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My husband has served 12 years (including two year long deployments and probably another real soon) with the Army Reserves. For him to consider getting out when his enlistment is up, before he has 20 or 30 years in, would forgo all those years working towards a retirement. Not many people have a guaranteed retirement these days, sure the amount might not be a huge, but it’s something for the future!

Dear Milies,

My fiancé and I are planning our military wedding for June of 2011. He'll be wearing his dress blues, as will 3 of our groomsmen.

Despite the stress of multiple deployments military families continue to cope, according to the 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey. The survey findings include insights into how military families are connecting, and the unique challenges they face.

Blue Star Families will be on Army Wife Talk Radio on Monday, September 20th at 8pm EST.

Join Communications Director Stephanie Himel-Nelson as she discusses the Blue Star Families programs and shares a bit about our 2010 Military Family Survey results!

The 7th Annual American Freedom Festival Washington DC featuring Hank Williams, Jr., Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford and Josh Thompson will be held October 9, 2010 at 7:00pm at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

While the Blue Star Museums program ended on Labor Day, we'd like to say thank you to everyone who participated. The program was incredibly popular judging from the number of military families who took advantage of free museum admission this summer.  Check back in late October for an announcement about the future of Blue Star Museums in 2011...!

Dear Milies,

So my husband has joined the National Guard. We just found out that in a nut shell he is coming home with no job, no nothing. He was under the impression that he would be able to find work with his unit as an Active Guard right away.

Needles clicked, yarn spun, and discussions about patterns flowed, but in a store surrounded by the jewel tones of silk, bright worsted wool and imaginative color combinations in alpaca and cashmere, the dull tones of black and brown and grey pure wool stood out.

My husband is home. The deployment is over, and our family is settling in quite nicely through the post-deployment stage of getting to know each other again. However, there’s another person who is greatly affected by the end of the deployment as well: my surrogate spouse.

This past Friday, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the United States Naval Institute (USNI) co-hosted the 4^th annual Defense Forum Washington, a one-day conference that examines the current and pervasive interests of today’s military.