June 2014 1/34 ABCT Soldier Family Toolkit by 1/34 ABCT Family Readiness

SOLDIER & FAMILY TOOLKIT 1/34 ARMORED BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM Volume 27, June 2014

Free ACT Prep Page 6

Education Benefit Guide Page 7

Summer Camps Page 8

The College Issue 1

IN THIS ISSUE 3 BEYOND THE YELLOW RIBBON EVENTS & DEALS 6 ACT PREP 7 EDUCATION BENEFITS 8 YOUTH CAMPS 9 BOOK REVIEW 10 POST 9/11 GI BILL TRANSFER TIPS 11 HEALTHY MONEY HABITS 13 RESOURCE LINKS

The intent of this toolkit is to provide you with available events, deals, resources, and important information. Please take a few minutes to glance at these resources and visit a few sites!

HOME FRONT EVENTS & DEALS www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org Check out the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon website and sign up for exclusive email updates on monthly local Beyond the Yellow Ribbon events and deals. The Hero of the Game The St. Paul Saints and Hiway Federal Credit Union are teaming up for the second straight season to honor current and former military members during all 50 Saints home games in 2014. The Hero of the Game promotion allows Saints fans to recognize the men and women that serve our country. During each Saints home game the Hero of the Game will stand next to the National Anthem singer prior to the game and be recognized with an introduction. Then, during a select inning, the Hero of the Game will be honored as fans are told who the person is, what branch of the military they served in, and a little background information. The Hero of the Game will receive four free tickets to the game in which they are honored. If you would like to nominate a military member, past or present, please send an email to Director of Media Relations/Broadcasting, Sean Aronson at saronsons@saintsbasebell.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 9th Annual Ride for the Troops When: June 1, 2014 Where: Westridge Center, Bemidji About: Join the 9th Annual Ride for the Troops fundraiser in memory of Ken Donaghue. Start out with a pancake breakfast, followed by a noon ride, and end with the Hawg lunch. More Info: Flyer Trolling for the Troops When: June 5-6, 2014 Applications are due by April 15! Where: Camp Ripley Fishing locations: Mille Lacs Lake and Mississippi River About: All disabled veterans and any recently deployed Servicemembers who have served our country through the years, deserve a day on the lake. If this describes you, here's your opportunity to get a chance to fish with some of the best anglers in the Midwest! More Info: Application

LGBT Pride Month When: June 8, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Where: Cedar Street Armory, St. Paul About: Join the Minnesota National Guard in celebrating Pride Month as they host OutFront Minnesota, an agency leading Minnesota toward LGBT equality. More Info: Flyer Celebrating 75 Years of the Jewish Community Relations Council When: June 8, 5 p.m. Where: Minneapolis Marriott Southwest, Minnetonka About: The Diversity and Inclusion Office has offered to sponsor Servicemembers plus one guest to attend the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas' annual event: Celebrating 75 Years. More Info: Flyer Free Drop-In Legal Clinic for Veterans When: June 10, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Where: VA Medical Center, Minneapolis About: Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans invites you to participate in a free drop-in legal clinic for veterans. Attorneys, MACV staff, County Veterans Service Officers, and child support officers will be available throughout the day to assist veterans with questions, legal forms, and counsel. More Info: Flyer City of Trails 5K & Rock n'River 10K Trail Run When: June 14, 2014 Where: St. Croix Falls, WI About: Take the opportunity on National Trails Day to celebrate health, wellness, and physical activity with four great running/hiking events on trails. There's an enjoyable racing experience for any level of runner or trail enthusiast! More Info: Flyer Website

HOME FRONT EVENTS & DEALS www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org Check out the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon website and sign up for exclusive email updates on monthly local Beyond the Yellow Ribbon events and deals. 6th Annual Red Bull Military Appreciation Day When: June 15, 2014 Where: Central Park, North Branch About: This event is a community based military support festival filled with many fun, family friendly activities. There will be a military vehicle and memorabilia displays, car show, silent auction, kids activities, food, military and veteran support orgainzations, and much more. More Info: Flyer Salute to Service Women - Golf Classic When: June 17, 2014 Where: Prestwick Golf Club, Woodbury About: Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) is hosting Salute to Service Women, a golf tournament to remember, recognize, and honor the service of our women veterans. Golf outing proceeds will go to MACV, a nonprofit social service organization that helps veterans and families throughout the State of Minnesota. More Info: Brochure Flyer Free Drop-In Legal Clinic for Veterans When: June 19, 2014, Anoka County Government Center Flyer When: June 24, St. Cloud VA HCS Flyer When: June 26, Fillmore County Office Building, Preston Flyer About: Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans invites you to participate in a free drop-in legal clinic for veterans. Attorneys, MACV staff, County Veterans Service Officers, and child support officers will be available throughout the day to assist veterans with questions, legal forms, and counsel. The Minnesota Military Teen Panel Presents: "Ohana" 2014 MN Military Teen Summit When: June 22 to 24, 2014 Where: Metro Area Hotel About: Calling all military teens to come and be a part of Ohana!! Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind, just like you! Come and listen to a national speaker, participate in leadership workshops and a service project and have fun connecting with other teens whose family members are in the military. More Info: Flyer Registration

Hugo Hamburger Night When: June 25, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Hugo American Legion About: Yellow Ribbon Volunteers will be serving up hamburgers and french fries at the Hugo American Legion every fourth Wednesday of the month. More Info: Flyer What We Stand For - LakesJam When: June 26 to 28, 2014 Where: Brainerd, MN About: LakesJam is hosting "What We Stand For" as a way to say thanks to Servicemembers and their families and friends. Receive 40% off tickets at their website using the promo code on the flyer. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Gold Star Family Weekend this August 2014 at Camp Ripley. Saturday night at the concert will include a special salute to the troops featuring Bret Michaels. More Info: Flyer Website 6th Annual Red Bull Motorcycle Run When: June 28, 2014 Where: North Branch American Legion Post 85 About: Citizens Supporting Our Armed Forces is hosting the 6th Annual Red Bull Motorcycle Run. There will be a breakfast buffet, silent auction, and refreshments available after the ride. Proceeds will be used to support shipping care packages to deployed troops. More Info: Flyer

HOME FRONT EVENTS & DEALS www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org Check out the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon website and sign up for exclusive email updates on monthly local Beyond the Yellow Ribbon events and deals. Freedom 5K When: July 4, 8 a.m. Registration 8:30 a.m. Start Time Where: Fairmont National Guard Armory About: Run, bike, or walk in the 2nd Annual Fundraiser Event for the Martin County Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. Gather the family together and take a trip around Lake Sisseton on the 4th of July. This event is free for military families. More Info: Flyer MN DEED Veterans Career Fair When: July 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center About: The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development are hosting a veteran's career fair. This free event will have employers with current job openings, college representatives, service providers who can assist with your employmentrelated needs, and much more. More Info: Website Operation Welcome Home When: July 11 to 13, 2014 (Military Families Retreat) Where: Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch, Stewartville About: Operation Welcome Home offers several faith-based retreats to provide encouragement, hope, and inspiration to veterans and their spouses and families. More Info: Flyer Wounded Warrior Project When: July 12, 7 p.m. Where: St. Thomas Ice Arena, Mendota Heights About: Help Minnesota's local military by supporting the Wounded Warrior Project with a game of hockey. More Info: Flyer Tween Overnight - Sleeping With the Wolves When: July 12-13, 2014 Where: International Wolf Center, Ely About: Military youth ages 9-13 can discover the resilience of wolves through hands on programs and teambuilding activities. More Info: Flyer

The 17th Annual Bataan Memorial March When: July 12, 9 a.m. Where: Brainerd Armory About: The 1st Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment (CAB) is proudly hosting the 17th Annual Bataan Memorial March. This event serves to commemorate all the individuals that endured the Bataan Death March in April 1942. More Info: Registration Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity - Military Veteran Exploration Session When: July 16, 12:15 p.m. or 2:15 p.m. Where: RSVP for location About: Have you ever dreamed of owning a home, but the costs seem too high? Well here is your chance for affordable homeownership! Join the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity for an all military veteran exploration session to learn more. More Info: Flyer Women's Equality Day When: July 20, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Hanger Conference Center, Little Falls About: Servicemembers, families, friends, community members, business agencies, organizations, and everyone else is invited to attend. This event will begin with a discussion on how far MN women have come in achieving equality and end with an interactive seminar focused on helping women overcome fear and build confidence. More Info: Flyer Jesus Christ Superstar When: July 31, 8 p.m. Discount offer expires July 17, 2014 Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul About: Jesus Christ Superstar, the global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for over 40 years, is reimagined for the 21st century as an arena rock spectacular. With over 50 cast and musicians on stage this is one arena show that can't be missed! Save up to $14.50 on select seating to this amazing show. More Info: Website

MN VETERANS EDUCATION BENEFITS CLICK BELOW FOR EMBEDDED PDF OR GO TO WWW.MYMILITARYEDUCATION.ORG

MILITARY YOUTH CAMPS Camp Gratitude A weeklong, rustic camping experience for military families with children between ages 5-11 who have experienced deployment in the past three years. The 2012 Camp Gratitude event will be held at the Veterans Camp Ground on Big Marine Lake. Because of increased popularity of the camp in recent years, it's recommended applications be submitted early. Dates: June 20 to 27, 2014.

This is only a portion of the wonderful opportunities that are offered to our youth! Be sure to check out www.beyondtheyellowribbon.org/youth-camps

Contact Laura 651-268-8695 or Moriah 651-268-8378 For any questions about Youth Programs and Camps!

Tween Overnights Military youth ages 9-13 can spend the night at the Minnesota Zoo and other fantastic locations to network with other military teens and learn how animals are resilient. Dates: July 12-13, Sleeping with the Wolves, International Wolf Center, Ely Aug. 22-23, Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley

Camp Onomia Extended weekend is a gift to families who have a parent serving in the armed services for our country. It is a tremendous opportunity for support and family fun on a weekend which celebrates our national heritage. Combined with prayer and worship in the Christian community that Onomia provides, this is a weekend you will come back for year after year. No cost for this weekend, donations accepted as you are able. Dates: July 2-5, 2014

Defending the Blue Line Youth Hockey Camps Nearly a dozen camps, located throughout the nation, are available for free or at a discount for military youth. The camps are one of many ways Defending the Blue Line ensures that children of Servicemembers are afforded every opportunity to participate in the game of hockey. Check the website for dates: http://www.defendingtheblueline.org/programs/camps/

Project New Hope Weekend retreat for veterans and their families to help them face the challenge of transition from war to civilian life. Choose from four different retreat locations in Minnesota, each nestled among woodlands, lakes, wetlands and wide-open spaces. Check the website for dates: http://www.projectnewhope.net/locations/USA/Minnesota/location_minnesota.aspx

BOOK REVIEW I wish I had read this book when I was in high school. It would have saved me so much pain and heart ache. Zac grew up with parents that constantly had money problems. Determined that he never wanted to be that way he started working and saving for college at a young age. At 20, he was a regular writer in the financial advice community and published this book. The best part of this book is that he does not believe in the scholarship fairy that many guidance counselors claim to exist. The pages are crammed with examples and numbers without anecdotes, so some people may find the book difficult to get through. He outlines all of the expenses associated with college choices and how using financial aid awards as part of determining the cost of a school is deceiving and can actually increase the cost of the school the following year.

Take-aways 1. Choose a college in your budget. 2. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take out student loans. 3. Work, work, work. 4. Carefully weigh all of the expenses of your options. 5. Learn how the financial aid system works. 6. Beware of predatory financial aid representatives. 7. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fall for the nine myths of college.

The biggest things he stresses are hard work and sacrifice. The book will be a rude awakening for people that are looking for a solution that does not require these two factors. The book was written in 2010, so some of the statistics are outdated. If you plan to buy it, it may be worth making sure you are getting the most recent edition. I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about going to college or helping someone pay for college. It will be life changing. 9

Post 9-11/GI Bill Transfer — Helpful Info by Janel Lane

Your spouse has to apply for the GI Bill first – get approved – then transfer credits to you. 

Don’t procrastinate – get your spouse’s application submitted as soon as possible, there will be a wait for each of your applications to get approved!

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If you need to contact the VA, use the website rather than the toll free number because it goes to an actual case worker and not just a call center representative. https://gibill.custhelp.com/app/home

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The VA tuition payments may come in more than one disbursement. Your college will certify your classes at the beginning of the semester - but if some of your classes don’t actually start until mid-semester your classes won’t get paid for until the class actually starts. You will still be responsible for those tuition costs at the beginning of the semester so have another source of funds to cover the expense until the VA payment reimburses you – I used financial aid in combination with the GI Bill to avoid out of pocket costs.

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The biggest thing I learned was to keep all correspondence and verify all of the information the VA sends you regarding information they have about you or your spouse! They originally said I was not qualified because of incorrect information they had in their system – don’t give up!! 

Don’t assume that the GI Bill will cover 100% of your college expenses as the VA uses a formula based on  active duty time for your spouse to determine what percentage of eligibility he/she and in turn you qualify for. (For example I am approved for 70% of my costs to be covered) Added bonus – once approved you should get a BAH payment, though the amount can vary per month depending on the amount of days you are in classes and If they are online or in person, it is not the same as active duty BAH where it’s a set amount each moth Note: classes taken in person generally qualify for a larger BAH payment compared to taking all online classes (I chose to take at least one class a month in person to meet this requirement)

Book stipends are separate – I advise not using your college bookstore and use Amazon or other online used book seller

The best thing that I had working in my favor is that the VA representative for my school was incredibly knowledgeable in transferring the GI Bill being that he is a Veteran himself and also transferred credits to his wife. I can’t tell you how helpful that has been in this process! I don’t want to mislead you to make you think the process was always easy, it could be frustrating at times but worth it, good luck!

HEALTHY MONEY HABITS STUDENT LOANS

CRISTY HOUSE –NORTHERN MN FRSA In the spring of 2001, guidance counselors corralled parents and students into my high school auditorium like cattle and gave the following message. Your child will fail at life if they do not get a four-year college degree. In fact, there is a shortage of college educated job applicants right now and it doesn’t matter what area your degree is in or how deeply into debt you go, there will be a high paying job for your child when they graduate and employers will be willing to cross-train them if their degree does not match the position. If they do not get this college degree, they will be desolate and their life will resemble a Charles Dickens or Victor Hugo novel. These were not the exact words of the guidance counselors, but for the parents in the room without a university degree, that was the message they received. Many of them entered the labor market during tough times of the late seventies and early eighties. They didn’t want to see their children start off the same way and they were determined to see that they had a better life. No one in that room could have predicted the labor market these students would be entering after college could be nearly as challenging, or that this generation would be entering it crippled by student loan debt. That night was the starting point of my college journey and I still find my path to a degree embarrassing. It is a trail of bad choices influenced by well-meaning, broke, and unhappy adults. It is yet another example of how I learned not to take financial advice from broke people or career advice from people that hate their jobs. I started my journey at a well-known brand name for-profit technical college. These types of schools are regularly under investigation and considered predatory by many. Three months, $10k+ later, I left after realizing that it wasn’t for me. The next stop on my journey was the small private faithbased college my friends were at. I wanted to go there, but my parents didn’t agree with that path. Their message was money is what makes people happy, so go where the money is. I took one class at the private college that semester combined with online classes at my local technical college towards my two year degree. That was year one of the seven years and seven colleges it took me to get my bachelor’s degree in a field that is basically useless.

HEALTHY MONEY HABITS STUDENT LOANS

CRISTY HOUSE –NORTHERN MN FRSA The details of how I got to the graduation stage for my bachelor’s degree aren’t important. The realization that I had wasted nearly $100,000, and now had $50,000+ in student loan debt to conquer in my young marriage is. I whole-heartedly believe a college education in a useful field is important, but using student loans to accomplish it in my situation was very harmful and nearly broke up my marriage. After graduating, I learned another lesson. Employers don’t care what school your degree is from, they just want to know you are qualified for the position. I left college with my primary skills being test taking and term paper writing. I was scared, overwhelmed, and behind on bills. To make ends meet, I took a job stocking shelves overnight. I found out that many of the people I worked with had college degrees as well. “Where are my guidance counselors now?” I often wondered at 2 am. I was in a sea of overeducated debt-burdened graduates struggling to make ends meet. I learned many difficult lessons along my journey. Pausing my education and waiting until I was eligible for my husband’s education benefits would have saved a lot of heartache. Taking some personality assessments to find out how I was wired and what I would be good at would have spared me many false starts. Personal finance education combined with a healthy dose of self-discipline would have been helpful too. Learning contentment, not possessions, is the key to happiness is still a lesson I struggle with today. Eventually, my husband and I took some personal finance classes and were able to tackle our debt. We paid off two car loans, 9? credit cards and 14? student loans. At the end of the summer, we hope to have our very last student loan paid off. It has taken a lot of hard work and determination. We have a written monthly budget. We save for expenses and we say “no” to a lot of things that we want. We listed our debts from smallest to largest and paid them off one at a time. Now there is just one left, and then we will be tackling our mortgage!!! We are already teaching our kids about money and next month’s toolkit will be full of money strategies for families. If you want to take personal finance classes in your local community, call the State Chaplain’s Office and they will give you more information, 651-282-4287.

ARMY / NATIONAL GUARD minnesotanationalguard.com armyonesource.com militaryonesource.mil

RESOURCE LINKS

CHILDREN ADAPT: cehd.umn.edu/fsos/adapt operationwearehere.com mnchildcare.org ausa.org/family mdva.state.mn.us/child guardfamilyyouth.org militarykids.org DISCOUNTS beyondtheyellowribbon.org military.com/discounts/category EDUCATION education4military.com gibill.va.gov militaryonesource.mil militarychild.org EMPLOYMENT esgr.org mn.gov/deed FMLA: dol.gov/whd/fmla HEALTH / MENTAL HEALTH tricare.mil militarymentalhealth.org Counseling 24/7: militaryonesource.mil MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIPS Marriage Retreats: strongbonds.org militaryonesource.mil PARENTS OF SOLDIERS bluestarmoms.org operationwearehere.com/Parents.html PET CARE dogsondeployment.org netpets.org guardianangelsforsoldierspet.org SPOUSES & SIGNIFICANT OTHERS militarysos.com spousebuzz.com milspouse.com msccn.org nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org STRESS MANAGEMENT militaryonesource.mil defense.gov/specials/stressawareness