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Archive for National Guard – Page 2

Operation Purple

Posted by Sara Horn on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Resources | Comments (1)

The NMFA (National Military Family Association) is now taking applications for their Operation Purple Military Family Retreats.This is a fun, 4-day retreat in a national park setting. Perfect for reconnecting as a family!

There are several requirements for eligibility, but the biggest one is your husband must have returned from a deployment no longer than 15 months ago and he needs to have been home at least 3 months before the retreat is scheduled to begin.

This is open to active, Guard and Reserve so think about applying!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Guard/Reserve book

Posted by Sara Horn on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 in Deployment | Comments (3)

As many of you may already know, I spent much of last year working on a book written toward Guard and Reserve spouses titled  Weekend Warrior No More: Help and Hope for Guard and Reserve Families During Deployment. The manuscript was turned in to the publisher and the book was to come out this August.

Unfortunately, as time went on I became increasingly concerned about some things related to the publisher and made the hard decision to terminate my contract with them. For the last couple of months, I’ve thought hard about how I should proceed with the book, because I really want to get it into the hands of those who need it now. So instead of trying to find another publisher and possibly seeing another year of time added on to get the book out to people, I’ve decided that I will release it for free, in three sections: pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment.

You can be one of the first to receive it! All you have to do is make sure you have subscribed to our Wives of Faith newsletter. Beginning in September, a link to an electronic file will be included in the newsletter but it will only be available in the newsletter, not the website. Eventually, I will offer the book through a print-on-demand service for those of you who prefer holding a book in your hands and not reading it on a screen. And while this book is geared toward Guard and Reserve spouses, active spouses may still appreciate some of the information related to deployment and kids and some of the other practical and creative suggestions you’ll find in the book. You may also learn some things about Guard and Reserve spouses you didn’t realize before!

Here is a brief description of the book -

More than 1.1 million service members currently serve with the United States Reserve components, making up 45 percent of the country’s total military force. As the military’s approach to the global war on terror shifted, the reservists’ role changed accordingly. Their families know not to ask if they will be deployed, but when. Reservists now expect deployment more frequently, requiring them to put families, employers, and lives on hold while they serve their country.

These circumstances present enormous challenges to civilian families suddenly thrust into active military life. With one foot in the civilian world, citizen-soldier families find themselves navigating a military world where esoteric acronyms, unfamiliar processes, and a different culture can cause confusion and uncertainty. The available resources of knowledge and information, however, are often recycled from active military family readiness groups and manuals, offering little understanding or insight from the reservist’s perspective. Most reservist spouses are forced to piece the military puzzle together on their own—and often far from military bases and their inherent support structures.

From planning budgets to coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, Weekend Warrior No More is a practical and positive guide written for the spouses of reservists from the wife of a reservist who recently completed his first deployment to Iraq. Personal stories and insights from the author and reservists and their families provide hope, encouragement, and a message that yes, your family can survive a deployment—and even grow from it.

Click the link below if you’ d like to sign up for our monthly newsletter and ensure you don’t miss the first release! And please tell any Reserve/Guard spouses you know!

Wives of Faith Newsletter

Popularity: 1% [?]

Navigating TRICARE

Posted by Sara Horn on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 in Practical Help | Comments (5)

tricareI had a brand new Army Reservist wife email me earlier this week with some questions about TRICARE. TRICARE can definitely be overwhelming when you’re first getting started, particularly for Guard and Reserve spouses who often aren’t anywhere near a base to go talk to someone.

Laurin and her husband are both in their 40s and have not had insurance for almost a year. Her husband will deploy next year. She’s wondering what her best options with TRICARE are and is feeling pretty overwhelmed and wondering where to start. As I explained to her in my email back, I am not an expert when it comes to TRICARE but I am more than happy to share what we did, and point out some resources/links to check out and follow up on. I thought the same info might help someone else so I’ve pasted my response to Laurin below while leaving out specifics like location. If you have additional thoughts or advice to add, please comment below! We can all help each other!

Hi Laurin!

First, I wanted to say I’m glad you wrote and that we have all been there trying to negotiate the endless forms and information that is TRICARE! I’m not an expert on TRICARE but I can tell you my experience and what we did and hopefully point you in the right direction to get the answers you need.

Make sure you know which TRICARE region you fall under (click here for a map), which is based on where you live. This is important to know because each region is operated a little differently. There are three TRICARE regions – North, South and West – and each has their own website in addition to the main TRICARE website (www.tricare.mil).

North Region

South Region

West Region

Oh, which reminds me – one GREAT resource you should definitely keep on your speed dial and in your online favorites list is Military OneSource. They offer free information and free resources to anyone connected to the military. You can call them for questions about TRICARE as well, and there’s a ton of info on their website that will help you as you get ready for deployment.   Their phone is 1.800.342.9647. They just recently updated the site – it’s very, very helpful. Take time to look and you’ll find a lot of great useful info.

The type of insurance you decide on when it comes to Tricare will depend on how partial or picky you are when it comes to doctors. Prime and Prime Remote require that you have a designated primary care physician (they’re more like HMOs) and if the doctor you currently see isn’t in the Tricare network, you may have to switch. If that doesn’t bother you, than go with one of those. You’re eligible for prime remote only if you live and work more than 50 miles away from a MTF – military treatment facility.

We went with Prime Remote and while we did have to ultimately change doctors, we loved not having to pay ANYTHING for doctor visits while my husband was active and prescription co-pays are only $3 usually.

If you go to tricare.mil you can do a search for MTF’s to determine if you’re eligible for Prime Remote. The website is down for maintenance today; otherwise I would give you a couple of links to take you there directly. Try back later tonight or tomorrow. You can also google “military treatment facility locator” and that will take you to the right place.

We also have Tricare when Cliff isn’t active. They only started Tricare Reserve Select right before Cliff deployed. We switched for a couple of reasons: it was much cheaper than my husband’s employer’s insurance and it made things easier, especially since we know Cliff will be deploying again in 2011 – we don’t have to deal with any of the switching back and forth from private to military insurance, when Cliff is active and when he’s just drilling.  Depending on your husband’s rank and whether or not you need insurance just for the two of you or for you and the kids, TRICARE is very affordable, and many Reserve and Guard families are finding this a great option, especially for those who are self-employed or who do not have insurance through their employers for whatever reason.

Now, how to apply. You can apply online (when the site’s back up) or you can see about going into a TRICARE Service Center (TSC). These are Tricare offices located throughout the country. Look at your respective regional site and there should be a TSC locator that will allow you to enter your zip code and find the closest one. We have one in Nashville and it helped us a lot. Just be sure to call ahead though, because you don’t want to get there and find out they’re not open.

Since your husband isn’t deployed yet, you would probably go ahead and get Reserve Select first (choosing Prime or Prime Remote) and then you will switch over to Active status, choosing Prime or Prime Remote after your husband has been active for 30 days. This information should all be provided to you at a briefing before the unit deploys.

If you have questions and need answers, call your region’s Tricare hotline (you can find numbers for your region here).You’ll need your husband’s SSN (he’s the service member), and you’ll need to make sure you’re listed in DEERS in order to be eligible for TRICARE.

Ask your husband about DEERS if you don’t already know about this – he’ll need to add you as his wife/dependent and you will need a military i.d. Here’s a link to help you locate where you can get your id if you don’t already have one – http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/owa/home. Be sure to call the DEERS office before you go and verify the documents they need you to bring in order to get your i.d., as well as confirm their office hours.

ALSO – if you need dental insurance – that’s also available through the military. Your general TRICARE insurance covers bi-annual eye doctor appts each year, though glasses/contacts aren’t covered.

Okay, hope this helps and I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with info! When dealing with TRICARE, it always helps me to write my questions out ahead of time and keep a record of who you talk to and when you talk to them and what they say. Good luck and let me know if you have any additional questions and I’ll do my best to help point you in the right direction.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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