Guard and Reserve families shoulder a great burden.

When most of America thinks of the military, we tend to think of active duty troops. We picture the men and women who serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. These troops are stationed at military bases.

But there are other families who also serve. They are scattered throughout almost every single city, town and community in our great nation. Yet you might never know it.

This is the National Guard and Reserve.

The National Guard is the oldest military branch, having been founded in 1636 so that colonial settlements might be defended against aggression. Those who serve in the Guard are, by design, citizen soldiers. They hold regular jobs and may live far from military bases. Famously, they train for two days a month.

Every branch of service also has reserve troops. Many service members join the reserves after serving on active duty. Other reservists join the reserves directly.

Those who serve in either group may be called to active duty and serve on deployments or extended trainings.

There are challenges to being in the Guard or Reserve.

First, these military families are often living far from active bases. That means that we have

families living far removed from commissaries, military medical centers and others who understand the challenges of military life.

Medical

One of the biggest issues for Guard and Reserve families can be medical care. Active duty personnel and their families are enrolled in Tricare. They can receive medical care at military treatment centers at no cost, or opt into a heavily subsidized plan similar to traditional health insurance. However, Guard/Reserve families only receive these benefits when their service member is on active duty.

So Guard/Reserve families must purchase private health insurance either through a civilian employer or independently. To receive insurance through Tricare once on active duty, dependents must enroll online or with a form. Without completing enrollment, no health insurance benefits can be used. Raquel Derrick found this out the hard way.

“It took me a while to figure out Tricare,” Derrick said. “In fact, I didn't realize that I had to enroll. I kind of thought it was all handled by the unit. I ended up having to wait a month for the insurance to kick in. Luckily, we still had insurance from my husband's employer, but otherwise I would have been without insurance for a while.”

Away from a base, there are few health care providers who know about or accept Tricare. “Because we are far from any bases, not a lot of people have Tricare and not a lot of providers know how to handle it,” explained Derrick.

The billing process can be complicated, too. Unless Tricare is the only insurance, it is automatically billed as the secondary insurance. If families are unable to find providers to accept Tricare, they could be stuck with a larger portion of the final bill.

All of this can limit care options.

Schools

Guard and Reserve families often fly below the radar. You might have a family on your own block who serves their country, and not ever know it.

This is true for schools, too.

Teachers could have students in their classroom dealing with deployments, parents with service-related injuries or working through other military concerns. All of these things can affect a child’s emotions, motivations and behaviors. Since children spend a majority of their waking hours in school, all of this trickles down into the classroom.

Schools are often unprepared to help children working through military related issues.

Beyond that, many children move as a result of a parent’s deployment. Those in single parent homes might be relocated to a relative’s home. Or a stepparent may be legally responsible for children in their biological parent’s absence.

Derrick also was caught in this situation.

(The school) didn't want to work with me directly, so every request had to be sent by my husband from the Middle East,” she elaborated. “One time, the boys, who were six and eight were allowed off the bus when their mom wasn't even home.”

When other concerns came up, Derrick had to follow the same routine: write a letter to her deployed husband and have him send it. This caused services to be delayed for her stepsons.

“In addition to feeling like he shouldn't have to be put in the middle of the stress going on at home, which we frequently try to insulate our spouses from during deployment, I also found it frustrating because I'm the one home with the kids seeing how these traumatic events are manifesting in them,” Derrick said. “I could have dealt with the situations in real time instead of over a period of days between time changes and scheduling.”

Support

Military spouses and families rely on each other to get through the same time. But often Guard and Reserve families do not have this support. Even within one unit, families might live far apart from each other. Or individual members might be activated outside of their unit and assigned to a different unit for deployments.

Emily Lantz encountered this difficulty firsthand.

“The biggest thing is support during annual training or deployments can be hard to come by,” Lantz commented. “Most units have an FRG (family readiness group). I know for the guard they are required, but how active they are depending on each individual unit. I was FRG leader while my husband was in command and it was difficult to find volunteers or hold events because everyone is so spread out.”

The small size of units and the trainings that lead up to deployments can compound the lack of support and impact on families.

“Because it was such a small group, there wasn't a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding the deployment to make the surrounding communities aware,” said Derrick. “There was no sending off or organized homecoming for the families. I didn't have any local military spouse friends, so these were civilians. I think I held a lot in because I didn't think they would understand.”

Guard and Reserve families shoulder a great burden, and are often underappreciated.

As supporters of our military, we can help. Reach out to your local Guard or Reserve units, or even contact the closest military base. Ask what these units and families need, then be ready to step up and help. You could volunteer to help organize a proper homecoming, or spend time with military kids at schools. It could even be as simple as a thoughtful note or card, expressing your thanks for their service.

We must not forget our Guard and Reserve troops or their families. Kids of America’s Heroes can help.

Meg Flanagan M.Ed and K.O.A.H. Military Education Specialist

I'm a teacher, blogger, writer, runner, mother, and military spouse. I am passionate about helping ALL children learn, offering tips to guide parents through the K-12 education world, and providing useful advice to teachers of all ages and stages.Visit Meg's Blog at MilKidsEd.com

#BoyScoutsandGirlScouts #Christmasforthechildren #Clothes #CommonCoreStateStandards #Deployments