By Terri Barnes
Published: February 14, 2013
Jeremy Hilton has testified for congressional committees and written for Time magazine, but he’s neither politician nor pundit. He’s been interviewed by network anchors and the ladies on “The View,” but he’s neither business mogul nor movie idol. He’s not the frontman for a band, but he could be called a rock star.
Jeremy is an Air Force spouse and an advocate for military families with special needs, including his own family. He and his wife, Renae, have two children, Jack, 3, and Kate, 10. Kate has multiple disabilities.
By Terri Barnes
Published: February 8, 2013
Some people wait their entire lives to find their dream home. I’ve already lived in several.
At our first assignment in Texas, my husband and I lived in our first real house. It was my dream home because it had a fireplace. We didn’t have much furniture to put in it. And we used a rotary push mower, a gift from my grandfather, until we could afford a gas-powered lawn mower to cut the grass. It had a big backyard, a rectangle of concrete for a patio and even a grapevine.
By Terri Barnes
Published: February 1, 2013
U.S. troops are known to be brave in battle, but apparently the Pentagon is willing to let spouses clubs walk where even the Department of Defense fears to tread – on the uncertain terrain of integrating same-sex spouses into military life.
Since “don’t ask don’t tell” was repealed more than a year ago, gay and lesbian troops serve openly in the armed forces. However, their same-sex spouses do not have full military family status. DOD does not recognize same-sex marriage, though it is legal in several states. The Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law, defines marriage as only between one man and one woman, leaving same-sex spouses currently ineligible for military ID cards and most military benefits.
By Terri Barnes
Published: January 29, 2013
Ashley Broadway and other same-sex military spouses do not have military ID cards or family member status, because the Department of Defense doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. Ashley, like other same-sex military spouses, doesn’t receive military healthcare, moving or housing allowances or other similar benefits of being a military spouse.
Even so, she said the response she received when she first asked to join the Association of Bragg Officers Spouses was the first real discrimination she had experienced. The club’s leadership took two months to deliberate and first offered Ashley a guest membership, because she lacks a military ID. The club has since changed its policy.
By Terri Barnes
Published: January 29, 2013
Ashley Broadway asked about joining the Association of Bragg Officers Spouses back in November. Her request was met with an uncertain response from the group’s membership chairman, because Ashley, though legally married to a soldier, does not have a military ID card. She and other same-sex spouses are not recognized as military family members by the Department of Defense or the Army.
On Friday, the Fort Bragg, N.C., spouses club changed its policy and its initial offer of a guest membership to Ashley, saying their board wanted to support all military officer spouses with a more inclusive definition of spouse.
By Terri Barnes
Published: January 22, 2013
Armin Brott isn’t an active duty Marine anymore, but as a father, veteran, writer and radio personality, he is still fighting the good fight. He said he wages an “ongoing battle” to convince men that fathering is as important as mothering.
“Dads and moms do things differently,” he said. “We have this idea that moms are better, but we’re just different.”
By Terri Barnes
Published: January 14, 2013
Our family received an extra gift in time to welcome the New Year, one that gave us more than we expected. It came, like Christmas in Whoville, without ribbons, tags, boxes or bags – unless you count the luggage. There was a fair amount of that.
All three of our children were with us for Christmas, a gift we no longer take for granted. Then, after Christmas, we were reunited with two families from a previous assignment – and all their children.
By Terri Barnes
Published: January 9, 2013
Complaining about American Forces Network commercials is a popular sport for military families overseas, one that reaches its zenith about this time each year. As Super Bowl weekend approaches, the burning gridiron question is not about coaches or quarterbacks. It’s about advertising. Why must AFN viewers be deprived of one of the hallowed traditions of American sports: Super Bowl commercials?
Every year AFN, which provides American television shows for U.S. military audiences overseas, explains why donated programming and paid advertising are mutually exclusive. Every year, some viewers insist that for TV’s most expensive advertising venue, it just can’t be true. But it is.
By Terri Barnes
Published: December 24, 2012
Before I got married, my mom gave me a small three-ring binder. In it she had written down some basic recipes and family standards. She also included quite a few blank pages, which over the years have been filled with recipes. The now-faded blue notebook has become a culinary history of military assignments and friends.
The raspberry coffee cake I make every year on Christmas morning came from Heidi, who lived on our street at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
By Terri Barnes
Published: December 22, 2012
In “Taming the Fire Within,” author Anne Freund speaks conversationally to combat veterans of all eras, explaining the natural emotional and behavioral reactions to the many stressors of war.
Freund, a licensed clinical psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs is offering free downloands of her book to military members, veterans and their families at this link.
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