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  1. 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...
  2. Veteran’s Guide to Final Arrangements, Part 3: Grave Markers

    Read Part 1 of the Final Arrangements series here, and Part 2 here. Marker Types and Materials The VA will provide each deceased veteran with an upright grave marker in granite or marble, or a flat grave marker in granite, marble, or bronze.  Upright grave markers are two-to-three-inch thick slabs...
  3. Veteran’s Guide to Final Arrangements, Part 4: Cemetery Options

    You can read Part 1 of the Veterans Guide to Final Arrangements here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here. National Cemeteries Any veteran who meets the eligibility criteria may be buried in a National Cemetery.  The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains 131 National Cemeteries in thirty-nine states (and Puerto...
  4. Veteran’s Guide to Final Arrangements, Part 2: Memorial Items

    In addition to burial allowances, grave markers, and veterans’ cemetery interments, the families of deceased veterans are also eligible for a couple of memorial keepsake items: a burial flag and a memorial certificate signed by the President of the United States. (Read part 1 of the Final Arrangements series here)...
  5. Disaster Readiness for Military Families

    No matter where you live, you live with the possibility of some type of natural disaster – a blizzard, an earthquake, a flood, a hurricane, a tornado, or a wildfire – or man-made disaster – a blackout, a nuclear or chemical plant incident, a pandemic, or a terrorist attack. These...
  6. 8 Things Every Military Spouse Should Know

    There are certain things that every military spouse, regardless of branch, should know about their husband or wife and the lifestyle they’re in. Beyond things like rank and who your spouse reports to. As a Marine wife, I only knew some of these. I was also 19 and an airhead....