Category Archives: Navy
Military Spouse Appreciation Day NAVADMIN
Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.
~David Thomas
This is directly from the CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) regarding tomorrow’s Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I thought you all might enjoy the good things said about us from our CNO:
UNCLASSIFIED//
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N00//
TO NAVADMIN
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 158/11
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N00/MAY//
SUBJ/MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY//
RMKS/1. MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY, WHICH WE OBSERVE THIS YEAR ON MAY 6, IS AN OCCASION TO HONOR THE MANY NAVY SPOUSES WHO SUPPORT OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN IN THE WORK OF OUR NATION. WHILE BALANCING FAMILY LIFE, MILITARY OBLIGATIONS, AND OFTEN CAREERS OF THEIR OWN, OUR HUSBANDS AND WIVES ENABLE THE GOOD OUR NAVY ACHIEVES ACROSS THE GLOBE EVERY DAY.
2. AS WE CELEBRATE MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY, WE THANK OUR SPOUSES FOR THEIR LOVE AND SUPPORT THROUGH COUNTLESS
DEPLOYMENTS; FOR THEIR PATIENCE OVER MANY HOUSEHOLD MOVES, SOMETIMES TO PLACES FAR FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY; FOR THE FAMILIES HELD TOGETHER, FOR THE ANNIVERSARIES, BIRTHDAYS, AND HOLIDAYS CELEBRATED ALONE; FOR THEIR HANDS EXTENDED TO ANOTHER MILITARY SPOUSE OR FAMILY WHEN THE NEED WAS THERE; AND FOR THE PRIDE IN SERVING THEIR COMMUNITIES.
3. THE LIFE OF A MILITARY FAMILY IS A DEMANDING ONE, AND MANY OF ITS BURDENS NECESSARILY REST WITH OUR MILITARY SPOUSES SO OUR SAILORS CAN FOCUS ON THE MISSION AT HAND. I EXTEND MY HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL OUR NAVY FAMILIES FOR THEIR INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR READINESS, AND I URGE YOU TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK YOUR SPOUSE FOR THEIR ROLE IN YOUR SUCCESS. HONOR THEIR SERVICE TO THE NAVY AND THE NATION, AND LET THEM KNOW HOW MUCH THEIR SUPPORT MEANS TO US, NOT ONLY TODAY, BUT EVERY DAY.
4. RELEASED BY ADMIRAL G. ROUGHEAD, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS.//
Month of the Military Child – Exceptional Family Member Program and Autism
There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.
~Walt Streightiff
April is the Month of the Military Child. Deployments and serving in the military is tough on the servicemember and the spouse, but it’s equally as hard (if not harder) on the servicemember’s children. Military children often need more support than a civilian child, especially during deployments.
This month, to honor our military children, I’m dedicating each Monday to Month of the Military Child. Since we don’t have children, I’ve asked a few guests to blog about their experiences with military children and provide some insight into how we can help these children excel during what may be the toughest time of their young lives.
My last guest post is about something that you will never need… or something that you will rely on day in, and day out. It’s the military’s Exceptional Family Member program, but this post specifically highlight’s the Navy’s program and how it pertains to the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Your own branch may differ.
This guest post is by a good friend and Navy wife, who is known as minivangirl on Twitter. She and her husband, a submariner, deal with a lot. A LOT. And I’ll be making another post on how you can help them out specifically, hopefully later this week.
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Chicky excited for cupcakes.
I am not a writer. I am not a blogger. I am mother of a child who has autism. I am also a Navy wife.
When you first hear the diagnosis of Autism, it can send you into a tailspin. Worries of “what if” and “what now”.
The very first thing you should know is, I am proud of you.
“What is this crazy lady talking about?? Why is she proud of me??”
You paid attention to your child. You noticed something wasn’t quite right and you acted on it. You questioned, you read, you researched and you went to the doctor. Maybe even more than one doctor. You listened to the little voice inside of you and you sought answers. The answer was Autism or any one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Give your kiddo a hug. Nuzzle their head a bit. Pull back and take a look…..this is the same wonderful child that was right here yesterday, the only difference is that now you have a diagnosis of Autism.
There are a multitude of books, website and support groups to help you along the way. Read, search, and learn. That’s not why I am here today. Today I am focusing on what steps you need to take and what programs are available to you as a military family.
One of the best guides out there is Lisa Rupe’s “Guide for Military Families Affected By Autism.”
http://www.tacanow.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/militaryfamiliesfinal.pdf
The very first thing you need to do once you have a diagnosis is enroll your child in the EFM (Exceptional Family Member) program. This program helps to make sure that you are sent only to bases that can support your child’s needs. Imagine if you were sent to a base in the middle of nowhere, without a Developmental Pediatrician for hundreds of miles! That is not a good situation and could even mean a second move to support your child’s needs. EFM Program monitors what services are available in each area and tries to match you with a base that can help.
In the Navy, once your child is enrolled, they will be assigned a “Category.”
There are six Navy EFMP enrollment categories:
A life-changing moment. For more information, check out http://www.giveforward.com/raisethewoof
- Category I – for monitoring purposes only
- Category II – pinpoint to specific geographic locations
- Category III – no overseas assignments
- Category IV – major medical areas in CONUS
- Category V – homesteading
- Category VI – temporary enrollment – update required in 6-12 months
The next step would be to enroll in ECHO (Extended Care Health Option)
http://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/overview/SpecialPrograms/ECHO
ECHO provides:
Princess Chicky getting ready to go on a walk.
- Medical and rehabilitative services
- Training to use assistive technology devices
- Special education
- Institutional care when a residential environment is required
- Transportation for institutionalized beneficiaries to receive authorized ECHO benefits.
- Assistive services, such as those from a qualified interpreter or translator
- Durable equipment, including adaptation and maintenance
- In-home medical services through ECHO Home Health Care (EHHC)
- In-home respite care services
- ECHO respite care: 16 hours per month when receiving other authorized ECHO benefits
- EHHC respite care: up to 40 hours per week (eight hours per day, five days per week) for those who qualify
- Only one can be used in the same calendar month, they cannot be used together.
- Only available in the 50 United States, The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Educational Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders (EIA) services through the Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration
I would also suggest you think about your child’s PCM. How do you feel about your relationship. Yes, I know it’s your child’s PCM, but you are your child’s voice. You need to feel comfortable talking to this person. Do you feel you can ask questions? Can you approach them? Do you know the easiest way to reach them? Is the PCM accessible? Your child’s doctor and you will be working together quite a bit, make sure it’s a good relationship.
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I’m a Slacker
When I look at my hands and in my heart, I see stress as Lady Macbeth saw blood.
~Berri Clove
Yeah, I have been avoiding posting a real blog post for a few reasons. First of all, Huzzy was on leave for two glorious weeks where we just hung out, slept in and spent time with one another. And we didn’t kill each other, ya’ll. Wow!
The other thing is that we are in the middle of buying a house and there’s been a lot of stress involved with that. I know house buying is stressful (heck, I’ve been through this before five years ago!) but this is just ridiculous. I don’t want to go into all of it, but suffice to say there are a few hiccups and hoops we have to jump through that most don’t and they were supposed to be cleared up by now. But they aren’t.
Add to the fact that our landlords from hell (okay, to be honest, they’ve left us alone since July, but before that, they were hellish enough to encompass 10 years of stress) have sent us a letter that they aren’t renewing our lease after 28FEB. We knew it was a possibility because they were thinking of moving back into the house themselves after a year. But that leaves us without a back-up.
Our house is supposed to close on 24FEB. That leaves just four days to move into it. If it happens. If it doesn’t, well, we are only three weeks away from the end of our lease. We should know in the next week if the house isn’t going to happen. If it doesn’t, we are going to have to try and find a house that will allow three large dogs and people who don’t quite have perfect credit (though we do qualify for a mortgage, so it’s not that horrible).
That’s not an easy task. Most places only allow small dogs. What the heck is up with that? Do they realize that small dogs are generally yappier and, in general, have a harder time being potty trained? I mean, they have smaller bladders so they tend to have the potential of having more accidents. Granted, if they have an accident it’s not as big, but still. I don’t get the big/small dog thing. My dogs sleep 22 hours a day with just enough time in the day left over to eat twice, have some pets and take a lap around the yard before coming in and collapsing again for the next 22 hours. Heck, we generally have to WAKE them up in the morning to go outside. Because they just want to sleep.
So if our house falls through, we’ll have just a week or two to find a house. If we can’t (we all know how long the application process, etc can take), then we might be homeless for a while. As in… sleeping in our vehicles with our dogs and putting our stuff in storage or on a Uhaul or something until we found a place that would take us.
I’m nervous. Most of you who have been reading my blog/following me on Twitter for more than a year know our luck is horrible at best. And for some reason, while I love our house we have the offer on, I just can’t seem to PICTURE us living there. Totally different than when I bought my last house. I could easily see myself living there. And that scares me. We could really use some good thoughts and prayers that this works out.
In other news, I’m supposed to be going to the Centennial of Naval Aviation in San Diego later this week to work in my Navy capacity. I say supposed to because, true to form, my orders haven’t been even touched yet. And I’m supposed to leave in 3 days. If it happens, it’ll be great to be in the 70 degree sunny weather. Time to soak up some Vitamin D! Woot!
When I get back, Huzzy is going to have ANOTHER week off. Yes, indeed, that’s THREE WEEKS off. They are getting an extra week off because his boat won a big award. Of course it’s not like they are getting the leave for free, it still counts against their balance, but they are allowed to take it if they have it. And boy does Huzzy have it. He still has 85 days on the books (before his previous two weeks’ leave) so he has a ton. That’s what happens when you are deployed so often. He has to use up something like 5 more weeks this year or he’ll lose it at the end of the fiscal year (because they get 30 more days over the course of the fiscal year).
So that’s what’s been going on with me. Long post, I know. LOL.
Merry Christmas… Submariner Style
T’was the Night Before Christmas-Submarine Style
By Sean Keck
T‘was the night before Christmas, and what no one could see,
The men with the dolphins were under the sea.
Most of the crew was flat on their backs,
Snoring and dreaming all snug in their racks.
Those men on watch were making their rounds,
Some manning the planes or listening for sounds.
Back in maneuvering or down in the room,
They all hoped the oncoming watch would come soon.
I‘d finished some PM’s whose time was now due,
And hoped for some sleep, even an hour or two.
Against better judgment I took a short stroll,
And found myself wandering into control.
The Nav had the Conn, the COW was in place,
The COB had the Dive and a scowl on his face.
The helm and the planes were relaxed but aware,
The QM and ET were discussing a dare.
To comply with the orders the Nav told the Dive,
To bring the boat up with minimum rise.
The orders were given and soon they were there,
At periscope depth with a scope in the air.
The QM confirmed our position with care,
The broadcast was copied, we brought in some air.
The Nav on the scope let out a small cry,
He shook his head twice and rubbed at his eyes.
He looked once again to find what it was,
That interrupted his sweep and caused him to pause.
Try as he might there was nothing to see,
So down went the scope and us to the deep.
I asked what it was that caused his dismay,
He sheepishly said, “I’m embarrassed to say.
It could have been Northern Lights or a cloud,
Or a meteorite,” he wondered aloud.
“But to tell you the truth I guess I must say,
Whatever it was it looked like a sleigh.
And though it passed quickly and never was clear,
I almost believe it was pulled by reindeer.”
We laughed and teased him and I got up to go,
When our moment was broken by “Conn, Radio.”
They told us a message was just coming in,
We looked at the depth gauge and started to grin.
“Radio, Conn, I feel safe to say,
Your attempt at a joke is too long delayed.
If it had been sooner it might have been neat,
But I doubt we’re receiving at four-hundred feet.”
“Conn, Radio, you can come down and see,
We’re not playing games to any degree.”
I headed aft with nothing better to do,
Surprised by the fact it was still coming through.
It stopped and was sent to control to be read,
The Nav read it slowly and scratched at his head.
Then again he began but this time aloud,
To those that now waited, a curious crowd.
“To you Denizens of the Deep and men of the sea,
Who risk your life daily so others stay free.
I rarely have seen you on this, my big night,
For far too often you are hidden from sight.
But purely by luck I saw you tonight,
As your scope coaxed the plankton to glow in the night.
And lucky for me I’ve finally won,
The chance to say thanks for all you have done.
I know that you miss your families at home,
And sometimes you feel as if you’re alone.
But trust what I say and I’ll do what’s right,
I‘ll take something special to your families tonight.
Along with the gifts I’ll take to your kin,
I‘ll visit their dreams and leave word within.
They’ll hear of your love, and how you miss them,
I‘ll tell them that soon you’ll be home again.
It might not be much I know that is true,
To thank you for all the things that you do.
But I’ll do what I can, while you do what’s right,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.”
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Please keep in your thoughts those who are serving away from their families… and for those who are spending this holiday season without their loved ones because they gave the ultimate sacrifice.
So Ready to be DONE
Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.
~Lamartine
Probably time for a real post. I’ve just been pretty… I guess a good word for it is… despondent. And I’m sorry, but this post might be a bit melancholy. But that’s how I’ve been feeling lately and this blog is about, well, the ups and downs of being a military wife. This is a down. But there are definitely ups.
I did write the post about being thankful my husband is deployed. And that is still true. But it doesn’t make it easy. And if our time apart was only normal, I’d be fine. It’s just that this last month of the 20 months from HELL is killing me. Seriously… living together for just six weeks in a 20 month period is no fun (and that wasn’t even six weeks all at once!). Now, we’ve had about eight weeks total together in that time frame, but that was two weeks of vacation and we were sleeping in a room of someone’s house. That wasn’t living together.
Our second anniversary is coming up in just a few months. And I was excited that we were going to be able to spend it together. Until I got an email from Huzzy yesterday (woo-hoo for the first email since before Thanksgiving!) and he told me that on his short time between this deployment and the next one in the spring, he’s going to be sent to a school for a month in San Diego or Hawaii.
I have no idea when that would be as he didn’t tell me. But I can guess what when that would be (warning: pessimism coming out)… my guess is it will be end of February to the end of March. You know, just in time for us to move into the house we are going to buy and our March 21 anniversary. That would be the worst time for us since I’d have to move us entirely by myself and we’d not have our anniversary together. So that’s my guess.
Sure, let’s just throw in separation during our anniversary. In 2010, so far we’ve missed New Year’s, my birthday, 4th of July and the entire holiday season coming up. That’s, of course, not counting the exact same holidays that were missed in 2009 (except New Year’s 2009, we were together for that). We know we won’t be together for my birthday and it’s scheduled for us to be apart for the exact same holidays next year. So why not? Let’s take away the only other celebration we have during 2011. That would be three years in a row of NO celebrations except for our 1st anniversary in March 2010, which I’m eternally grateful to have had together.
Three years. ONE celebration. NO holidays. Not even Easter.
I’m about done with this and ready to have him home. I was looking forward to having him for a few months but now with the school, that’ll be a few months minus one. Not to mention that their homecoming has been moved to the right TWICE in the last week.
I am lucky that I have an awesome friend here in Washington. I am actually starting to consider her my best friend. She relies on me a lot to help out (her husband is on our previous boat and they are currently gone too) because she has a 2 year old and a 2 1/2 month old. I love spending time with them. Just today, she called and asked me to help her take them to get photographs taken. I have no idea how she would have done it without the extra set of hands.
But it’s not all about me helping her. She calls me to make sure I’m okay and has invited me to Christmas with her. We also just talk. Talk like girls sometimes need to talk. I’d be so lost without her right now. We mutually lean on each other. If one stepped to the side, I fear we’d both fall down.
