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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. WHAT IS TRICARE? A. http://www.tricare.osd.mil/tricaresmart/Product.aspx?id=60&CID=0&RID=0 TRICARE is the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. Q. WHAT IS DEERS? A. DEERS, Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System is the automated system by which all entitlement to benefits are determined. In order for dependents or service members to receive various benefits, they must be placed into this system. It is the service member’s responsibility to ensure all dependents are placed into this system and the data maintained is current, updated and accurate. Units are not permitted to update their service members records in DEERs. Only certified sites are authorized this capability. http://www.tricare.osd.mil/deers/ Q. When do children need an ID card? A. All dependents age 10 and older, living with the sponsor must have a valid, current ID card. Children under 10 who do not reside with the sponsor are required to have an ID card as well. If a child is over age 21 and a full-time student, his or her student status needs to get entered into DEERS so that TRICARE eligibility is not interrupted, and access to health care is not lost. Usually best if single parent servicemembers obtain cards for their children regardless of age in case of short notice mobilizations. Q. Where do I go to get an ID card? A. Please contact Enlisted Personnel Management at Camp Johnson at 338-3419 or MPF at the Vermont Air Guard Base at 660-5225. Q. How long does it take for letters or packages to get to a service member? How does it get there? 1. Standard Transit Times (days) Kuwait - Mail 7-10 days, Airmail Packages 10-15 days Afghanistan - Mail 10-12 days, Airmail Packages 10-14 days Listed transit times (from the chart above) are measured from the local post office (Anywhere, USA) to arrival at a military postal unit overseas. This transit time includes three to four days to go from the local post office to the U. S. Postal Service "gateway" (New York or San Francisco). Parcel post, however, can take 7 to 10 days to reach the gateways. At the gateway mail is sorted, bagged, and tagged to arrive at a military postal unit overseas. While commercial aircraft are very consistent, there could be a large variation in transit times due to military aircraft schedules, weather, transportation and military operations in theater, or movement of a service member's unit. Q. Are there mail restrictions for deployed service member? A. Yes, each country has customs regulations that apply to all mail (including U.S. military mail) coming into that country. These may include prohibitions on certain kinds of food or entertainment products. Also, some military units may have additional restrictions imposed by the theater commander, such as size and weight restrictions, to ensure logistics support can handle the mail without delays. Military ZIP Code restrictions may change as military units move to different locations. All applicable restrictions for approximately 3,000 overseas military ZIP Codes are entered into the U. S. Postal Service computer terminals and published in the Postal Bulletin. The general public may review details of all applicable restrictions by going to any branch post office or the USPS public web page. http://www.usps.com. Q. What is permissible and not permissible to be mailed to servicemembers of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom? A. Host country customs regulations mostly prohibit the entry of alcoholic beverages of any kind, narcotics, munitions, pork and pork by-products, pornography, and material contrary to the Islamic religion. Letter mail is not being opened unless it appears unusually bulky, in which case it may be examined to see if it contains contraband, such as drugs. Parcel mail is being examined on a spot check basis to determine conformity with host country customs regulations and for terrorist type mailing. Q. Are there plans to censor mail to and from the theater? A. The DOD does not have any plans to censor mail. Current laws protect the privacy of mail once it is placed within the postal system. Custom officials under customs laws may open packages. Q. Is there "Free Mail" from the theater? A. Yes, most areas of the Middle East have been authorized Free Mail for personal correspondence being sent from the service member overseas back to the U.S. Family members sending mail to service members in a free mail zone must include postage. service members are briefed on the Free Mail procedures when they are deployed to a Free Mail area. Q. Is there "Any Service Member Mail"? A. No. With large numbers of service members deployed overseas this year, family members, friends and other Americans who want to support the military are asking about military mail service. A Department of Defense (DOD) News Release highlighted the cancellation of mail programs that allowed the general public to send mail addressed to "Any Service Member". While these programs were very popular with the public, security concerns and transportation constraints with military mail led to their cancellation. As an alternative, there are online bulletin boards where the general public can post their letters of encouragement. You can also visit a few Vermont Organizations that are supporting our Soldiers and/or their families. Operation Vermont Cares can be contacted by mail at: P.O. Box 1301 Waitsfield, VT 05673 or by phone at: 802-496-3566. Operation Kindness, located at the Vermont Army National Guard Family Readiness Office at Camp Johnson, accepts donations from community organizations, churches, and individuals to support the needs of families with deployed service members. Funds, services, and goods are matched with a family in need of assistance. Operation Kindness can be contacted at: 802-338-3347. The Vermont Military Family Assistance Fund is a private non-profit organization established to meet the emergency needs of the families of mobilized active duty service members. The Fund can be contacted at: 802-338-3347. The Vermont Charitable Foundation is a private, non-profit organization. They help all military families in Vermont, both deployed and not deployed. They also provide assistance to Family Readiness events, both Air and Army. To donate to this fund, please contact LTC Peter Firkey at 802-338-3157 or CPT LeeAnn Belval at 802-338-3131. OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND FAMILIES:
Q. How can I send a care package to the men and women of Operation Iraqi Freedom? A. VTNG can’t provide names and addresses of service members. However, if you would like to show your support to Soldiers by sending a package, contact the Special Projects Manager for the Family Readiness Center at (802)338-3112 for coordination. Families and friends may still send packages to service members if they have a name and address. The USDA publishes guidance on food items recommended for care packages. Also, care packages must comply with customs regulations for the country in which the service member is located.
Q. What are the different classes of outbound and inbound military mail? A. Each defined: a. Outbound (US to foreign) mail is called "prograde" mail and is divided into seven categories. (1) Express Mail Military Service (2) First Class letter, flats, and sound recordings (3) Priority Mail (4) Military Ordinary Mail (MOM) parcels (5) Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) (6) Space-Available Mail (SAM) (7) Surface, second-class, third-class, and fourth-class mail b. Inbound (foreign to US) mail is called "retrograde" mail and is divided into five (5) categories. (1) Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) (2) Priority/First-Class Letters & Flats (3) Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) (4) Space-Available Mail (SAM) (5) Military Ordinary Mail (MOM) parcels Q. What special military mail services are generally available? A. Most USPS special services, such as certified mail, registered mail, insured mail, certificate of mailing, return receipt, restricted delivery and return receipt for merchandise are available in the military postal service. Collect on delivery (COD) and delivery confirmation services are not available. Q. How do I make heads or tails out of the pay system? A. http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.htm Q. How do I read a Leave and Earning Statement (LES)? A. http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/ReservePayLES.htm Q. How do I know if the pay is correct? A. http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/ Q. When is my sponsor returning from his/her deployment? A. You will always hear rumors, even from your own service member. Avoid the emotional roller coaster ride and do not expect your service member to return before the ending date of the current orders. Please read these orders carefully as many will indicate the possibility of additional extensions not to exceed a specified length of time. We fully understand your anxiety to have your Soldier/Airman home, however, getting your hopes, or the hopes of your children built only to have a letdown occur is exactly what we want to avoid. Deployments are plagued with many continually changing criteria, mission requirements, needs, etc. Due to the variation of that criteria, one must never allow themselves to fall victim to the idea of an earlier return. Know that when your service member is to return, it's best still to wait until he/she is at the mob site and calls to let you know he/she is back at that location. At that point in time, you can expect your service member to return to the great state of Vermont within a matter of weeks, or less. |
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