MyCAA Grant- School Tuition

There is a program that many spouses haven't heard of, its called MyCAA. The basics of the program are you can get up to $4,000 to use for school or licensing. It is limited to $2,000 per calender year. You can only use it for certain programs at certain schools. It is also limited to E-5 and below and W1-W2 and O1-O2.

****As a reservist's wife you ARE eligible for the program ONLY when your spouse is on Title 10 orders and providing you meet the other guidelines,

One of the things I do with every deployment is take on a project it helps me stay sane. So with the last deployment I took some classes in photography through correspondence courses. Many of the programs are available this way, so if you have kids its still an awesome way to do something for yourself!

These classes could be for most associates level classes, and certification type of courses. It took a few weeks to get registered when I did it, I think the school slowed the process down some. MyCAA was wonderful at answering my questions and helping me understand the documents needed to get registered! I suggest you check it out.

Information from their website:         

The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) Program

is an employment assistance program that provides up to $4,000 of financial assistance to eligible military spouses who are pursuing a license, certification or Associate’s degree in a portable career field and occupation.

MyCAA Program Basics:

The MyCAA Fact Sheet explains:

• Who is eligible to participate in the MyCAA Program
• What MyCAA funding does and does not pay for
• How to establish a MyCAA Account
• How to provide feedback to MyCAA
• How to get additional information and assistance

Coping with Stress/Deployments

In light of the tragedies at Dyess Air Force Base, I felt like something needed to be posted. There is so much out there about: oh the FRG should have helped, someone should have checked on her more, etc. Maybe they should have, but it is a reality that we can be invisible if we choose to be.

The other component to that that I wanted to specifically address was this aspect for a reservist's wife. Often times we are not near a base, or it is not our branch so while they help us out its not the sense of community that you may get on active duty. FRG's are often not very active, or not from your area either which makes it even more challenging. Personally I know with my husbands first deployment, the FRG literately forgot i existed on a regular basis until I would call and ask for help on how to do something, or in the most extreme case how/where/when for homecoming!

I didn't want this just to be oh what a tragedy, oh its so hard for us post. I wanted to put out there information on where to get help if you should need it. I think it is wise to know *before* there is a problem what your resources are and how to access them.

~Military One Source~ 1-800-342-9647
This is a HUGE resource that is fairly under utilized. For this post I will focus just on Mental Health component of it, more later on a separate post.

Military One Source offers 12 free sessions per issue per counselor...so if you are having issues with your spouse that's one issue, but depression would be another issue. There are three different types, you can choose the one that works for you best. They offer: face to face, telephone, and online counseling. So if you need some sort of help but aren't ready to go to an office just yet there is this bridge. After 12 sessions then you would need to go to tricare.
FAQ's about the counseling!


~Tricare~
Again I'm a HUGE proponent of knowing whats out there before you have a problem, I'm also a planner. So one of the things I suggest for everyone is to go to Tricare's website and find a provider NOW. Just do it so you have someone already if you should find you need it. If you already have that provider in mind you might pick up the phone a lot faster than if you didn't.

Find a provider here!

You do NOT need a referral to seek mental health services regardless of your plan (Prime/Remote/Standard/Reserve Select) for your first 8 visits, so just pick up the phone if you need help. After those 8 visits your provider will seek out authorization to continue.

I do take my own advice, I found a provider that works for me, I went to their website and I bookmarked their page just so I have it.

~Battle Buddies~
Your husband probably has one why shouldn't you! Making friends can be hard but I highly encourage you to find another military spouse who has some idea of what your going through, it helps if you have kids if they also have them, or the opposite,  If you have kids you may be so overwhelmed you don't know which way is up, if you don't you may be very lonely. Everyone struggles at some point, your probably lying to yourself if you say you don't.  I lied to people all the time, its that whole keep your head up put on a strong face mentality, but the person that hurts is me!

Its also invaluable to have someone you can talk to. Many times your spouse was that person but as many of us know or have been told, we don't involve our spouses in those conversations anymore or as much because we don't want to distract them. So having someone just to vent with is priceless!


If I can think of anything else I will update this post but I think Knowledge is also power so I wanted to put it out there...
From Military One Source-

Quick Tips for Recognizing Depression

Depression can be very serious, but it is treatable. Here are some common symptoms:

• Persistent sadness or anxiety. Feelings of irritability, panic, or restlessness. Episodes of crying or tearfulness.
• Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, or helplessness. Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.
• Not wanting to leave the house. Withdrawal from friends and family.
• Loss of interest or pleasure in life. This might include loss of interest in sex or other activities that were once pleasurable.
• Changes in sleep or eating patterns. Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or sleeping too much. Sudden weight loss or gain.
• Decreased energy. Lack of energy or motivation
• Difficulty concentrating. Memory loss, difficulty making decisions.
• Persistent physical symptoms. These might include headaches, digestive disorders, or back pain.
• Alcohol or substance abuse.
• Thoughts of death or suicide. Contact a health care professional immediately if there are thoughts or talk of suicide. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at1-800-273-8255.If five or more of these symptoms persist for more than two weeks, it's important to contact your health care provider for an evaluation. Effective treatments exist.

Your Family Support Center can give you information and support on many issues that affect service members and their families. And Military OneSource, a free 24/7 service from DoD, available to all active-duty, Guard, and Reserve members and their families, provides information and referrals plus face-to-face counseling. Call 1-800-342-9647 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 1-800-342-9647 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or access www.militaryonesource.mil.  

Things Remembered ~Nominate your hero!

Do you know a military hero? Nominate a currently deployed member of the military to receive a gift this holiday season when they're away from home: http://bit.ly/TRNominate

Tricare Prime or Tricare Standard?

When your spouse activates for more than 30 days you have a decision to make, you will automatically be enrolled in Tricare Standard but then comes a very personal decision, do you stay with standard or enroll in prime? I have done both and I will outline both to the best of my ability from my experiences. The one thing to keep in mind is that with both of these you don't have t pay for the coverage monthly.

~Tricare Prime~

The main advantage to Tricare Prime is that there is no copays at the doctors/urgent cares/or emergency rooms and most medications. This is a HUGE advantage for many.

There is also no deductible!

-For me the drawbacks were if you lived within so many miles of a MTF (military base with medical, I think it stands for military treatment facility) then you will have to get a primary care doctor on base. You used to be able to go to the Tricare office on base and request to use your off base provider for "continuity of care" but I have heard from other spouses it is getting harder to get that.

-You have to have a referral for EVERYTHING. This also meant getting in and getting a referral for every specialist I was already seeing. (Tip-Take your medical records in with you, this makes this a lot easier as well as a word doc with all your docs names, practice names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers so you get referred to the right docs and all of them.)

-You also have to have a referral to go to Urgent Care, if you don't get one, Tricare may not pay, and I have heard this is happening a lot more often.

-I personally always found it really hard to get in for an appointment on base. So if you have a cough or cold or I had a severe ear infection, couldn't get in!


~Tricare Standard~

Flexibility! You don't need a referral for anything, and for me that is huge! I know a lot of women that choose standard when they are pregnant because they didn't want to be seen at a MTF and/or deliver there.

You also see all off base doctors. You don't need to rerefer for any doctor you are already seeing.

You can fill your prescriptions on base still if it is formulary and not pay the copay. I don't live that close to base but if I have several prescriptions I will detour near there and fill them.

Drawbacks of Standard-
There is no monthly fee, but you do have a cost share and a deductible. There is $50/$150 deductible depending on rank, per person in your family...up to $100/$300 per family.

You also have a cost share which means you pay a percentage of what Tricares payment would be. So if the doctor were to bill 1k, and Tricare pays $100, you pay a percentage of that $100. Its 15% I think. Always double check your Explanation of Benefits to make sure your ONLY being charged your portion of what Tricare is paying. I used drastic numbers to illustrate a point they aren't generally that drastic, but I have had doctors try to bill me the wrong amount before. When in doubt call tricare they are VERY helpful.

When talking about the amounts you pay it is important to weigh that you only pay at most $1,000 out of pocket for the family. After that everything is covered 100%, you may have to remind doctors or more often pharmacies that you have met your out of pocket therefore you owe nothing and they should call and check benefits again.

The fiscal year roll over in October, so that is when you deductibles and out of pockets restart every year.

The biggest thing with Standard, is if you go this route, make sure you know your benefits, stand up for yourself, and watch that out of pocket number!



Ultimately, Prime or Standard is a personal decision. My first deployment we went Prime, my second deployment I was seeing multiple specialists, so we went Standard, this time around we are on Standard now, but in October I am not sure what we will do. I prefer Standard but we are on a money saving kick, so I don't know if I want to spend the $1,000 because I do always get there and usually pretty fast.