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The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts initiative is a workforce development program. Its goal is to find an effective way to help military spouses get the training and education they need to have portable careers. Accounts for education and training leading to a credential in a portable field are available for eligible military spouses at https://mycaa.militaryonesource.mil/mycaa.

Thank you for your desire to support the well-being of our service members. The Department of Defense does not operate a program for members of the general public to send care packages and holiday mail to deployed service members. However, those wishing to send materials to service members can do so by contacting any of the various non-DOD military service organizations who still do this work. One example is the American Red Cross, which has a Holiday for Heroes program run by their local state chapters.

Family members, extended family members and friends who want to send care items to their military member should follow these tips provided by Military OneSource.

A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth if certain statutory requirements are met. In such a case, the Department of State will issue a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, also called a Form FS-240, in the child's name. 

Please visit the Department of State's website for more information, including how the CRBA may be replaced or amended if necessary. 

Requests for Service member contact information should be sent to the respective military branch of the individual whose information is being sought. However, in most cases, military regulations and the Privacy Act of 1974 do not permit the military departments to provide home addresses or telephone numbers of service personnel. Moreover, regulations do not permit the public dissemination of listings of names and addresses of service personnel.

In cases of family emergency:
The American Red Cross assists DOD with relaying family member communications to military members and coordinating with the military commands for service members to be granted emergency leave as is necessary. To speak to a Red Cross Emergency Communications Specialist call: 1-877-272-7337. More information is found on the American Red Cross website at https://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/emergency-communication.html.

To locate Americans abroad in event of an emergency, please contact the Department of State:

• From the U.S. & Canada:  1-888-407-4747 (Option: 0)
• From Overseas: +1 202-501-4444
• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies.html

For detailed information on DOD health care services and benefits for military members, retirees and their families who are beneficiaries of the Military Health System, please visit these DOD websites:

• Military Health System:  https://health.mil/
• TRICARE:  https://www.tricare.mil/

There are many outstanding nonprofit organizations that provide no-cost support and services to members of the military and veteran community. Although the DOD is not able to endorse or recommend individual organizations, some of these organizations may be found at these links:

• The National Resource Directory:  https://nrd.gov/
• Community based support for military members and families:  https://www.defense.gov/Resources/Community-Support-of-Troops/
• Community based support for veterans:  https://www.defense.gov/Resources/Veteran-Support-Organizations/

The Military One Source military installation directory offers a search engine to find specific military installation offices and resources. Whether you are planning a move to your next duty station or need general information about installations, this site is a useful resource that contains overviews, contacts for programs and services, check-in procedures, and community information for installations worldwide.

Military OneSource is the 24/7 connection to information, answers and support for military members and their families working to reach their goals, overcome challenges, and thrive as members of our military community.

Military OneSource also offers portals with information and services pertinent to each military service branch at https://www.militaryonesource.mil/branch-of-service/.

In addition to Military OneSource, DOD operates a network of websites that offer specific assistance for military members and families:

American Forces Travel:  https://www.americanforcestravel.com/

Blog Brigade:  https://blog-brigade.militaryonesource.mil/

DOD Customer Moving Portal:  https://move.mil/

Education Directory for Children with Special Needs:  https://efmpeducationdirectory.militaryonesource.mil/

Exceptional Military Family Program:  https://efmpandme.militaryonesource.mil/

MilitaryChildCare Portal:  https://militarychildcare.com/

Military Installation Resource Directory:  https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/

Military Spouse Employment Partnership: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/

Military Life Learning:  https://millifelearning.militaryonesource.mil/

MyCareer Advancement:  https://mycaa.militaryonesource.mil/mycaa/

Plan My Deployment:  https://planmydeployment.militaryonesource.mil/

Plan My Move:  https://planmymove.militaryonesource.mil/

Spouse Education and Career Opportunities: https://myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal/

The Department of Defense issues a common access card, or CAC, ''smart'' ID card to active-duty military personnel, Selected Reserve, DOD civilian employees, and eligible contractor personnel. A uniformed service ID card, or USID, is issued to military family members and military retirees to access service benefits and privileges. Military personnel, retirees, and their family members should notify their security office IMMEDIATELY if an ID card is lost, stolen, or misplaced.

Information about obtaining and managing your CAC or USIC card is found on the DOD common access card website.

Additional information and assistance is available at these DOD websites:

Link: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/self_service/rapids/

Link: https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/public/faq/Documentation-ID_Cards

The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, database contains information for each uniformed service member (active duty, retired, or a member of a reserve component), U.S.-sponsored foreign military, DOD and uniformed services civilians, other personnel as directed by the DOD (including the patient population serviced through the Military Health Services System), and their eligible family members. DEERS registration is required for TRICARE eligibility and enrollment.

You are responsible for keeping your information current on your record. Active Duty and retired service members are automatically registered in DEERS, but they must take action to register their family members and ensure they are correctly entered into the database. Once registered in DEERS it is important to keep your DEERS records updated when personal eligibility information changes. This includes addresses and family status (marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, etc.). Mistakes in the DEERS database can cause problems with TRICARE claims, so it is critical to maintain your DEERS information. Retail network pharmacies check TRICARE eligibility through DEERS. Prescriptions will be filled only for beneficiaries who are listed as eligible in DEERS.

For more information on updating and correcting your information within DEERS please click on the link below.

Link: https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/public/faq/DEERS-Updating_and_Correcting_DEERS_Data