Navy Community, Navy Spouse and Family Resources

Quick Links

Navy Times RSS

Click here for Navy Times RSS News Feeds

Spouse & Family Resources

Military life can be a rich and rewarding experience for a spouse, but it does come with its own unique challenges. The odds are good that if you encounter a problem, someone else in your community or in the service at large has dealt with something similar before. Here, you’ll find resources at your disposal as well as articles by our columnists.

Mission Family: Respite child care program expands to every state
Families who need support services such as child care aren’t always close to a military installation. That’s been a complaint for years, especially from the Guard and reserve communities.
Mission Family: Foundation gives $4.5M to programs for wounded
A wave of messages on social networking Web sites about a push to help injured service members transition to civilian communities aims to foster awareness and bolster the nonprofit groups that...
Mission Family: Providing a stable home front can help children when parents deploy
A military child who was in an early primary grade in 2003 is now entering his early teens, possibly having weathered three or more parental deployments.
Mission Family: Lots of programs help military kids
Making yet another move to a new city or a new country, dealing with yet another wartime deployment of a parent — military children have more than their share of challenges.
No rules keeping small families out of larger military housing
If you’ve wondered about the way family housing is assigned under the new privatization agreements, you’re not alone.
Know your state’s unemployment laws
Air Force wife Krissy Stratton wondered why she was denied unemployment compensation by Wyoming officials after state legislators had passed a law making military spouses eligible when they must quit...
Mission Family: Go ahead, read that novel! It’s for everyone’s benefit
Holding a family together is challenging enough for a spouse when the service member is deployed to a war zone.

‘The Home Front’ Columns

Children learn from what parents give up — not what they give
The photographs were everywhere. Strewn across the bed, heaped on the carpet.
Domestic abuse feeds on secrecy — cut it off
I’m glad little that occurs behind closed doors domestically is considered private these days. Truth somehow manages to snake its way into the glaring light of scrutiny, no matter how hard we...
Sometimes, infidelity can make a marriage stronger
Recently, I told three of my closest female friends that I wanted to take a close look at extramarital affairs in the military and try to find something positive to say about them.
Military friendships: stories of love and loss
She used to be my best friend. Here to talk with, laugh with, enjoy good times.

‘Married to the Military’ Columns

Mission: Family: Schedule your free personal health coach
Who among us isn’t looking for ways to make positive changes in our lives?
Marine widow describes pain that suicide brings
Marine Lt. Col. Bob Curtis has seen firsthand the difference one military wife — now a widow — can make.
Male spouses often overlooked
When it comes to the term “military spouse,” there’s an immediate assumption that you’re talking about women. But, more than 6 percent of military spouses are men. And they...
Let love ease difficulties of being military spouse
Being married to the military is no picnic, but it can be a thrilling ride. We believe it’s all just a matter of perspective. At least, that has been our experience since we began — and...
Associations provide help for families
We know how it is. You are HH6, the head of the household, the one in charge. Have you ever wondered whether there was anything or anyone out there who could give you some help? Provide some relief...
Creativity, planning can brighten holidays for military families
Whether it is Christmas in July or a September birthday party in January, military families know that the actual day you celebrate is not what matters. “When duty calls” means when duty...
New columnists aim to aid — and empower —spouses
Just who are Crooks and Henderson? Well, people have believed us to be anything from country singers to a consulting firm.
Married to the Military: More must be done for veterans, family members
We hear discussions about “bringing the troops home now,” and one thought keeps coming to mind: Many Americans seem to think that when the troops come home and the war is over, we can all...
Married to the Military
Service members swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our country, while their spouses take an unwritten oath to a life that is best described as a roller coaster ride.
Building businesses through networking
There is a long tradition of military spouses stepping up to the plate to help improve things for other military spouses and families.
Think you know how to move? Think again
Kathie and her husband recently completed the 20th move of their military life.
Can’t ask for help? Find a ‘Mother Hen’
Military spouses have a reputation for helping others — call it our version of the military “we take care of our own” philosophy. But we’re among the worst when it comes to...
Tell it to your journal: Writing can be emotional strength training
We are the first to say military spouses are amazing. They demonstrate great personal strength over and over again.
War-weary spouses make their voices heard on Capitol Hill: Navy wife’s feedback spurs bill to aid combat vets
When Navy spouse and author Kristin Henderson was interviewed on NPR about her book “While They Were at War,” she discussed the challenges military families face. An aide for Rep. Patrick...
Recordings connect family over distance
One of the keys to a happy life is a strong support structure of friends and family.
Redefining 'success' in life can help you find happiness
One common frustration of military spouses shows up in the form of the "green-eyed monster."
Six easy ways to make friends
Editor's note: This is the third of a three-part series on beating the blues when your spouse is deployed.
You have to choose to beat deployment blues
Our last column, which focused on spouses who hide out at home while their service members are deployed, really struck a chord with readers.
Hiding out during deployment? You're not alone
One of the most popular recent topics in an online military spouse forum was one titled "Confessions."
Planning, creativity can ease moving pains
"The process of moving is a lot like labor pain," says Marine Corps spouse Michelle Masinsin. "The actual act of moving is painful. Once you are there and in a new place, however, things are new and...
OneSource a great place to get info
We hope you've heard about Military OneSource by now. But have you taken advantage of it?
Making friends: where to start
During the question-and-answer period at a recent library event, Army spouse Shequita Gatlin asked us, "How do you make friends when you are new, other than knocking on doors and looking weird?"
10 great books for military spouses
"I can't see publishing more than one book for military spouses," said one publisher we approached with our book proposal.
Use conferences to build networks
What do "Dealing with Difficult Quarters" and "Dealing with Difficult People," "Home-buying Strategies for Military" and "Space-A-Travel," all have in common?
Friendship key element to happy marriage
"Happily married in the military" doesn't have to be an oxymoron.

Family Resources

Mission Family: Employers do want military spouses
What should you say if, during a job interview, a potential employer asks whether you are a military spouse?
Harrowing landing puts prayers to test
“Brace! Brace! Brace!” called the flight attendants, ordering me and the other 167 service members into the crash position on the flight bringing us home to American soil.
Groups pair troops with supportive civilians
Service members stationed abroad may feel far from home, but thanks to several organizations, they won’t feel forgotten.
CinCHouse: The ‘lovely wife’: She deserves thunderous applause
A woman in our midst is moving on — from her current place in life — from the military, to a new locale.
Top military moms
There’s a saying in the ranks that goes something like this: “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
Send us your drawings and photos
To mark National Military Appreciation Month in May, we’re planning a month-long online salute to service members and their families. As part of that coverage, we’d like to showcase your...
Lawyers step up to help veterans gratis
The scene resembled Hollywood’s version of how a multibillion-dollar legal deal might be negotiated. Big-name corporate law firm. Posh conference room, with a conference table so large 70...
Generations of Grottes have kept the Air Force flying
The Grottes are not Air Force royalty. They are not descended from aviation pioneers, dogfighting legends or Pentagon insiders. But what the Grottes lack in profile, they more than make up for in...
How deployment stresses families left behind
Nine-year-old Tristan Sartor hasn’t spent more than six consecutive months with his father since age 4.
Tips for families
Tips for families to help their children during deployments:
Help for kids takes many forms
Help in dealing with the stress of deployments is starting to emerge for military parents and kids, and researchers are starting to look at long-term effects.
‘Army Wives’ goes inside the family
Catherine Bell is back in the ranks.
On watch at home
Each week, another new book is published that examines some aspect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military members, authors and journalists alike come back from the war zones with...
A spouse’s tale of strength
Michelle Keener’s husband was deployed twice, and Keener had her hands full both times.
BRAC-ed spouses get some help
Labor Department officials are helping local communities look out for military spouses whose employment and training opportunities will be affected by base realignment and closure actions, officials...
Military appreciation month: Celebrating military families
May is a month of celebration for the military family. A time set aside to thank our heroes from the frontline to the home front. While we enjoy the spring, the flowers, the new life all around us,...
Dr. Laura: ‘I cried’ over mixup
Radio talk show host “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger said she received about a dozen “ferociously angry e-mails” from the military community after a story about her appeared in the...
Dr. Laura denies criticizing military spouses
Radio talk show host “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger says her comments about the “whining” of military spouses and parents were taken out of context in a story published May 12 in...
On-base stores have special deals for Mom
What’s in it for you, as a military spouse, on Military Spouse Appreciation Day?
Job programs for spouses keep growing
Whether a base will be growing or shrinking during the ongoing closure and realignment process, military spouses should be part of states’ discussion about the job impact, Department of Labor...
DoD again offers summer program for kids
A free, four-week, half-day summer program will be offered to many of the students in Defense Department schools, according to officials at the Department of Defense Education Activity.
Charities help families deal with stress
The grassroots charity Operation Homefront is seeing signs that financial stress is increasing in military families, with their caseload for emergency assistance doubling in all its locations over...
New relocation tools replace SITES
With the moving season in full swing, the Defense Department has ditched its former SITES system and launched new relocation tools aimed at providing more up-to-date, concise and useful information...
Inner strength: Fortitude can turn spouse’s deployment into a positive
Here we go again: It’s deployment time for our family. So much has changed since that horrible day, Aug. 29, 1995, when my husband left on his first deployment as a married man.
Resources: Got problems? Where to find aid
No matter how well you manage your life, problems sometimes arise that you can’t fix alone. There are organizations out there ready to help. Here’s how to get in touch with the private...
Resources: Legal assistance, vet organizations and more
From veterans organizations to the USO, organizations stand ready to help take care of you and your family wherever you are in the world. Here are other useful links to sites where you can find a...
Resources: Family support resources
The military is constantly adding new resources to help families survive and thrive in the military life. Here is a round-up of information on some organizations and services available to you:
Resources: Moving with the family
Making a permanent change of station is tough enough when you’re single — add a family into the mix and it gets a whole lot more challenging. Here are resources to help you survive your...