Posts Tagged Robert L. Gordon III
DOD Supports Families Departing Japan
Posted by in Family Matters on April 1, 2011
Robert L. Gordon III is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. In this blog, Mr. Gordon urges families who voluntary departed from Japan to stay in touch with their service so they have access to timely information and support.
By Robert L. Gordon III
Military Community and Family Policy
April 1, 2011
Earlier today, Dr. Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, wrote a blog post about the comprehensive support effort under way in response to the recent devastating events in Japan. Supporting an effort of this magnitude takes many hands across personnel and readiness .
As I write this post, your team in military community and family policy is specifically focused on taking care of our military families who have voluntarily returned from Japan to designated alternate locations or their ultimate destinations. We expect that many more will depart in the coming days.
I want to assure all families everywhere that your military community and family policy team is focused on two things during this time of uncertainty: staying connected with you and ensuring your basic needs are met.
The impact on our Defense Department schools in Japan and our military students is a key concern. The Department of Defense Education Activity website is an outstanding ready resource that can help answer many questions, including issues involving voluntary departures , education records and school closures. Please be sure to pass this information on to those who may not know about it.
The staff at DODEA also has set up a crisis information center, available around the clock, to provide help when you need it.
Perhaps the most important thing for our displaced families is to stay in touch with your service. We can provide critical information or help with needed resources only if we can find you.
Remember that online accountability systems are currently “live” for each branch of the service to account for, manage, and monitor members and families impacted by the events in Japan.
Please update your contact and location information at the following websites:
– For Navy and Marine Corps military, civilians, overseas contractors and families, go to the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System.
– For Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, Reserve, Air Force civilian employees, nonappropriated fund employees, overseas contractors and families, go to the Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System.
– For Army military, Department of the Army civilian, NAF employees, overseas contractors and families, go to the Army Disaster Personnel Accountability and Assessment System.
These sites also will allow you to identify your needs, and a case manager will be assigned to provide you with personal assistance. More importantly, your assigned case manager will stay with you as long as you’re away from home station and can continue to assist you, even as your needs change.
I strongly encourage you to continue following your command or installation website and social media pages, even if you’ve already returned to the States or your preferred final destination outside of Japan. This will allow you to stayed plugged in to your friends, neighbors and your local leadership.
Finally, Military OneSource has a Japan Earthquake and Tsunami page , and we have added a section dedicated to information for returnees .
These are challenging times, and having reliable and useful information is critical to helping us all band together and stay strong. As a result, I will be providing routine updates to this blog with the most up-to-date information that I have to ensure that you are informed. Until then, be sure to take care of one another. Thank you all.
Month of the Military Child: Kids Serve Too
Posted by in Family Matters on April 1, 2011
Robert L. Gordon III is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. In this blog, Mr. Gordon thanks military children for their contributions, and highlights a few of the Defense Department programs available to support them.
By Robert L. Gordon III
Military Community and Family Policy
April 1, 2011
Military children continually amaze us as they rise to the challenges of military life. It’s a life of frequent moves, changing schools, leaving friends and making new friends.
During April, the Month of the Military Child, we applaud their character and maturity, and we acknowledge that kids serve too.
Our military community includes 1.8 million American children and youth under 18 years old. The Defense Department offers a wide range of programs and services to support military families and their kids. Just a few of the things we’re working on include:
– Working with states to minimize school disruption for military children during transition and deployment. The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children provides common guidelines for participating states to follow in handling issues including initial enrollment age, records transfer, graduation requirements and much more. So far, 35 states have adopted the compact, covering 88 percent of students.
– Increasing access to quality, affordable child care for military families. Today’s National Guard and Reserve forces mobilize and deploy at historic rates. Many military children — of all branches and components — live away from military installations, and even when they do live near to one, many locations are unable to meet the demand for care at military child development facilities. The DOD Child Care Expansion Initiative will help answer this growing need by ensuring their access to quality child care in the communities in which they reside.
– The Department of Defense Education Activity launched an online preregistration application . Through the site, parents can preregister their children in a DOD school from anywhere in the world, and even while on the move from one installation to another.
– A new, 365-page deployment guide is now available. This guide prepares families for deployment and has chapters dedicated to preparing children for deployment, helping them to cope with separation and the adjustment when the deployed parent comes home.
Additionally, installations around the world offer a huge range of activities for military kids at child care centers, youth centers, clubs and camps.
The professionals at these programs get vital support from volunteers. I see the enormous amount of good done by the hands and hearts of volunteers. Their selfless work changes lives and strengthens our nation.
During the Month of the Military Child, I also encourage you to consider volunteering at any of the many organizations dedicated to military kids. From the Boys and Girls Club of America , 4-H Youth Development and the Armed Services YMCA , these and many other organizations provide quality programs to military families and their children.
Have you volunteered with youth in your community? Where do you volunteer? What inspired you to get started? What experiences have you had? How would you inspire someone else to serve as a volunteer? We’d like you to share your stories on the Facebook wall of Serve.gov.
Is the organization you support listed on Serve.gov? This is a nationwide resource for finding volunteer opportunities in your community and creating your own. Listing the organization on this website allows other people to sign up and join you.
It’s hard to imagine a local t-ball league without volunteers. Who would prepare the field, coach the players or call the plays? Children are first in the mind of their parents, and during Month of the Military Child, we hope they become first in the minds of their communities as well.
There are many ways to serve, and many reasons. No matter your age or background, your education or interests, your experience or abilities, Serve.gov has a volunteer opportunity that’s right for you.
Focus Remains on Military Families in Japan
Posted by in Family Matters on March 18, 2011
Robert L. Gordon III is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. In this guest blog, Mr. Gordon writes about the Defense Department’s ongoing commitment to the well-being of military families in Japan.
Supporting Our Military Families in Japan
Robert L. Gordon III
Military Community and Family Policy
I write to you today about the rapidly changing situation in Japan. From the Pentagon, the military community and family policy team and I are staying keenly aware of the fluid conditions there. From our schools and child care centers to our commissaries and exchanges, our focus is the well-being of military families.
We are taking proactive, deliberate action to stay well ahead of the dynamic and uncertain conditions in Japan, keeping your safety as our primary concern.
Providing families timely and meaningful information is always important, but it is monumentally so for our families living in the many cities and prefectures impacted by the tsunami. There are several places you can go for trusted information:
– Military community and family policy’s Facebook and Twitter pages for instant family support updates;
– Your command or installation’s social media pages for local announcements and guidance;
– The Department of Defense Education Activity website for up-to-the-minute status of DOD schools and guidance for both students and parents;
– Military OneSource’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami page for information about the disaster, including resources for locating loved ones, radiation protection, making a donation and coping with fears following a traumatic event;
– Defense.gov’s special report on Japan for official updates from the Defense Department; and
– The American Red Cross website for information on relief operations in Japan.
Those still without power should consult their installation’s family assistance center, crisis response center or family support networks.
There is an unmistakable bond between military families. From a Marine Reserve family living hundreds of miles from the nearest installation in the Midwest, to an Army family experiencing Army life for the first time at Fort Hood, to Air Force and Navy families stationed in Japan, we are one community. While we all may not be in Japan, I know our hearts and thoughts all certainly are.
This is not only the time to support and sustain each other. It’s also an opportunity to share among ourselves important lessons we may have learned on how to help keep our families focused, maintain a sense of normalcy (especially for our children), and provide comfort to our own during times of challenge and crisis.
We’ve launched a discussion for you to share your words of comfort and advice — if you have a “trick” or “tip” on how to keep your family strong during a crisis, please let other families know. My hope is that this discussion will serve to harness the support and goodwill of our community and move us forward. Our strength comes from our community — each of us, all of us.
It is because of our resilience and our sense of community that we will overcome this most recent challenge. I never cease to be amazed at the unfailing love and support military families provide to one another. I look forward to your comments. Thank you all.
Officials Seek Spouse Input on Licensing
Posted by in Family Matters on February 7, 2011
Robert L. Gordon III is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. In this blog, Mr. Gordon encourages military spouses to share their state licensing experiences on a discussion board so officials can work toward streamlining procedures.
Military Spouses: State Licensing Process and Your Career
By Robert L. Gordon III
Military Community and Family Policy
Feb. 7, 2011
Military spouses, we need to hear from you! You are part of a talented and amazing work force, but as you know, military life can make it tough to maintain a career.
If your career field requires a state license or certification, then you know the process of renewing that license or certification can be time-consuming, cumbersome, expensive, and that process can vary from state to state. This can frustrate people in career fields like counseling, accounting and health care.
We are working to streamline licensing procedures. We want to make it easier for you to continue your career as you move, so we want to hear from you.
Please visit our discussion board and tell us your stories about transferring occupational or professional licenses. How long did it take? What barriers did you encounter? What delayed the process? Tell us what needs to change. We want to know what you think would shorten and simplify the process. Have a success story to brag about? We want to hear that too!
Last week, President Barack Obama unveiled a new, whole-of-government approach to military family support , with agencies uniting to create new resources and support programs for military families worldwide. Helping military spouses develop portable career opportunities in high-demand career fields is one of the nation’s four top priorities. Our goal of streamlining licensing procedures is part of that priority, so you can see just how important your feedback is.
This is one of many more blogs to come. We’ll be asking for your ideas and opinions on other topics. We look forward to hearing from you. You continually step up to life’s challenges with grace and strength. You truly serve, and the military is stronger for it. Thank you for your service.