Family Readiness

New Web Tool Helps Families With Special Needs

June 2, 2020
A new digital tool known as “EFMP & Me” is now available to help military families with special needs get personalized assistance and access to the information and resources they need. “The Department of Defense is committed to supporting our...

PCS Travel to Restart Soon to Some Locations

May 27, 2020
The Pentagon has lifted an order restricting almost all travel for service members and their families, replacing it with a new conditions-based plan to better match cities and states as the U.S. military slowly recovers from the height of the COVID-...

Military Takes Key Step Toward Improving PCS Moves

May 20, 2020
The Pentagon has awarded a $7.2 billion, multiyear contract to American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group as part of its efforts to improve permanent change-of-station moves for service members and their families, officials announced. The Global...

DoD Unveils New Safety Measures for PCS Moves

May 8, 2020
The military is putting in place increased safety measures to protect troops and their families as it prepares for peak moving season during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced May 6. The measures, effective immediately, were directed by...

Thaw Ahead for Frozen PCS Moves

April 21, 2020
The Army expects to slowly increase the number of soldiers allowed to move to their new duty stations as the service puts in place safety measures to protect the force during the COVID-19 pandemic, senior officials said. More than 48,000 soldiers...

Summer Moving Season Remains Uncertain

April 10, 2020
The fate of a normally busy PCS season remains uncertain for many soldiers as talks continue among military leaders about when permanent change-of-station travel will resume—and who will be prioritized—amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “We don’t...

AUSA’s Barron Joins Family Readiness Council

March 24, 2020
Patty Barron, director of Family Readiness for the Association of the U.S. Army, was sworn in March 24 as a member of the Defense Department’s Military Family Readiness Council. The swearing-in happened via teleconference because of coronavirus-...

Rule Change Gives Troops Priority for Child Care

March 10, 2020
Children of active-duty troops will get “priority access” to Defense Department child care programs beginning June 1, according to a policy change signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper. As a result of the new policy, some families may be bumped...

DoD ‘on Track’ to Improve Military Family Moves

February 27, 2020
Big improvements in accountability, transparency and quality from the companies that move household goods are on the way for military families who will be transitioning to new locations at the peak of next year’s moving season, a senior official...

Less Stress Is Goal for Exceptional Family Member Program

February 13, 2020
Improvements are coming to the Army’s Exceptional Family Member Program that provides educational and medical help to special needs dependents, said Col. Steve Lewis, deputy director of the Army’s quality of life task force. Testifying before the...