What is COLA?

COLA or Cost of Living Allowance is designed to help service members stationed overseas in high cost living areas. Not all overseas duty stations will qualify for COLA. To determine if your duty station qualifies for COLA or to find more information on COLA visit Rate Info.

What extras are we entitled to when my spouse deploys?

Each branch of the military will vary in the extras that are available to deploying service members. To determine what your branch offers your spouse may contact his Finance and Accounting Officer or Dispersing Officer. If your spouse is already deployed and you have questions, you may contact your Ombudsman, Key Volunteer or FRG Liason.

A common "extra" includes Hazardous Duty Pay (about $150/month) so long as your spouse is performing one of the following duties while on deployment:

Parachute Duty

Flight Deck Duty

Demolition Duty

Experimental Stress Duty

Toxic Fuels (or Propellants) Duty

Toxic Pesticides Duty

Dangerous Viruses (or Bacteria) Lab Duty

Chemical Munitions

In addition you may receive Combat Pay along with a Combat Zone Tax Exclusion. If your spouse is assigned to duty in one of the following areas:

Persian Gulf

Red Sea, Gulf of Oman

part of the Arabian Sea that is north of 10o N latitude and west of 68o E longitude

Gulf of Aden

Iraq

Kuwait

Saudi Arabia

Oman

Bahrain

Qatar

United Arab Emirates

Afghanistan

you may be eligible to receive $150/month extra pay. In addition, all bonuses received while a servicemember is serving in a combat zone are tax exempt.

You may also be entiled to a Seperation Pay. For exact rates and to see if you qualify for this pay, contact your finance office.

What are the DOD rules and regulations concerning deployments?

You can download a very extensive and detailed DOD directive (recently updated) entitled Personnel Assignments.

My Husband is Reserves and has just been called. Where can I find information concerning his deployment?

You can download an extensive and detailed DOD Directive that has been recently updated to reflect the changes concerning the current war: Management and Mobilization of Regular and Reserve Retired Military Members.

My Husband is Reserves and has just been called. Where can I find information concerning our benefits and entitlements?

The DOD offers a very informative handbook for reserves that answers many questions you may be concerned about. It is called Guide to Reserve Family Member Benefits. Most of this information also applies to inactive reserves who have been called. This guide also contains extensive references to find support and information during your sposes absence.

Is there a maximum time, for a rotation during a conflict or war?

According to DOD Directive 1315.7 the assignment of duty to a hostile-fire area must be shared equitably by all similarly qualified service members unless they qualify for an excemption.  You can download the list of exemptions on-line clicking here.  It is my understanding that this means the military will rotate service members as they are available.  However, if replacement personnell are not available the service member may be required to stay in the hostile-fire area for the duration of the conflict.

I don't know how to deal with the emotional aspects of deployment?

 The Army also offers a Survival Guide to give you the tools to cope with the deployment as far as who to call and what to do in worst case scenarios. Although it was created for the Army, the information included can benefit any military wife.

I do not know a service member overseas, but would like to send a package?

The Department of Defense has issued the following statement. In support of our troops Solo-Ops believes that we must follow the Department of Defense guidelines. If you have additional concerns please contact the Department of Defense at dod.mil.

Thank you for thinking of our troops! Thousands of Americans are asking what they can do to show their support for servicemembers, especially those serving overseas in this time of war. Below are Web sites for several organizations that are sponsoring programs for members of the Armed Forces overseas. While it would be inappropriate for the Department to endorse any specifically, servicemembers do value and appreciate such expressions of support:

The Gift of Groceries program at Commissaries.com helps meet the family needs of our Guard and Reserve troops fighting the war on terrorism.

Donate a calling card to help keep servicemembers in touch with their families at Operation Uplink

Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at this site or this one.

Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America Web site at this address.

STARTING MARCH 17th, the newspaper "Stars and Stripes" will include a daily "Messages of Support" section giving family and friends of deployed service members a chance to pass along greetings, announcement, and words of encouragement. Such messages (LIMITED TO 50 WORDS OR LESS) will be printed on a first-come, first-run basis. Messages may be sent to: messages@stripes.com.

Make a donation to one of the military relief societies:

Army Emergency Relief at aerhq.org.

Navy/Marine Relief Society at nmcrs.org.

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at cgmahq.org.

Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at usometrodc.org.

Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at redcross.org.

Volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts.

Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas.

Please do not flood the military mail system with letters, cards, and gifts. Due to security concerns and transportation constraints, the Department cannot accept items to be mailed to " Any Servicemember." Some people have tried to avoid this prohibition by sending large numbers of packages to an individual servicemember's address, which however well intentioned, clogs the mail and causes unneccessary delays.

The support and generosity of the American people has touched the lives of many servicemembers, over 300,000 of whom are deployed overseas.

How often will my husband be deployed?

It is not possible to predict the deployment rotation of any service member. The only information we can provide to you is most units will over time develop a deployment pattern. Once you become familiar with you fiances unit and deployment pattern you will be able to predict the amount of time he will spend away from you. Factors such as his branch, job, duty station, and world events will play into the amount of time he is deployed.

How do I stay informed during a deployment?

The Navy offers a wonderful article on their family support site www.Lifelines.org (simply change the terms to fit your branch)

What is MPS?

MPS is the Military Postal Service.

While an extension of the US Postal Service's domestic service, the MPS operates in an international arena.  MPS is the only postal service that provides an international service at a domestic rate.  The authority to provide this service to our customers was granted to us by US Code, government subsidizes for military mail transportation, governmental agreements, and Status of Forces Agreements. 

MPS will only benefits those sending mail from outside the continental United States.  If you are sending mail to an APO or FPO address then you are sending it within the continental US.  Contact your local post office to determine if MPS will assist you. 

My fiance is overseas, am I entitled to any services?

Only dependants registered in DEERS are eligible for any military benefits.  The last name of your children or even placing the service member's name on a birth certificate does not automatically provide military benefits.  If you or your children were registered with DEERS prior to the deployment of your fiancé you will be eligible to enroll in TRICARE, request an ID card, and use MWR, Commissary and Exchange privileges.  If you or your children are not registered with DEERS you are not eligible for any military benefits as you do not currently qualify as a military dependent. 

If you have proof of paternity you may request that your children are enrolled in DEERS.  This will be more difficult now that the service member is deployed.  You may contact the chaplain or legal aid office for assistance.  Be warned however, this may be seen as a failure to provide for his family by your fiancé's command and could have a negative impact on his career.  If you are not in urgent need of military benefits it may be advisable for you to write your fiancé and request he complete the necessary paperwork for your children.  

Please visit the DEERS center for more information and other military benefits explainations.

Can I mail tobacco products to my husband over seas?

The list of restricted from shipment by both the US Post Office and the Department of Defense is quite extensive.  Tobacco products is on the list of prohibited products.  In addition to this the following items are also prohibited:

Coffee

Pornographic materials

Pork or pork by products

Firearms

Radio transceivers, cordless telephones and global positioning systems

For a complete list of Military Postal restrictions please visit hqdnet.army.mil.

How can I be there when my boyfriends ship docs?

Most bases will allow visitors to obtain temporary passes to visit the base.  Your best source of information is the Ombudsman for your boyfriend's command.  She will tell you if they have closed the homecoming to family only or if all visitors will be allowed.  In many cases for which there are large homecomings a guest list will be created to assist in traffic control.  The Ombudsman will have all necessary information.  You may obtain Ombudsman contact information by calling 1-877-673-7773.  Contact the local Shore Patrol office to determine the requirements to obtain a vehicle visitor pass.

I am concerned about PTSD?

The military does have several programs in place to assist spouses and service members with the reintroduction to a "normal" life.  Among these is family therapy benefits through TRICARE, spouse deployment briefings, and the Army has recently introduced the Deployment Cycle Support program.  If you are away from a military base these options are not available to you.  There are other forms of support however.  Amazon.com has 207 titles listed under "military psychology". While I have not read any of these works and can not recommend one over another it may be an excellent starting point for you to locate information on post traumatic stress disorder and the effects of war.

  I have often found other military wives are an excellent source of information also.  You may attempt to form contacts with women that have been in similar situations through on-line support groups. MSN and Yahoo both offer hundreds of support groups of this nature. 

I just want to know when they are coming home?

It is not possible for Us to provide you with this information.  When a command or service member will return is determined by the current status of the conflict, the type of command, the need for the service member's skills, availability of a replacement if the skill is still required and many other factors that only the Department of Defense can determine.  If you have questions on the potential return date of a service member or command you may contact the key volunteer, ombudsman, FRG, or first shirt for the service member's command.