TRICARE Young Adult: What You Need to Know Many military families will celebrate as their young adult children graduate from college throughout May. However, it’s important to pause the festivities long enough to ensure that your child’s health coverage isn’t interrupted. TRICARE only covers young adult dependents up to age 21 or 23 if they are enrolled in college. If your child is 21 or older, their TRICARE coverage ends on their graduation date. What is TRICARE Young Adult? If families want to extend their young adult child’s TRICARE coverage, there is an option. TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) i ..read more

May 2024 Video Newsletter   We are celebrating military spouses, and we know they serve, too! Tell us what service means to you for a chance to win a $500 gift card. The House Armed Services Committee Quality of Life panel report included several NMFA recommendations. Learn more about the recommendations for improving military families’ well-being. The post May 2024 Video Newsletter appeared first on National Military Family Association ..read more

More Than A Spouse: Finding Beauty in the Military Life Beauty can be found anywhere in the world, and Navy spouse Alexa Munsell knows all about it. Alexa, a passionate volunteer in her community and a Montessori teacher, strongly believes creativity and joy can uplift military spouses out of isolation and into endless potential. A cosmetologist by trade, she strategically chose her career path to balance her family’s needs with her aspirations, understanding that flexibility is key in the unpredictable life of a military spouse. Flexibility is Paramount “To build a steady career that fulfill ..read more

More Than A Spouse: Turning a Dream into a Doctorate To pursue an intensive doctorate program while starting your military spouse journey requires a special sort of superpower. Air Force spouse of 16 years Heather Poynter believes all military spouses can overcome anything and make their dreams happen. What does it take besides military spouse superpowers? Your service member’s support and personal grit to take on the dream! Set Goals to Reach the Dream As Heather recalls, it has always been her dream to become a doctor. “I was doing my undergrad in biology to become a human doctor. I realize ..read more

NMFA’s State of the Military Family Summit Examines the Cost of Service Every military family has been there: sitting at the kitchen table, trying to plan for the future, not knowing when you’ll PCS. It’s impossible to predict how much money you’ll spend out of pocket in the course of the move, how you’ll manage to get your family settled, your bank account replenished, and find decent childcare. Will you be able to afford it? For military families struggling to make ends meet, the stress can be overwhelming. The 2024 State of the Military Family Summit put the cost of service—and its toll on ..read more

More Than A Spouse: A Career Journey Rooted in Confidence and Support The makings of a strong career path should start with confidence and finding your tribe. That’s according to Wykita Burns, an Army spouse of 15 years, who found her calling as a healthcare administrator and advocate for military families. Trusting her skill set and honest communication with potential employers was her recipe to secure work life balance. She wants all military spouses to know they can do it too! Embrace Your Military Life Experience During her early years of job searching, Wykita often withheld that she was ..read more

Little Voices, Big Impact: How Military Children Drive Our Advocacy and Programming The voices of military children may be the smallest ones we hear in a military family, but they are a big part of the work we do. NMFA understands that Military Kids Serve Too® because we see it firsthand. We hear about their unique journey as military children and honor their courage and resilience. What exactly do we hear from these little voices? A whole lot of big feelings and thoughts, particularly when a parent is deployed. Little Voices Matter For Alexandra Garrido, an Air National Guard spouse and teac ..read more

Quality Of Life Panel Includes Several NMFA Recommendations in Report Released Today   NMFA stood alongside the House Armed Services Committee Quality of Life panel and a handful of our nonprofit partners on Capitol Hill on April 11 for the release of the panel’s recommendations for improving military families’ well-being. The panel, which was established in 2023, spent the past year meeting with military families and advocates from NMFA and other military service organizations to determine what legislative and policy changes are needed to support military families’ quality of life. Thei ..read more

NMFA Supports Military Kids in More Ways Than One Military Kids Serve Too® At the National Military Family Association, when we say, “Military Kids Serve Too!” we mean it.  More than 1.6 million military children tackle challenges unique to military life, learning and growing while they stand alongside their parents and guardians as they serve our country. These children represent all branches of the military, guard and reserve components, retirees, and veterans. They are a resilient community that serves our nation in more ways than one. While military kids do not wear military uniforms ..read more

DoD Policy Expands Access to Assisted Reproduction For too many service members, infertility caused by a service-connected illness or injury has made it impossible for them to build their families. The Department of Defense (DoD) covers some assisted reproductive services in cases of service-connected infertility, but eligibility has been limited. On March 11, it was announced that eligibility requirements will now provide greater access to families, but the policy could be better. Policy Expansion Prior to this announcement, the policy for assisted reproduction was limited to married service ..read more