By Amy Nielsen

I have a horrible habit of stalking the local real estate market. I love the house we live in. The property is beautiful. We have great neighbors and dear friends who live just a few miles away. The town has it’s quirks to say the least. But it’s the house we bought. As I have developed my path and envision my future and intertwined with that, my family’s trajectory, I know that we will not be in this house long.

We bought this property long before I started thinking about the path I am on now. When we purchased it I was of the mind that I would have different needs. As I have developed my vision of the future, I keep running up against the need for a dedicated space of my own with a teaching kitchen and space to do outside projects. It would have to be somewhere that the neighbors don’t mind a small business that occasionally smells funny or drums a bit into the night. It would also have to work as a home for us or have two buildings, one for the studio kitchen and one for us to live in.

Yesterday as we were finishing up our homeschool math camp at a friend’s house, she happened to pipe up that the house next door was just staged for sale. So being me and knowing that it was empty – you know you would too – I went and peeked in the windows.

It’s perfect.

Except that it has electric stoves. Cannot deal with electric stove, they will be propane. 

I need to reconfigure the teaching kitchen a little, but it has two full functioning kitchens – one in a room large enough to have a classroom kitchen and separate enough from the rest of the house to work in after bedtime, and not in the basement; the other is on the shared wall and is the through room from the studio to the house, a lovely division. There is a really nice functioning outdoor grill area with a permanent pergola. Fencing the back of the yard for a puppy play area would be simple, leaving plenty of the yard for kid play. There are even two well defined driveways so I could mark the studio entrance on the opposite side of the yard from the house entrance.

I couldn’t see in the garage/bungalow building, but the roof looked to be in good shape. I fully expect to have to build out a whole new building for this little studio anyway. This could be a bonus space for indoor classes. I have looked at several different buildings with much more grandiose plans in mind. As I have gotten farther along in my studies my plans have tightened and the space I feel like I need has condensed into a small studio from a large community center.

If I can figure out how to swing this place now before the season starts I can get advertising for the summer traffic. Our neighbors would be our dear friends on one side and another new family on the other side in a new construction house. That’s it, three houses on the street, tucked back behind in a little nook, right off the main drag in town. It has a full acre of land and woods surrounding it, owned by people we know. Our homeschool co-op meets in the same town – get this - within walking distance. There is a beautiful active library, a thriving private school should we need it, and even a well-stocked locally owned super market.

Most of our friends pass through this town at least once a week if not once a day. We have been feeling very isolated as a family living 45 minutes away from the majority of our tribe. It is equidistant from our current house to my husband’s job. In fact the trip is a little easier as it is a straight shot up the same road. It puts us in a better location to be reached on and off the major highways travelled by far flung friends who visit occasionally. Oh and if the garage/bungalow is what I think it is, we will have a whole guest house.

I need to explore the zoning in town, though I know many practitioners who work out of their homes in the community. The large and active integrative health community in town is a large part of why I want to base my practice there. Because of the other and varied modalities found, I think I can carve out my particular niche within it. I do something similar yet different enough, and if I have my own space to do it in, I can really run with my plans. Being part of an established business community would be a great benefit to building a practice of my own.

Did I just convince myself to buy a house?

That would mean prepping and selling this house quickly. I know the area the studio house is located in and it will go fast. If they have an open house this weekend, they will get offers. Of course this comes in the middle of my Master’s program, when I know we are moving into 12 weeks of traveling treatments for my daughter, multiple trips to prepaid events, and mud season.

I’d have to sell my RV to make the down payment and for that my eldest daughter may never forgive me. She is convinced that her first vehicle will be an RV. I do not for a second put it past her if it is even remotely within reach for her to accomplish. However, that doesn’t fix that we have several plans made this summer that involve travel with the RV. Not a hardship to change the plans as nothing is paid for yet, but still a radical change in familial direction and possibly expense.

I feel like I’m standing at crossroads. I have been complaining for ages that we are just too far away from where the action is. This would certainly put us squarely in the middle of the action. It is a thriving community with a great tax base and socially active and progressive thinking people. The town has fieldstone walls lining the streets and ancient trees. There is an active and growing integrative health community.

In my early morning fog, I think I even emailed the listing agent. I need to see this house. Today if I can.

It’s perfect.

Except electric stoves.

Will you have financial security if your retired spouse dies before you?

Nobody likes to talk about the worst-case scenario. But when it comes to retirement, it is a conversation that every couple should definitely have.

Most of us are familiar with life insurance. There are several different types, but in general a life insurance policy pays a lump sum amount upon the insured person’s death.

Every active duty military member is automatically enrolled in Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, commonly known as SGLI. But that insurance disappears when you leave the military. The “replacement” insurance – Veterans’ Group Life Insurance or VGLI – is a similar program.

It’s important to note that VGLI has no requirement for proof of good health or health screenings if you enroll within 240 days of separating from the military. Why is this important? Because many civilian life insurance providers will deny coverage to veterans with a high disability rating or certain health conditions.

The Survivor Benefit Plan is also another option offered to retirees. SBP pays the beneficiary up to 55 percent of the retiree’s pay – for life. Without it, a spouse or children of a retiree would receive nothing in terms of pay. Note: It’s a common misconception that retirement pay continues automatically to the surviving spouse upon the retiree’s death. Not true. Retirement pay stops immediately when the retiree dies.

A few things to note about SPB: A spouse must be present at signing if the retiring servicemember declines coverage, and there is only one very limited window to cancel once you sign up.

Whether to buy life insurance or increase your existing coverage, or take SBP, or some combination of the two, are hefty decisions.

We compiled a short list of (very) frequently asked questions to help you get started with this difficult conversation and wade through the options. We also enlisted Kate Horrell, a financial educator, coach and counselor who focuses on military families, to lend her expertise.

What is the difference between SBP and life insurance?

The answer to this one is pretty simple, although the two are very different products. SBP pays a monthly income to the beneficiary for life. Life insurance is a one-time lump-sum payment.

“If you want that lump sum to provide a stream of income, you will have to invest and/or manage it (or find someone trustworthy to do it for you),” Horrell said. “SBP pays a stream of income.”

Some people balk at the cost of SBP, which can be several hundreds of dollars a month for high-ranking retirees who choose the full 55 percent coverage. But Horrell believes SBP is “super cheap for what you are getting,” specifically because SBP includes annual cost of living allowances and the income continues for the life of the beneficiary.

What are some important factors to consider when purchasing life insurance?

Horrell advises that shoppers consider the stability of the company from which you purchase life insurance and the details of the policy (does it have a war clause, a suicide clause or other limitations that might be a factor in your situation. Also, she says, ask yourself how much coverage you really need.

Do I need life insurance?

The answer to this depends a lot on your personal situation, specifically if you have children or whether your spouse could support his/herself without it. It also depends on your own financial assets.

“There are lots of situations where someone may not need life insurance,” Horrell said. “If no one is depending on your income, you don't need life insurance. If your dependents have other sources of benefits or enough revenue to cover their expenses, you don't need life insurance.”

What are some of the most important factors to think about when considering SBP?

The same criteria from the above question – personal financial situation and family situation – also apply here. Also take into consideration the age of your children, if anyone in your family has special needs, and how much (if any) life insurance you have. Also consider what other streams of income surviving family members might have, and analyze how much more money (if any) would be needed on a regular basis.

Horrell says you should ask yourself these questions: “What does your family actually need, and how will their needs change over time? If you don't need the full amount of SBP for a lifetime, would an insurance policy ‘fill the gap’ appropriately and at a lower cost?”

Which should I choose – SBP or life insurance?

“In general, my advice for SBP vs. life insurance is that they are not an either/or question,” Horrell said. “They are very different products that provide very different benefits. A couple should analyze their needs and their thought patterns.”

Some people might feel most comfortable with a combination of the two. For example, Horrell said, a family might decide through their own needs analysis (or with the help of a financial advisor) to purchase a term life insurance policy in an amount that would cover a mortgage and college costs. The retiring servicemember might then decide to purchase SBP in an amount that would cover the rest of the monthly expenses, minus any other income sources.

“In my opinion, SBP is a better tool for a stream of income and life insurance is a better tool for fixed costs like mortgages and college costs,” Horrell said.

“In most cases, a combination of the two is a much better choice than one vs. the other.  SBP to provide long-term income, life insurance for shorter-term needs.

She advises those looking at their options to consider the “sleep-at-night factor.”

“What will help your survivors sleep at night? This is an emotional decision as well as a financial one.”

I am at a crossroads. I am in that strange space where I feel the need to determine where all this living and learning is leading. I find myself searching job boards collecting all manner of interesting looking posts. I’m searching Zillow for new houses in markets closer to far flung friends. I can’t decide if I am in exactly the right academic program for what I want to do when I grow up.

 Am I going to end up with the right alphabet soup at the end of my name?

Will anyone hire me to do what I am passionate about?

What exactly is it that I am passionate about?

Over the last three months I have had no less than three dear friends tell me I am a hot mess, in so many words. My friends are awesome. I mean that. How many of you have friends who will outright tell you that you are going through some serious stuff to your face? I love my friends.

Every single time, I have said with great enthusiasm, why, yes, yes, I am. Now, I am not saying this is a good thing. I didn’t say I said it with joyful enthusiasm, it’s more like intrepid enthusiasm. This chaos of redefining me is starting to feel somewhat like standing outside in an ice filled Nor’easter.

Searching among my political soapboxes and through the halls of academia, I am on the hunt for my thing, my specialness. That one thing I cannot help but eat, sleep, and breathe. What is that one thing that will keep me interested for a really long time? What is that one thing I can do that no one else can in just that way? That special thing?

I was raised to believe I could do anything I put my mind to. I could reach any height. Any avenue was open to me. I took to heart the bigger picture. I believe that everyone has a special talent and direction. But therein lies the rub. I wasn’t given over to any particular passions. I was too busy learning to be everything to everyone to figure out what made me tick.

What I missed was learning what my talent and direction are. I can do anything, which means I get paralyzed by everything. There are so many interesting things out there to learn about. I don’t know what I am really interested in or if what I am pursuing will speak to me tomorrow. I am exactly the middle and mean of all curves.

In school I have always been a B student, scoring well enough to be left alone academically. I can pass most classes I try and with more dedication could probably master subjects easily. I learn languages that I can read but never speak. I engage in material I find interesting but will stop when it goes beyond an intermediate level. I infuriate professors by sliding when I could fly.

I could be interested in any number of professional avenues. I am not averse to working with people and can work comfortably alone. I take direction but also can create direction. I have experienced lots of aspects of corporate and not for profit businesses. I have been a manager and a laborer.

Even in my hobbies, I tell everyone that I love your hobby eighty percent as much as you do, so go slowly with me. I am fascinated by how deeply passionate some people can get. I have acquaintances who are truly offended that I am not taking the leap into true fandom when I so clearly could.

Even in my physical stats, I am the exact median of height, weight, and body measurements. I wear the ready to buy size medium in all clothing – fit is another matter since those designers believe humans are Legos. I like most foods, I eat healthy eighty percent of the time and indulge in ice cream. My hair is neither blonde nor brown and my skin tone is neither rose nor olive. I even wear a size 8 medium shoe for heaven sake.

My chaos comes from feeling like I have to make a choice and determine a goal and career job title right now or I can’t proceed. If I can’t come up with a better answer to why I am slogging through organic chemistry again than because I have to know how my brain tells my body to seek out almonds when it is low in iron, then what am I doing spending this much money and time? Who, other than me, will this serve?

Why does this time have to serve anyone else other than me? Isn’t this exactly what we tell people to do? If you have the time to follow your interest down the rabbit hole – then do it? Live your passions? Find your dream? I am lucky enough to be able to do exactly that.

Then why do I have this overwhelming sense of guilt? This disconnect. This feeling of chaos. Because we also tell ourselves that if we are not productive members of society then we are not everything we can be. A productive member of society has a plan and a job. I have neither. Worse yet, I want neither.

As any good Nor’easter does, mine will play itself out, not without a certain amount of collateral damage and resurfacing of the planet. I am along for this ride I set myself up for. At least I set myself up for it and it is definitely my ride. Eventually it will come into a harbor. Until then I will follow my interests and see where they lead me. Who knows, I might find my special talent in the process.

On Jan. 1, 2018 the three current Tricare regions will combine to form just two regions, meaning military families may face delays in enrollment or be assigned new primary care managers.

Tricare members in the north and south regions will become part of the new Tricare East Region, managed by Humana Military. Members currently west region will remain in the west region, managed by Health Net Federal Services, LLC.

As the change takes place, Tricare officials said there will be a delay for Tricare Prime enrollments and changes to primary care managers while files are transferred to Humana Military. A new network provider locator is already available online at humanamilitary.com/east.

Any current referrals and authorizations that were scheduled to carry over into 2018 remain valid. Check your referral sheet to see if your authorization was valid through 2018 or if it expired in December 2017.

On Jan. 1, 2018, all EOBs, referrals, authorizations, eligibility and claims details will be available at humanamilitary.com

All military families must be enrolled in a Tricare plan in order for Tricare to pay for civilian care. Not sure if you are? Visit Tricare.mil/DEERS. You can also set up automated, monthly payments at humanamilitary.com to prevent an interruption in coverage.

Finally, in 2018 Tricare Select will replace Tricare Standard and Tricare Extra. If you are enrolled in Tricare Prime you will remain in Tricare prime.

Many civilian companies use December as a benefits enrollment period. This is a great time to compare your Tricare benefits with any civilian employment benefits your spouse or retired military member may receive to make sure you are not paying for coverage that does not add to your overall benefits.

By Amy Nielsen

I have the little black book that I started in culinary school. Get your head out of the gutter. It is my master recipe book. It’s a black heavy cardboard spiral bound thing, four inches by six inches with thick textured paper inside – like those sketch books angst-ridden teens carry around. This one has graph paper inside it and a sticker of the conch republic on the cover. That alone should tell you something about me.

On a left hand page in the last third of the book near the bottom of the page, are the recipes I need this week. My Mom’s stuffing, Alton Brown’s brine, and Chef Keith’s green bean casserole.

The book became somewhat infamous at school when several students approached me to make copies of it as we neared final exams. My master baking instructor did make a copy of it, marking it up with red pen penned errors. I don’t know where that copy went, and I never made the changes in the book – but I know what they are.

I have added my, and other, special recipes to it over the last 15 years. In the beginning I added recipes quickly. I added the best of the best from my classes in school. I added recipes I tasted in restaurants. I read everything foodie and would create something and plant it in the book hoping to use it to impress later. There are recipes for every day and for special occasions. Some I have never used again and some I use almost weekly – so much that I no longer need the reference I put down.

I would add anything that came to mind that I didn’t want to lose, my Mom’s chicken curry and dolmades were among the first recipes I added that didn’t come from school. I went through a cake making phase thinking I would eventually write a book and the back has several pages of recipes I developed, a favorite is a chocolate whiskey cake. Maybe I’ll make that one this week too.

For a while I was collecting flavor combinations rather than recipes and those pages read like an Avant-garde beat poem; radishes, peas, mint - foam. Then there are the shock value recipes; black squid ink pasta, with hot pink beet and ricotta filling served in neon green spring pea and parsley pesto cream or sweet apple aspic over orange and cherry cream cheese “salmon” complete with candied lemon slices and sugared parsley.

After school ended and I landed my first real cooking gig, I recorded information useful to a production kitchen. I have a great recipe for chicken pot pie for three hundred and fifty that requires ten gallons of milk and two pounds of roux. Need coq a vin for a hundred? I have that too. I also have the secret recipe to the most amazing cold curry chicken salad ever, dictated to me in Spanish by my head production cook - closed in the walk in so no one would hear us – and no – I won’t share it.

When I finally moved on to a new position and place in life, I started adding recipes for household meals. One pot wonders, casseroles, quiche, and quick fixes. I was a military wife and I was in the thick of home entertaining. Let me tell you, military spouses can cook the pants off of some very famous chefs I have studied.

There are recipes for spam musubi, kartoflesalat, kimchi, and lumpia. The most amazing collard greens I have ever had, a recipe from a white chick from Alaska by way of her Puerto Rican neighbor in Singapore. Recipes for ingredients impossible to find outside of the region; mango lassi from mango in the front yard, sassafrass root beer from the trees over the hedge. Delicacies from far flung hang outs; huli huli chicken, sausage gravy, and peanut soup.

Somewhere along the line I stopped being able to write on the pages. I have stuffed recipes in margins, on the bottom of half used pages, and even in the front and back covers. I began to add slips of paper with scribbles ratios and perhaps an ingredient list, rarely any method.

Sometimes I can decipher what I was squiggling and have rewritten a more full recipe out, though usually not bothering to transcribe it to a fresh sheet of paper. Other times, well, it took me three weeks with a slip taped to the cabinet door to figure out that it was for naan. There are clippings from magazines, printed pages, and cards handwritten by friends.

When I began my proper herbal studies, I started adding herbal remedies to the pile. Tonics and teas, formulae for spice mixtures and tinctures. I found a few notes reminding me of forgotten herbs and the occasional change in a long written recipe of an herb that might fit better.

These days it takes a lot to get into that book, both as a recipe and as a researcher. Somehow it has become more of a repository for memories than a place I search for recipes. I have Pinterest for that. This book is a place I go when I need to be reminded of where I come from.

I suppose I should start up volume two but somehow I just keep stuffing scraps of paper into this one instead. It looks more like a file folder than recipe book, with papers sticking out at odd angles and corners bent and fraying. It's held together by a straining silver spiral on one side and a fat hair tie - as is proper.

Maybe next year.

For some military spouses, finding a job at a new duty station may be the easy part. It is finding reliable, safe childcare that causes stress, worry and even panic.

Military childcare facilities on base fill fast. Waiting lists can be months long. And unfortunately when federal budget cuts are made, childcare is often one of the first perks to be cut.

Outside the gate childcare rates can soar far above the cost of placing your child with a provider on base. Child Care Aware of America works with the Department of Defense to provide child care fee assistance to military families as part of the Military Child Care Act of 1989. The program is designed to help offset the cost of child care for families who are unable to receive care on base.

Child Care Aware has assisted more than 10 million families and has a network of more than 10,000 licensed providers across the U.S.

There are different requirements for each branch of the Department of Defense to qualify for the program. To see those requirements, visit here:

http://usa.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/

The Navy and Air Force program also provide respite care for families that are enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member program. The Marines offers care for families of service members killed in action.

The eligibility requirements are included on the page for each service, as are the list of documents you will need to gather to apply. Fees are calculated on a sliding scale. Parents will be required to pay a portion of the cost and the remaining fee is paid through funds authorized by Congress.

The only other DOD agency that qualifies for the program is the Geospatial-Intelligence Agency whose employees can also apply for fee assistance. Currently no employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including Coast Guard members, are included in the program.

Instead, Coast Guard families may qualify for child care fee assistance under the U.S. Coast Guard Childcare Subsidy Program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Eligibility requirements and application pages can be found here: https://nfc.usda.gov/FSS/clientservices/Child_Care_Subsidy/subsidies/USCG/index.php

Need to know more? Call Child Care Aware before applying at 800-424-2246 (option 6).

Some of us plan military retirement from the very beginning, with our goals firmly set from day

one of the start of our military lives.

Others wait until 20 years later, when the last day of active duty is staring us straight in the

face.

No matter what path takes you there, retirement is a lot to digest. Among those thoughts that

might keep you up at night: Where will we live? How will we get jobs? Will we have enough

money? What about life insurance, health insurance and investments? How quickly will we

adapt to life in the civilian world?

Some would say never to that last question, and that’s one reason this column is here. To help

you, as a military spouse, plan for and navigate retirement, whether you’re two decades or two

days from that milestone.

Every other week we’ll dispel a lot of the many myths (or just downright misinformation)

floating around out there about military retirement. We’ll talk about things like the different

types of retirement, VA benefits, life insurance, the Spouse Benefit Plan, education benefits,

PCS entitlements and healthcare – just to name a few.

We’ll also look at what you can do to prepare yourself now for a career after military life, and

how you can jump start your plans no matter how far from – or how close to – retirement your

servicemember is.

To put things in perspective, here’s a snapshot of military retirees as of 2016, according to the

most recent annual Department of Defense Statistical Report on Military Retirees:

- Roughly two million current military retirees are drawing some sort of pay from DOD.

- Another 52,000 are eligible to retire this year.

- Nearly all live in the U.S., although when it comes to foreign countries Germany is the

most popular.

- More military retirees - 209,000 to be exact - live in Texas than any other state. Florida is

the next most popular state for retirees, followed closely by California and Virginia.

- Officers retire at an age of 49.6 years, enlisted personnel at 44.9.

- Most officers retire at the rank of O5 (not including medical retirements), while E7 is the

most common rank at retirement for enlisted personnel.

Feedback is always welcome. Feel free to comment with your questions, topics you’d like to

know more about or see addressed in the future, or your own personal experiences. You can also

email Jan Childs at janwchilds@yahoo.com.

By Salute to Spouses Staff

Halloween is becoming one of the top celebrated holidays in the workplace. A recent survey by National Today shows that 72 percent of U.S. employers encourage their employees to wear a costume to work for the holiday.

The day of candy and fun offers many workplaces a chance to build comradery and give employees a chance to get to know each other better.

It also could offer an opportunity for well-intentioned employees to offend their co-workers and their supervisors.

Planning to wear a costume to work for Halloween? Follow these guidelines:

1. If the costume impedes your ability to work, don’t wear it. Large, cumbersome costumes, or even those that have glitter falling off, could irritate co-workers, especially if it means you spend your day showing off rather than working.
2. Want to spend the day bonding with your co-workers rather than arguing? Avoid political costumes.
3. There is a fine line between funny and offensive. If you think you are teetering on that line, don’t do it. Even if a co-worker doesn’t mention that they find your choice offensive, it could cause hard feelings and make future joint projects difficult.
4. Keep sexy out of the office. The office Halloween party is no place for sexy costumes or revealing clothing. Make sure anything you wear sticks to office dress code.
5. You don’t have to wear a costume! Choose black and orange clothing, Halloween themed t-shirts, earrings and hair accessories work well too. While it’s great to have fun at the office, it’s not the best place to show off your craziest costume.

Tired of carrying around your husband DD214 forms to prove he is a veteran?

 Your veteran spouse can soon receive a veterans ID card. The Veterans Identification Act of 2015 ordered the VA to issue ID cards to all honorably discharged veterans for free. Recent reports say the cards will finally be available in November.

Currently a handful of states allow veterans to have their military service noted on their driver’s license. The new ID will be issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and is expected to include a photo, date of discharge and military branch.

The cards are expected to make it easier for former military members to receive discounts at local retailers and prove military service to potential employers.

The new ID cards do not give authorization for the veteran to access medical care, the commissary, PX or receive retired pay. The cards are nothing more than a means to identify an individual as a former military member.

The cards may also make it easier for veterans to have access to their newest benefit: shopping at the Exchange.

Earlier this year the military exchanges announced that all honorably discharged veterans would be allowed to shop at the exchange online stores. The benefit begins on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 with a test run of veterans who applied for the program through the exchange.

Officials said more than 60,000 veterans applied to be part of the test group. More veterans will be added to those ranks on a rolling basis until the program is unveiled for all eligible veterans. About 13 million veterans quality for the new benefit.

Want to know more ways to prove your veterans service?

The website, militarybenefits.com has outlined several options ranging from local ID cards to state issued letters. Browse the list below to see if your servicemember qualifies for any of these forms of ID:

State Issued Veterans Designation on Driver’s Licenses or Identification Cards – If you reside in one of the many states that currently offers a veterans designation on a driver’s license or ID card this is the easiest and best option that both government agencies and businesses universally accept.  The states require varying proof of veterans status so be sure to check with the DMV before applying.  Many will only require your DD214 but some states require additional documentation or will accept supplemental documentation to a DD214.  Costs be state range from free to about $15 although even if free there most likely is fee to re-issue a card if not already up for renewal. 

Free Veterans Identification Proof of Service Letter – Access and print a letter through the joint VA/DoD web portal, eBenefits which serves as proof of honorable service.

State Veterans ID Cards – Most states are opting to put a Veterans designation on a driver’s license or ID card.  Virginia, thus far, is one state that issues a separate Veterans ID card which can be obtained through the DMV.  This means you would have a driver’s license and a state veterans ID card.

County Court House  or Clerk Office Issued Veterans Cards  – Some Counties such as in New Jersey and New York have opted to provide county veteran ID cards until the states can begin offering.  Check with your local county courthouse or clerk office to see if they offer veterans cards.  These cards are not official but for the purposes of receiving discounts from businesses this should work.  This has been confirmed by many veterans.

Retired Veterans With 20 Years of Service Veterans ID – Retired veterans who have served honorably for more than 20 years can obtain an ID card on base by submitting a copy of their retirement paperwork and they will be issued a DD form 2 (blue colored) ID card. There are two types of ID cards issued to retirees. A DD Form 2A (Ret-Red) ID card is issued to “Gray Area” retirees (prior to retired pay eligibility), and a DD Form 2 (Ret-Blue) ID card is issued to a retiree who is actively receiving retired pay.

ID Cards for Eligible Family Members of Living and Deceased Retired Soldiers – DD Form 1172-1 (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card) is issued to eligible Family members of “Gray Area” retirees. A DD Form 1173 (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card) is issued to eligible Family members of a retiree. The same rules apply for the DD Form 1173 for Reduced Retirement Eligible Retiree Family members; their ID Cards will not have full medical benefits until the Sponsor is age 60.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Identification Card (VIC) – Also known as a veterans universal Access photo ID Card, many veterans are eligible for a VA health card and may not know it.  The VA issues IDs to anybody who needs to access a VA medical center and many businesses accept these as valid proof of service.

Veterans who may qualify:

• Veterans with a service-connected disability rating
• Served in combat or in a war zone
• Medical conditions incurred while in the service
• Location of service
• Served in theater of combat operations within the past 5 years
• Received a Purple Heart Medal
• Former Prisoner of War
• Receive VA pension or disability benefits

* This is not a comprehensive list and veterans should check with the VA to see if they qualify.  Many unique circumstances lead to qualification.

Service Organization Veteran ID Cards – Many national and local veteran service organizations provide ID cards such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion.  While this are not official government issued proof of id many businesses accept these cards as proof of military service.

By Amy Nielsen

October is a season of transitions. The Earth moves most noticeably into a darker time. The energy of the sun is significantly dimmer. The daily commute is now bookended with dawn and dusk, though not quite darkness yet. Vibrations move to a lower frequency after the height of summer - not so very long ago in August. A refreshing summer downpour is now a chilly fall drizzle. The smell of grass is replaced with that of leaves.

Fall has always been a special and difficult time for me. Until recently I have never been able to understand why. It was pointed out to me a few weeks ago that I don’t transition well. I like to plan and move from order to order. Transitions are messy. Things don’t quite follow the rules in transitions. It’s where the magic happens though. The magic is why I love this season. So, the following is my dedication to this most strange autumnal season we are experiencing.

“Seasons of change…”

Baring branches reveal nooks and crannies stuffed full of scavenged bounty. Blankets of leaves cover roots and twigs reaching up to snatch at pant cuffs. Houses so recently shrouded in deep shadows in the heat of the day now stand stark white against pine studded woods. After the heavy drenching humidity of summer, the crisp dryness opens the lungs to sweet wood smoke tinged with the last bit of skunk. It is not quite deep autumn but it is certainly not the thundering oscillations of September.

Or at least that’s the way it is supposed to be.

This year the expected shift is strangely murky. It feels like someone left the shower on hot and you walked in just after the steam. But it smells wrong for it to be this hot. I can’t wear my hoodie without sweating. Forget cute little boots. I want to be in shorts and a cami. I keep forgetting to make dinner until it is way too late. Dusk says it’s five o’clock and time to start dinner, but my skin says it’s more like three o’clock.

I’m waking at 4 a.m. in a full-on drive to work hard on something, anything. But once I get going I can’t concentrate. I lose it somewhere around the twinkle of the dawn star. The magic that permeates everything feels a bit out of kilter. Like somehow the universe is canted at an angle and atoms are sliding off s-rings.

I have felt this shift happening over the last few years. Most especially the year of “Sprinter” - 2015 when we had virtually no snow and exceptionally high temperatures. It was at that point that I noticed that everything was happening three months late. The march has continued along a pace slowly but surely reaching fingers into other seasons with unexpected snow storms in May and 80-degree days in mid-October.

I’m not quite sure how to process this mess we seem to find ourselves in. This sticky sweat seems to drip off every sentence along with so many beads off my water bottle. Emotions are running high and deep and so fast that it takes a lark to catch the mood. We gathered our harvest from summer yet the forsythia has started to bloom again.

This transition time is often fraught with turbulence. The cracks seem to grow as the energy of the world moves down to the roots. The reds and oranges of the newly turned leaves blaze a deep connection to the root turning the mind inward. Heart strings pluck as the light softens and mellows.

I feel the need to gather my loved ones in and have dear souls near my hearth. To make a space and place for each one. To give a piece of ground to them to hold to in the swelling chaos. This mixed up season of transition has the wild ones restless. Pulling seeds from my herb plants has become a ritual of gratitude.

It feels like someone is deliberately tuning in to static snow on an old tv. I can’t quite make out the picture on the screen and I hear three voices all speaking in tongues. Is this reality we are living in or some sort of strange, cast off screenplay from the early sixties, or maybe it was the mid-eighties. Times are universally stomach-wrenchingly, flipity-flopping.

This dissonance between the heat permeating where cold should be, storms when there would be calm, and building frequency at crosshairs with ebbing vibrations is unbearable. This tension is causing a friction like that of a tectonic plate and I feel the shift as heavily as Sisyphus and his rock. This theme of pushing against all odds, this hounding drive forward should be receding like the tide on a beach everyday a little farther away. Opening the expanse of glorious possibility before us.

As this autumn of transition rips through my reality, I wait in wonder for the time of winter, of seed, of deep cleansing whiteness shrouding spirit. Waiting and watching for the cardinal bursting in flight like a heart from a slingshot out of the evergreen shrub. He will be touch stone, the through line from these turbulent transitions in this most magical of times.

Sitting in October drenched in hot mist of decay. Holding fast for the penetrating freeze of deep abiding winter. Waiting for the first blush of springtime buds.

Have you ever noticed that spring is pink not green?