Drill Pay Featured Article

IT'S A LOT MORE THAN DRILL PAY; IT'S A MILITARY LIFESTYLE

There's a lot more to being in the military Reserves than just a few weekends per month in training and two weeks per year in active service.

When you serve in the National Guard and Reserve units, you receive Drill Pay - money earned while training on weekends and during full-time training events. But those committed to the Reserves and National Guard earn a good deal more: they share in a military lifestyle, facing family challenges similar to those of other military service branches - risking inury or death, feeling the pain of family separation, and more.

Today's National Guard and Reserve units are well respected members of the military. Inasmuch as they contribute to overall military readiness, today's National Guard and Reserves need family readiness programs to enhance community closeness and provide care for military children and spouses of those deployed in National Guard and Reserve units.

For example, in 2010, military readiness support programs created to support the families of deployed Reserve and National Guard units included:

• Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing at Newington, N.H., personally contacted every deployed member's family at least once a month., and developed a resource guide with a list of community members ready to aid families with everything from plumbing and electrical needs to child care and pet care.
• The Air Force Reserve's 439th Airlift Wing at Chicopee, Mass., linked with nonmilitary support agencies, such as the Red Cross, to deliver helpful information throughout the deployment cycle.
• The Army National Guard's 1484th Transportation Company at Green, Ohio, maintained morale throughout deployments with care packages and consistent family contact.
• The Marine Corps Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, at Bridgeton, Mo. family readiness team participated in a fund-raising event that raised more than $200,000 to aid injured Marines and their families.
• The Navy Reserve's SEAL Team 18 at Virginia Beach, Va., held a pre-deployment family readiness conference that also delivered critical resources to families.
• The Coast Guard Reserve's Maritime Safety Security Team at Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., family readiness and morale briefing included guest speakers, and welcome aboard packages for new families. Unit members established a blog to deliver current information to military families.

National Guard and Reserve family support programs and projects are characterized by a commitment to maintaining strong contact between family members including blogs to provide families with current news and information about their deployed service members; post-deployment reintegration for Reserve and Guard members; resource guides and volunteers for household needs and services; links to civilian support programs; delivering care packages; pre-deployment support; fundraising for the injured; and family morale boosting events.