Making it in the MilLife

Do you have a cyber-savvy teenager?

Teen to Extreme (T2X), is a brand new health literacy program being offered to teen agers aged 13-17 nationwide.

The T2X project was created as a result of a partnership with Health Net, UCLA School of Public Health, and EPG Technologies.

Health Net Federal Services is making a concentrated effort to reach out to teens of military families.

“It’s tough being a teenager today. It can be even tougher for those in military families, as they face unique challenges when a parent or loved one serves and is deployed and redeployed. The T2X program is a cutting-edge tool for teens to not only find support through the emotional cycles of deployment but also find the information to help them live a healthy and fulfilling life,” said Tom Carrato, president of Health Net Federal Services. “T2X empowers teens to take responsibility and become invested in their own health care and well-being.”

T2X is a teen only-community of users, with teen and professionally produced content, blogs, video sharing and other interactive media.

On T2X, teens will be able to find information on lifestyle issues such as nutrition, fitness, stress management and substance abuse.

Teens will be able to chat on line with health experts and ask questions, text key words to a designated number and receive customized content back to their mobile devices, participate in health oriented social networking through blogs, videos, and other transmedia tools.

The mission of T2X is to see teens become actively engaged in their health care and to promote health behaviors.

Parents and teen-check it out and tell us what you think.

By Kate Leming

After representing MOAA’s Currently Serving Spouse Advisory Council at the Military Spouse Symposium & Career Fair in San Diego, CA last week, I walked away believing that we will be the generation of Military Spouses that “figures out” spousal employment.

We will be the generation that brings our stories to decision makers and legislators so that we will break through the glass ceiling particular to military spouses.

We will be the generation that fixes the licensing and certification process that results in significant cost outlays and large gaps in employment histories.

We will be the generation that fights chronic under-employment that is a result of discrimination and job hoarding by locals.

A sense of urgency
Over the course of the symposium I met countless spouses who share the same sense of urgency in addressing these challenges both for our own fulfillment and for the health of our fighting force. Many of us swapped stories of superstar service members we knew who left the service because their superstar spouses longed for meaty careers, too. We know that there must be a way for military spouses to have meaningful, continuously advancing careers while still supporting our spouse’s desire to serve.

Military spouse attorneys – unique challenges
One of the highlights of the symposium for me was meeting seven military spouses who are attorneys. In 2011, MOAA Spouse Council Member, Judge Erin Wirth, along with Mary Reding created the Military Spouse JD Network. The MSJDN aims to make it possible for military spouse attorneys to continue practicing law as they move across the country and around the world without the onerous tasks of taking multiple bar examinations and maintaining costly bar memberships.

My hope is that the success of the MSJDN will spur other occupational groups of military spouses to band together to ensure successful career transitions as they move from post to post. I envision a day when Facebook is teeming with “The Military Spouse Nurses’ Network” or “The Military Spouse Teachers’ Network” or “The Military Spouse Opticians’ Network.” By joining forces, these professionals can gather both success stories and horror stories to present to decision makers. They can share tips about where to find employment at particular duty stations and how to navigate the licensing process.

Employer support
As the businesses at the career fair packed up, I went from table to table thanking the exhibitors for taking the time to meet with these amazing military spouses. I shared with them how exceptionally qualified military spouses are to do high level work, how profoundly under-employed they typically are and how fiercely loyal and hard-working they are when they find a company that values their abilities.

We can do it
In 2012, let’s work together to “solve” spousal employment so that succeeding generations of military spouses never have to worry about supporting their spouse’s call to service by sacrificing their own dreams and ambitions.

Kate Leming serves on the 2012-2013 MOAA Currently Serving Military Spouse Advisory Council. She is an Army spouse, and her current full-time job is as a stay-at-home mom to her three children,  Mary,  Michael, and Elizabeth. Kate is a proud graduate of Cornell University where she received a BS in Applied Economics and Management with a concentration in Business Management and Marketing.