Making it in the MilLife

Everyone is abuzz about the new program demonstration launched through a cooperative effort by the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor to help spouses pay for education and credentialing costs associated with pursuing careers in certain high demand, high growth sectors. For more information on the specifics, check out the press release.

While the demonstration is limited to 18 military installations in 8 eight states, it’s a good start. If you or anyone you know is eligible for the program, you should look into it. Service to your country shouldn’t come at the sacrifice of your own dreams and goals or that of your family. This initiative addressing the education and credentialing challenges of military spouses is a step in the right direction of helping many spouses live up to their potential while maintaining the home front.

When we were stationed in Germany, I took advantage of the Spouse Tuition Assistance Program to help defray the cost of pursuing a master’s degree. There are so many of these great programs out there. If you’re interested in furthering your education, it’s worth investing some time to check out what pots of money you might be eligible for. We have a great scholarship finder that gives you a starting point. The NMFA also has a great resource. If you know of any other resources, share them with us.

Every year around this time, our family tries to take in a holiday concert to help ease us into the craziness of the season. For the past couple of years, we’ve been going to listen to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. They always put on a great show, bringing in local celebrities and engaging the audience with a holiday sing along at the end. We always leave in a great mood thinking there is no better way to start the season.

This year, we thought we’d try something different. Instead of going to hear the NSO, we would go hear a military band. Yesterday, our family travelled up to Baltimore to hear a performance by the U.S. Army Field Band. In years past, at the various concerts we attended, there have been nods made to the sacrifices made by military families and troops stationed around the world and in harm’s way. It always seemed like a politically correct box to check. While not quite insincere, it always seemed like a cheap and easy way for people to spend a second thinking about the troops stationed overseas. Those moments while touching, always seemed a little unsatisfying.

At yesterday’s concert, there were tributes to the troops serving both at home and overseas in every nuance of the afternoon from the music selection to the video messages from the field played throughout the concert on large screens overhead. Military humor and snippets of military life were injected into every minute of the proceedings ranging from self-deprecating Army/Navy football jokes (Navy won) to a “commercial from the sponsors” highlighting the fashion appeal of the new Army ACU. The pride in service was evident both on stage and in the audience during the Service medley when audience members were asked to stand and sing when their service songs were played. While the voices in the auditorium certainly sounded sweet while earlier singing along to the holiday medley, they positively boomed with pride while belting out their service songs.

When the majority of us live off on installations and find it very difficult to make it in to family readiness/support meetings or wives’ club events, it’s easy to feel disenfranchised and forget about the great parts of belonging to the military family at large. Leaving yesterday’s concert, it would be difficult not to feel like you were part of something bigger. If you have the opportunity to attend a concert by one of the service bands, I highly encourage you to check it out. Each service has their own band website with a schedule of events and other information: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.