Milspouse Friday Focus

The suspension of the MyCAA program continues to be the big news. As mentioned last week, spouses were appalled that they were not given any official notification of the unexpected turn of events. I think it’s fair to say that a high majority (if not nearly all) of the spouses found about the suspension through Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. To make matters worse, once the word was out on the street, officials in charge of the MyCAA program remained quiet for the critical first few days before finally issuing a statement. Unfortunately, it may have been too little too late as spouses had already taken matters into their own hands and contacted their congressional delegates and the press. What started as spouses talking to local press has exploded on the national scene as evidenced by a recent piece in The New York Times.

The latest MyCAA developments and resulting uproar have Congressman Sanford Bishop and Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers (co-chairs of the Congressional Military Family Caucus) drafting a letter to be sent to Defense Secretary Gates regarding MyCAA. They are encouraging spouses to contact their state representatives to sign on to the letter.

In other news, the aforementioned Congressional Military Family Caucus released a statement that they will be holding a Military Spouse Summit in Washington DC on April 23rd. They are looking for 50 military spouses to participate in the event and are accepting applications until March 26th. This is your opportunity to have a say. If you or someone you know may be interested, don’t wait too long before sending in your application; March 26th will be here and gone before you know it.

Every once in a while, we’ll seek to highlight a benefit that you may not be aware of. For instance, did you know that there are a handful of states that provide unemployment benefits for eligible military spouses who have to give up their jobs in conjunction with a permanent change of station (PCS)? To see if you may qualify, consult the following document compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are so many programs out there supporting military families that it’s difficult to keep up with them all. We’ll do our best to bring them to your attention.

If you find the information in these newsletters valuable, I hope you’ll feel free to share with friends. As always, if I’ve missed anything, I hope you’ll let me know.