By Elaine Wilson, AFPS
March 30, 2010
elaine.wilson@dma.mil
I received my 2010 Census in the mail the other day, but didn’t give it much thought. “Just another form to fill out,” I thought and threw it on my “To Do” pile of mail.
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But the census isn’t something to take lightly I later learned from the 2010 Census Web site. Among other things, the census impacts the number of seats a state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives and also affects the allocation of federal funds for projects such as hospitals and schools.
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I then read an article on defense.gov by Jordan Reimer (“Military Gears Up for 2010 Census”) about why the census is particularly important for our military families.
Reimer interviewed Mary Dixon, director of the Defense Manpower Data Center, who stressed the importance of accounting for all military families, whether stationed stateside or overseas.
“The important thing is making sure that the states and the federal government are allocating funds to those communities where our bases are located, so they can properly support our military members,” Dixon said.
Military members stationed overseas will not receive any forms since information about them and their families will be processed administratively, Reimer wrote.
Servicemembers who live in group quarters will be required to fill out a “military census report” that will be distributed and collected by their installation’s service representative and submitted on their behalf to the bureau.
The census is required of all U.S. residents and, based on its impact, a vital tool for our government. I’ll definitely be moving mine to the top of my “To Do” pile today.