RDML Kenul, RADM Bailey, Dr. Lubchenco, and Secretary Locke at the NOAA 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Outlook Announcement Event, May 21, 2009 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Photo: CAPT Wade Blake)

Attention NOAA Corps families! This year the National Military Family Association celebrates our 40th Anniversary, but we are really celebrating you! Your family could be named our Military Family of the Year and the winner of $1,000 and a trip to Washington, DC. This is your time to tell your personal story or recognize a special family that you know. Take a look at your family’s achievements or those of a military family you know and submit this simple nomination today. Families that are eligible for this award are any active duty, Reserve Component, or retired family of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Commissioned Corps of NOAA or PHS, as well as families of fallen service members. Nominate a deserving family today.

Following a recent review, the Executive Committee of National ACO Scholarships, Inc. concluded that insufficient effort was made this year to seek applications for scholarship grants. To remedy this, the Committee has extended the deadline for applications to be sent to May 29, 2009. Students wishing to submit an application are now encouraged and invited to do so.

Application forms are available on the Resources page, under the heading “National ACO Scholarships, Inc.” Complete application packages can be sent to the corporation’s post office box address (shown on the form), and should be postmarked no later than May 29, 2009.

The Executive Committee will meet to evaluate and select this year’s scholarship grantees at the end of June. Notifications will follow by email or mail shortly thereafter.

Teenage children of NOAA Corps Officers are eligible to participate in the 2009 Operation Purple Leadership Camp.

These camps are open to all military children, ages 13-17 years old, with active duty or reserve component parents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Unlike the traditional Operation Purple summer camp program, selection for the Leadership Camp is not based on the parent’s deployment status.  Applicants may apply for both Operation Purple Summer Camp and Operation Purple Leadership Camp although acceptance to one or both is not guaranteed.

Click here for details.

Last week the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released the “Post-9/11 GI Bill; Final Rule.” This set of regulations governs the policy and procedures for the new GI Bill and offers clarification to many of the questions we have been asking for the last six months.

Highlights of the Final Rule include:

• Active Duty National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Public Health Service (PHS) Officers are now deemed eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill so long as they meet all other eligibility requirements. Unfortunately, NOAA and PHS Officers will not be able to transfer their benefits to a dependent.
• Some National Guard and Active Guard Reserve (AGR) are deemed ineligible for the Post-9/11 GI Benefit. The VA had determined there is no section of existing statute that will allow them to authorize eligibility for members of the National Guard or Active Guard Reserve serving under title 32, U.S.C.
• The Department of Defense (DoD) has yet to issue their final policy on transferability of benefits to dependents, however the general rule is the person receiving the transferred benefits will receive the same payment and benefits as the service member or veteran would have gotten if they kept it.

Moving this summer? If your NOAA kids are school-aged, you should know about the new Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. While the armed services have taken great leaps to ease the transition of personnel, their spouses and most importantly children, much remains to be done at the state and local levels to ensure that the children of military families are afforded the same opportunities for educational success as other children and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals by inflexible administrative and bureaucratic practices.

Specific impacts on military children include:

• Transfer of records
• Course sequencing
• Graduation requirements
• Exclusion from extra-curricular activities
• Redundant or missed entrance/exit testing
• Kindergarten and first grade entrance age variations
• Power of custodial parents while parents are deployed

Check out what’s happening in your state and help your child transition to their new school with this helpful information.

The Sierra Club’s new documentary film, “Red, White & Green” hits the big screen in select locations this month.  The movie was filmed at the National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple Camp on Catalina Island last summer.  Starring Southern California’s military kids, the film showcases the camp experience of our nation’s youngest heroes and highlights the benefits of outdoor experiences.  Click here for a sneak peek at the film.

The World Premiere of ”Red, White & Green” was held on March 19, 2009 at the DC Environmental Film Fest, the same week that registration opened for Operation Purple Camps 2009. The Sierra Club works with the National Military Family Association to connect those military families making the greatest sacrifices for this country with the natural wonders of the land they work so hard to defend.

DVDs of “Red, White & Green” will be available in April. Make sure to see this film and check the Sierra Club website http://www.sierraclub.org/military/ for screenings in your area. Operation Purple camps are sponsored by donations from the NOAA Officers Family Association. Your contribution really makes a difference!