subordinate commands

Military Community Programs
      Our military communities provide a safe and healthy environment in which to live and raise a family and are clearly a key to retention. They enhance the livability and attractiveness of the military lifestyle and promote individual personal development and help families grown and learn. The Department provides social service, recreation and education programs wherever service members and their families are stationed. These programs mirror those found in civilian communities, and at the same time are tailored to the unique challenges of the more mobile military lifestyle.
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Family Support

      Family support is an integral part of the Department's strategy to maintain a ready force. Studies show family satisfaction with military life is a major determiner of retention. Often, family support is the lifeline for families in an unstable environment during deployments, frequent moves, and long work hours. The stresses of the military life require an ongoing commitment to families' quality of life.

           The Department's new strategic plan for family support redefines family programs into three key functional areas: Family Well-Being, Economic Well-Being, and Children and Youth. This new model and philosophy for family support will integrate services and resources, enabling commanders to address emerging issues with a more flexible organization focused on achieving a common outcome - the well-being of troops and their families. The mission becomes clearer for service providers as the barriers of program lines and responsibilities merge to reach this common goal.

           FY 1998 saw technology play a larger role in all family support areas. The number of publicly accessible, Military Assistance Program (MAP) Web sites grew to five. The MAP/Family Center Intranet, a password-protected Web site for family support staff, received the Vice President's Hammer Award.
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DoD References

Army Links

Air Force Links

Family Well-Being

      DoD addresses family well-being through a community network of interrelated programs that includes the Family Advocacy Program, the New Parent Support Program, Mobility/Deployment Assistance, and a variety of family service functions, e.g. Information and Referral, Crisis Assistance, and Life Skills Education.
     
      A particularly important area of family well-being is the reduction of family violence. Both the total number of family violence incident reports and number of substantiated reports have declined 12 percent from FY 1995 through FY 1997. The Department continues its efforts to prevent child and spouse abuse through the Services' public awareness campaigns, support for new parents, and by providing services to support of at-risk families. A recent evaluation of the New Parent Support Program found significant reductions in a number of parent-child risk factors. Finally, to improve abuse identification and training about abuse in DoD's schools, a CD-ROM-based training program was fielded to all schools. This training will assist DoD Education Activity teachers and administrators in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
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DoD References

6400.1 6/23/1992
DoDI 6400.3 2/3/1989

Army Links

Air Force Links

Economic Well-Being

     Economic well-being must address the personal financial management skills of a young military population, spouse employment, and military separation and transition issues. Some service members, like many civilians, experience difficulties in managing their personal finances. In response, the Department fielded 11 modules of an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM-based course in personal financial management. The course targets the Services' 611,981 junior enlisted members (E-4 and below). It also offers valuable information for members of all ranks and ages. For example, the relocation module projects the nonreimbursable costs of a military move, as well as entitlements, allowances, and benefits. These costs and benefits affect every military member who makes a change of station move.
     
      Two major economic well-being projects for spouse employment reached key milestones in FY 1998. First, a demonstration project provided classes on computer, clerical, and health-related job opportunities to over 500 military spouses at ten locations worldwide. Second, a Small Business Administration project graduated 74 spouses in Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego, California, from courses on the skills needed to start or expand a business. Future DoD spouse employment efforts will focus on using technology to enhance business and career opportunities.
     
      Transition assistance remains one of the Department's most valued economic well-being programs. Through FY 1998, separating service members used DoD transition assistance employment services 401,175 times. The military departments sponsored more than 700 job fairs, which were attended by more than 170,000 service members and their spouses. DoD sponsored overseas job fairs in South Korea, Japan, and Europe for transitioning service members, DoD civilians, and family members. Some 4,008 job seekers attended the overseas job fairs, which produced 823 firm job offers and 325 hires.
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Army Links

Air Force Links

Children and Youth


     
      This functional area encompasses the Child Development System, youth programs, and Special Needs programs. At the end of FY 1998, 171,255 childcare spaces at over 300 locations met 58 percent of the need for DoD childcare services. 9,700 family childcare homes and more than 800 child development centers and school-age care programs comprise DoD's childcare network. The Department's reputation as a marked world leader in delivering childcare has placed DoD in a leadership role for the nation. President Clinton challenged the Department to share its childcare expertise with the nation. In FY 1998, DoD met that challenge by establishing the National Clearinghouse for the Military Child Development Program (MCDP), strengthening partnerships with federal agencies, and activating a Military Family Resource Center web site. The roster of the Clearinghouse speaker's bureau includes 130 childcare professionals trained to speak at national conferences, universities, local interagency councils, and community organizations. To ensure national outreach, the MCDP Web site features 46 downloadable documents, information from Service headquarters and installations, and a directory of child development programs. The site has averaged over 6,000 hits per month since its activation in May 1998. Local leadership efforts led to a partnership between the District of Columbia and 12 local bases to allow District childcare workers access to military childcare training, resources, and mentoring.
     
      President Clinton's March 10, 1998, executive memorandum on federally sponsored childcare directed all federal childcare centers, including those of DoD, to achieve independent accreditation by 2000. To date, 86 percent of all eligible DoD centers have earned national accreditation. This far surpasses the national levels of 5 to 8 percent and easily leads the federal effort. In FY 1998, the Department conducted a thorough study of the cost of its childcare program to identify means of expanding the availability of childcare while maintaining costs. The Services' annual budget submissions will ensure funds are available to achieve DoD's goal to meet 65 percent of childcare need by the year 2003.
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DoD References

DoDI 6060.2 1/19/1993
DoDI 6060.3 12/19/1996

Air Force Links

Other Links

Youth Programs

     
Youth programs follow the life cycle of military children. Worldwide, 547 youth facilities at nearly 300 locations serve approximately 748,000 youth, 6 to 18 years of age. DoD youth programs feature before- and after-school programs, summer camps, youth sports and recreation, and classes. In response to concerns about youth gang activity and other issues related to adolescents, DoD, in coordination with the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, conducted a Strategic Planning Conference on Youth. The conference brought together DoD stakeholders and decision makers to create an action plan that expands the focus of youth programs to include a more comprehensive vision of the needs of today's youth. Two major youth initiatives were completed in FY 1998: Model Communities and a very popular Military Teen Web site. An initiative that funded innovative programs aimed at decreasing the risk taking behaviors of military adolescents, Model Communities Project, completed its final year with 17 of the original 20 projects completing the three-year evaluation. Projects focused on prevention strategies such as after school activities, teen jobs, conflict resolution, and parenting programs. At sites where increased activities were provided for at risk teens, the rates of juvenile misconduct decreased and the number of juvenile volunteer hours increased. A new Web site for military teens, Military Teens on the Move, focuses on relocation, schools, careers, and staying in touch. This site quickly became DoD's most popular family support Web site, recording over 90,000 hits in its first two months.
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DoD References

DoDI 6060.3 12/19/1996
DoDI 1015.9 10/31/1990

Air Force Links

Morale, Welfare, and Recreation

      Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs include fitness centers and gymnasiums, recreation centers, libraries, youth centers, sports, outdoor activities, and other programs normally found in civilian communities. These programs are funded, like those in downtown communities, through taxpayer support. MWR also consists of business enterprises, such as golf courses, clubs, and bowling centers that are essentially self-sustaining through fees and charges. Taken as a whole, MWR programs help maintain readiness and productivity by promoting physical and mental fitness, esprit de corps, positive leisure time opportunities, and a strong sense of military community, aiding in recruiting and retention, and providing beneficial quality of life.     
     
To position these programs to continue to provide strong community support, the Department has engaged in the following strategic goals:
  • Modernize and upgrade MWR programs, with an immediate focus on physical fitness and library programs;
  • Ensure that MWR programs are funded with the right levels and types of funds;
  • Improve MWR program management;
  • Continue robust MWR support of deployed forces.
     A major goal within the Department is to modernize and upgrade MWR programs and facilities. Fitness centers and libraries not only rank as the top MWR programs, they are also the programs used by most people. A recent survey of DoD fitness facilities found that 24 percent of 576 facilities were in excellent condition; however, 22 percent are in poor condition requiring renovation or replacement. Recently, the Department launched "Operation Be Fit", a special initiative to improve fitness programs and increase individual participation in fitness activities. The Department is developing standards to guide programs and facilities and has provided campaign awareness materials to installation programs. Additionally, the Services supported improvement in fitness facilities with facility renovations, equipment upgrades, increases in operating hours, and development of Service-specific operating standards. Finally, DoD plans to include a request for over $63 million for fitness construction in the FY 2000 budget.     
     
     As warfare becomes increasingly technical, continuous learning for service members takes on greater importance. Libraries form an essential part of the Department's educational infrastructure. DoD operates 595 general base libraries and provides library services aboard 330 ships and submarines. Libraries provide materials to enhance professional military and voluntary education programs, assist career transition, and facilitate leisure time reading and support family activities. They also function as community resources. To ensure that libraries keep pace with modern needs, the Department is developing standards for operation and a strategic plan to guide library development.          

      DoD desires to improve MWR program management. MWR programs are arranged in three categories: Category A - mission sustaining activities, Category B - community support activities, and Category C - revenue generating activities. They receive appropriated fund support based upon their relationship to the military mission. In 1995, the Department established funding standards to ensure an adequate appropriated fund base for these programs. The military departments have made steady progress in achieving these standards. MWR accounts increased overall by $80 million in the FY 1999 budget.

      To ensure that program management encourages efficient operations of the program for future improvements and changes, the Department is in the midst of evaluating the results of the congressionally directed Uniform Resource Demonstration (URD) Project. This project allows appropriated funds authorized for MWR programs to be spent using the laws and regulations applicable to nonappropriated funds. This test was conducted at six installations. While the evaluation of the URD test is under way, the Department has initiated an interim MWR funding practice similar to URD called the Utilization Support and Accountability practice. Under Utilization Support and Accountability, nonappropriated fund instrumentalities provide MWR service on behalf of the government using nonappropriated fund procedures. Appropriated fund resource managers compensate the instrumentalities for costs incurred.

     DoD is committed to continuing robust MWR support for its deployed forces. In Bosnia, for example, the Services deployed weight and fitness equipment, libraries, games, and recreation activities. They also provided top-name entertainment shows, first-run movies, and food and retail services. Both military and DoD civilian MWR specialists deployed to organize and manage these extensive operations. Similar improvements in the quality and availability of MWR fitness, movies, and recreation programs are being achieved aboard all deployed Navy ships.
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DoD References

DoDD 1015.1 8/19/1981
DoDD 1015.2 6/14/1995
DoDD 1015.6 8/3/1984
DoDD 1348.19 5/12/1989
DoDI 1000.15 10/23/1997
DoDI 1015.10 11/3/1995
DoDI 1015.13 6/17/1998
DoDI 7000.12 5/27/1987
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation

Army Links

Navy Links

Air Force Links

Commissaries

     The Commissary (http://www.commissaries.com/) is another benefit available to Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve, Retirees and their families. Shopping at the commissary can save a family 30 percent or more compared to shopping at civilian grocery stores. The signing of the 2004 Defense Authorization Act last fall, gave members of the Guard and Reserve, authorized family members, and “gray area” retirees (those under the age of 60) unlimited commissary shopping privileges. To shop in the commissary, Guard members or their immediate family members need a valid military ID card.

     To find the commissary nearest you, visit the Defense Commissary Agency web site at http://www.commissaries.com/.

      The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of nearly 275 commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of 30 percent or more on their purchases compared to commercial prices – savings worth more than $2,700 annually for a family of four. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
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DoD References

DoDD 5105.55 11/9/1990

Military Exchanges

      Today's exchanges form an important element of the military non-pay compensation package and a critical component of quality of life. There are three separate exchange systems: the Army and Air Force Exchange System, the Navy Exchange Command, and the Marine Corps Exchange. Exchanges not only benefit authorized patrons by providing the goods and services that military families want, they also have contributed to quality of life programs by distributing more than $2 billion to sustaining crucial MWR programs over the past ten years. To sustain and improve the exchange benefit, the Department, with the concurrence of congressional oversight committees, amended the regulations to permit exchange systems to expand merchandise assortments to better meet demands. A task force examined the merits of creating an integrated exchange system. This initiative identified potential opportunities to standardize systems and programs and to reduce costs and overhead. The study to determine the best means of realizing these benefits, while preserving the value of the exchange benefit for service members, is scheduled to be completed by April 1999.
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DoD References

DoDD 1330.9 12/15/1986
DoDD 1015.5 10/11/1983

Religious Ministries

      Service chaplains ensure the free exercise of religion for all service members and their families. They provide and facilitate religious ministry, worship opportunities, pastoral care and counseling, religious education, and emergency and sacramental ministrations, in accordance with their respective ecclesiastical endorsements and in direct response to the religious rights and needs of service members.

      Integral to the life and work of military communities, the chaplaincy works in close coordination with family support, medical, and quality of life programs. Chaplains are the primary advisors to the military commander in the areas of religious, morale, ethical, and quality of life matters. The chaplain places special emphasis on ministry of presence. The chaplaincy does this as an embedded and integral part of the operational structure and through full and continuing participation in Service global deployment schedules and commitments.
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Off Duty/Voluntary Education

      Counseling, testing, and degree programs are available at education centers on nearly 300 military installations around the world. In addition to classroom instruction, courses are available using various technology-supported modes of instructional delivery. Service members receive financial assistance to cover up to 75 percent of tuition costs. A DoD-wide tuition assistance policy was implemented for the first time in FY 1999. This uniform policy will ensure that all service members receive the same level of tuition assistance support. Participation in this program remains strong, with nearly 650,000 enrollments in undergraduate and graduate courses and 33,500 degrees awarded during FY 1998. The Services continue to support this important program. An additional $7.4 million is included in the budget for FY 2000.
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DoD References

DoDD 1322.8 1/6/1997
DoDI 1322.25 2/5/1997
DoDI 1322.9 10/16/1995

Off Duty/Voluntary Education Home Page

Department of Defense Education Activity

      The DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) operates schools overseas and on military installations in selected areas in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territory of Guam. For school year 1998 to 1999, DoDEA operates 161 schools in 14 foreign countries, serving approximately 80,000 students overseas and approximately 35,000 students in 70 schools and 17 districts in the United States.

      The DoDEA Community Strategic Plan provides an evolving framework for putting standards-driven reform in place in DoDEA. Through goals, benchmark strategies, and performance indicators, the plan established rigorous standards for DoDEA that will inspire and prepare all students for success in a dynamic, global environment. DoDEA's plan is in its third year of implementation and incorporates eight National Education Goals, two organizational goals to support teaching and the learning process. Benchmarks were created for each of the ten goals to determine desired levels of outcomes. Improvement efforts realized through the strategic plan are producing positive results.

      Education is a national priority, and DoDEA supports the President's national education agenda.. Specific actions focus on improvements in teaching, student achievement, facilities, accountability, and technology. Some specific DoDEA actions include:

  • Technology. Technology continues to receive a major emphasis in DoDEA to facilitate implementation of the Presidential Technology Initiative worldwide. Funds continue to support increases in hardware and software applications to ensure that students are computer literate and well prepared for the information age and that all schools are connected to the Internet.
  • Facility Improvements. DoDEA has developed a long-term plan to address current facility deficiencies in both stateside and overseas schools with military construction projects in FY 2000 and future years. FY 2000 projects include Rota Elementary School, Feltwell Elementary School, Lakenheath Middle School, Tarawa II Elementary School (Camp LeJeune), and Andersen and Laurel Bay II Elementary Schools (Guam), for a total requirement of $84.3 million.
  • Gap Study. Through the process of accountability, DoD identified gaps in achievement among racial and ethnic groups. DoDEA has identified 16 schools that are farthest from meeting the benchmarks and has identified four critical areas that require intensive review: equity, family-related issues, student-related issues, and curriculum and instruction.
  • Safety Attendants. With world events playing a major role in the safety of Americans stationed outside the United States, DoDEA established a special committee to review the need for safety attendants on school buses in the most hazardous traffic locations. This committee will provide recommendations during FY 1999.
  • Military Community and Parental Involvement. DoDEA is committed to including stakeholders in decisions and in promoting partnerships that increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. The School Home Partnership is a plan of action involving the military command, organizations, and groups throughout the military community in the education process.
  • FY 2000 Budget. The President's Budget for FY 2000 supports continued work toward improving the quality of education in accordance with the National Education Goals and DoDEA strategic plan. The President's Budget includes funding to begin implementation of full-day kindergarten in overseas schools and reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in grades one through three. It also provides for a pilot summer school program. These initiatives respond to program priorities identified by the commanders in chief and support the President's educational priorities.
  • Guam. DoD schools in Guam improve perceptions of quality of life for military families assigned there on Guam.
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DoD References

DoDI 1342.11 5/19/1982
DoDI 1342.12 3/12/1996
DoDD 1015.5 10/11/1983
DoDD 1342.13 7/8/1982
DoDD 1342.16 10/16/1987
DoDD 1342.21 10/13/1992
DoDD 1342.6 10/13/1992
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