September RSP Family Assistance Newsletter Welcome to the Colorado Army National Guard Family! My name is Henry Hernandez Jr., and I am your Family Assistance Specialist. Your commitment to the country and state entitle you to numerous resources. My mission is to ensure that you and your family members can access these resources. I am available to offer assistance in whatever way I can during your time in the Guard. No matter where you go in the Guard, you and your family members will have a Family Assistance Specialist there to provide support, guidance and assistance. I m happy to be serving you during this transition from civilian to Soldier. Here is a little bit about myself: I am retired Army, and as a retiree of the Colorado Army National Guard, I am very acquainted with what you and your loved ones are going through while you attend BCT and AIT. Few, if any states, do a better job preparing their Soldiers for BCT and AIT than the Colorado Army National Guard. This includes helping you to resolve any concerns that you or your family may have before and during your absence. If there are any concerns, whether they are simple questions or things keeping you up at night, please let me know and we can work together to locate resources or a solution for the concern. Whether it s TRICARE, education benefits, power of attorneys or wills, ID cards/deers, financial counseling, crisis management, even as simple as mailing address or anything else you can think of, please feel free to reach out to me for assistance. If we can t get you an answer, we ll do our best to get you in touch with someone who can assist you. As your Family Assistance Specialist, I am available to help you and your family members throughout your time with RSP, BCT and AIT. I am located at the Denver Armory 5275 Franklin St. Rm 105, Denver, 80216 - and my office hours are 630am 4pm, Tuesday thru Friday. If you have any questions and/or concerns, please contact me by any method you feel comfortable, whether it s a phone call, email, text or meeting in person. If you wish to meet in person, please schedule an appointment as I may be out of the office assisting another service member. In addition, visit the RSP Family Assistance Facebook page frequently for upcoming events, job fairs, military discounts, basic training information, and other information that you may find helpful. On behalf of Family Programs, welcome to the CONG Family, and we extend our sincere appreciation to you and your family for your service as being a successful Soldier is truly a team effort!
September Featured Basic Training Unit 2-13th IN BN, Ft Jackson, SC Page 2 Basic Training Frequently Asked Questions BCT Frequently asked Questions My Soldier will be training in the near future what s their graduation date? It is difficult to definitively say when your Soldier will graduate that far in advance. There are many factors that can move that date. Your Soldier will be assigned to the company they will train with after a week or so of in-processing at reception. You will be able to find out the exact dates once you know your Soldiers training company. Also, Soldiers in danger of not graduating are instructed to notify home state around weeks 7-9. How long will my Soldier be in Basic Training Reception? The average length of time between home and being assigned to a basic training unit is 7-14 days. During this time your Soldier is traveling for 1-2 days and in processing for 3-4 days. However, keep in mind Soldiers only in process Monday through Friday, so if they arrive later in the week it will carry over to the following week. It s also important to remember that this process can be longer for Infantry Soldiers attending the 14-week One Station Unit Training. This is because those units are filled with Soldiers with the same MOS, whereas 9-week basic training units are filled with Soldiers with a variety of different MOSs. How long will my Soldier be in Basic Training? Basic Combat Training for all Military Occupation Specialties in the Army lasts 10 weeks. Infantry and Armor One Stop Unit Training lasts from 14 to 16 weeks depending on your Soldier s MOS. How often are Basic Training Soldiers allowed to call home? Phone call frequency varies by unit and is at the discretion of the drill sergeants. Generally Soldiers are allowed to make a quick call home when they first arrive. When they are out of reception and assigned to a basic training unit on the first 72 hours they usually get around 2 minutes to call their families to pass on a mailing address. As training progresses Soldiers can earn privileges and earn more phone time. Does my Soldier s Basic Training have its own Facebook page or website? Some units do. Not all units have the time and resources to manage independent websites and pages. If your Soldier s unit has these, they will be listed in the letter you receive from the commander or once you are informed of your Soldier s assigned company/battery contact me and I can assist. May I send a care package and if so, what can I send? The answer to this may seem simple, but it s not. Much like parents, each drill sergeant has a different style, so they are the ultimate decision makers when it comes to what your Soldier can and cannot receive. Your Soldier will let you know on their first call or letter what you are allowed to send them. If I overnight mail to my Soldier will it get there faster? It is not recommended that you overnight anything. Paying the additional fees to overnight a package will only guarantee that the package arrives to the instillation overnight, but the post mail process is still the same it takes time to get thousands of letters to thousands of Soldiers. What happens if my Soldier fails a portion of Basic Training? If your new Soldier is unable to adequately pass a required event, the Commander will talk to the Soldier's Drill Sergeant and with the company First Sergeant and they decide what will be the proper action to take. If concluded that the Soldier can make it, they will allow them to stay in the company and let them retry the event they failed with another company, not affecting graduation date. If they feel the Soldier is not at the same level with the other Soldiers of the company, they may decide to recycled them to another company in earlier stages of training. This will set back Soldiers graduation date. My Soldier took their cell phone to Basic Training, will they be able to use it? Soldiers are allowed to use them when they earn phone privileges. Cell phone use depends on the drill sergeants, some allow them, and others do not. If Soldiers are allowed to use them they will not have them at all times. The phones will be locked up with the Soldier s other personal belongings and distributed when phone privileges are earned.
Someone Attending your Soldier s Basic Training or AIT Graduation? IHG Army Hotels delivers first class, on-post lodging experiences to our troops and their families. In fact, our mission is to provide great on-post hotel stay experiences to military personnel, families and guests. We do it by providing convenient, reasonably priced hotels on 41 installations across the nation. We do it with dedicated, knowledgeable staff that is prepared to provide the services you need to complete your mission. For reservations contact IHG @ 1-877-711-8326 or visit www.ihg.com/armyhotels/hotels/ Page 3
Fort Carson RSP Family Assistance Program Briefing A better informed family will foster a better informed and ultimately a superiorly prepared Warrior The next drill weekend RSP Family Assistance Program briefing will be held on Sunday, 10 Sep, 8724 Frank Baldwin, CTS BLDG 9120, Fort Carson from 10:00 am 11:00 am. The briefing covers a variety of benefits and programs offered to Soldiers and family members. Topics covered during the briefing encompass Legal, ID cards, TRICARE enrollment, Red Cross, Tuition Assistance, Crisis Intervention, Financial Resources, Employment, Child/Youth programs, and Community outreach. This is a great opportunity to see where your Soldiers will be conducting training prior to their departure to Basic Training as well as attend final formation where promotions are conducted, awards presented, and Solders are recognized for their outstanding performance. In addition with you attending final formation your Soldier will be released to return home with you. I highly encourage your attendance at this event as it may give your Soldiers the peace of mind that they are not in this journey alone, as well as peace of mind for yourself ensuring your Soldier is being taken care of. If your Soldier is currently a Basic Training or AIT, you are also welcome to attend as questions may arise during this absence. Please contact me for map and directions to briefing location if needed. Page 4
Current monthly premiums Effective January 1st - December 31, 2017 Service Member Only $47.82 per month Service Member and Family $217.51 per month Page 5 Tricare West Region Enrollment Department P.O. Box 105492 Atlanta, GA 30348-5492 1-877-988-9378 www.tricare.mil/plans/enroll/trs
Crisis Intervention Resources Page 6
Have questions about USCIS Forms, Permanent Resident (Green Card), Visa s, or U.S. Citizenship? Join us at the Immigration 101 class held each Tuesday, 2 p.m. at the ACS Community Connection, bldg. 1524, Ft Carson. No pre-registration required, call 719-526-1070 for more information. Anyone who is eligible to use the Military OneSource program can take advantage of the document translation services that provide translations of qualifying legal documents, such as: -Marriage Licenses -Birth Certificates - Leases - Adoption documents -School Transcripts for service members and their families Upon request, translations will be, certified, notarized as necessary and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Call a Military OneSource consultant at 800-342-9647 and inform them you have a document that needs translation. Please have document with you when you call. Page 7
The Fort Carson Employment Readiness Program (ERP) offers resources to help with your career plan and job search. Whether you re a military spouse or Family member who just moved to a new installation, Retiree, or DoD civilian looking for new opportunities, or active duty Military, active Reserve, National Guard member, or Wounded Warrior, we re here to help. Our services include: Up-to-date information on local, national, and international employment opportunities, job market trends and education, and volunteer resources Classes and seminars on self-assessment and career exploration, resume writing, interviewing techniques, dressing for success, networking, and entrepreneurship. Résumé critiques Career counseling and individual career assessments Job fairs and other hiring events Monday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Teen/youth employment information Tuesday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Computers with internet access, résumé-writing software, Wednesday and typing tutorials 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Virtual Career Library access Thursday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Contact ERP for an appointment at 719-526-0452/4590 or https://carson.armymwr.com/programs/employmentreadiness Friday Saturday/Sunday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Page 8
Page 9 September RSP Family Assistance
National Guard 101 is the only military lifestyle book written specifically for the National Guard audience. Corbett's unique book covers a broad range of topics, from practical knowledge about the history of the National Guard and understanding rank to softer subjects like social life in the Guard and family programs. Corbett also details the benefits and assistance resources available to Guard families and guides readers through the process of setting up a Personal Assistance League (PAL) to provide support during deployment. A free copy is provided to your Soldier at their initial RSP drill, although it states a handbook for spouse it is truly written for any National Guard family member. If you would like an additional copy, please contact me and request one. Book is available at Barnes & Noble for $18.95 so this is truly a great offer from the Family Assistance Program Office. Search: Colorado National Guard Family Assistance RSP Henry Hernandez Jr. RSP Family Assistance Specialist Contractor 5275 Franklin St Denver CO, 80216 Office Phone: 720-250-2773 Cell: 303-905-0009 Email: henry.hernandez108.ctr@mail.mil Caption describing picture or graphic.