both of our families are in California. Most of our extended family is there, too. Since my husband joined the Army, we have lived in Germany and Tennessee. Although Tennessee is much closer than Germany was, it is still too far away....
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Moving and the Military: Keeping Family Close

Moves are simply a part of military life. For some, they happen every 3-4 years. For others, it’s a bit further apart. But the majority of people who make the military a career move several times throughout their enlistment, both domestically and overseas. Growing up, we moved around a lot....
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What If I Don’t Like My Duty Station?

There are many different types of duty stations out there. Some are in the US, others are overseas. Some of in the middle of no where and others in the middle of a city or town. Some have hotter climates than others. Some get more snow in the winter. Others are near...
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How To Handle A Deployment Extension

When a soldier deploys the family is usually told about how long that deployment is going to be. The family member knows that it might not always be that amount of time. It could be shorter or it could be longer. We always hope for shorter, but we have to...
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Military Spouse Friendships

Military spouses need good friends! The military life can be very difficult sometimes. It can be a great life but a stressful one as well. Between deployments, long work hours and changing schedules, the spouses need people to depend on. We need to find others who get where we are...
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Family Readiness Group: How the FRG can help you

I never knew what the FRG was until my husband joined the Army last March. In the Marines, I was too new and too young to really put any thought into what they offered – and the Marines (at least a decade ago) weren’t nearly as family oriented as the...
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Surviving a Road Trip: How To Travel with Children

Click on the above image to enlarge. Recently my husband and I went on a road trip back to our home state and took our 2 1/2 year old daughter with us. It was 10 hours on the way there and 13 on the way back. We did it each...
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Getting The Most Out Of Military OneSource

The Department of Defense offers military families a comprehensive resource for all aspects of readiness, resilience, and even recreation. The program, called Military OneSouce, is meant as a virtual extension of on-base services. It offers one source of easily accessible information, resources, and services for military families. For example, Military...
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Building Resilient Relationships with Army Strong Bonds Retreats

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I enjoyed a romantic weekend getaway at a local tourist spot, complete with catered meals, outdoor activities, great relationship-building sessions, and a nice evening out. We made some new friends and came home with great insights about ourselves, each other, and our...
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