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A Letter from the Editor

By Kamlyn Jurgensen April 1, 2016
I am one proud and happy editor this month, because it's April, and I can concentrate on our great kids. As most of you know, April is known as Month of the Military Child. It's a time that the country can reflect and honor the sacrifices of the children of our service members. Those sacrifices mean enduring long absences of one or sometimes both parents and multiple moves. According to the Department of Defense Education Activity, "the average child in a military family will move six to nine times during a school career." That's a lot of change for a child! I am always surprised - and in awe - of how resilient our kids become after these moves. They've learned to just get out there, make new friends, and build a life where they landed. In other words (USMC ones), they know how to Improvise, Adapt and Overcome

Many of your local military installations will be having events in April to celebrate "Month of the Military Child". Check with your MWR, Exchange, gyms and rec centers to see what they're doing. 

This issue of Macaroni Military Family is dedicated to the kids! 

First, as I said before, our military kids are great and I am so happy that Operation Homefront recognizes this. Please check out the 2016 Military Child of the Year® Award recipients and what they are doing in their community to help. 

Operation Purple® Camp allows military kids to go to camp for a week - for free. Find out more about what they do in Have You Heard of Operation Purple® Camp.

What better way to honor our kids, but to teach them about our great earth and what we can do to help it along. In Celebrating Earth Day, I've given you a few ideas to get out and explore, teach the kids about the environment and maybe even plant a tree. 

Make sure you enter the Poems in the Attic book giveaway. It was written by Nikki Grimes and is a reflection of her and her mother's childhood experiences of moving many times. 

I couldn't forget that April is a time where most families who are moving will be applying for some of their advance pay, getting TMO shipments set up and trying to find their next home. It is also a time where all that paperwork and what you qualify for can get very confusing. One confusing area is Dislocation Allowance (DLA). In Do You Rate Dislocation Allowance, I break it down piece by piece so you know if it's something you can get and answer the burning question, "Do I have to pay it back?".

Until next month,
Kamlyn