Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

Commissaries and Exchanges Start Linking Promotions, Sales

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DeCA and AAFES are working together to maximize their reach by linking their promotions and sales during April.

One hundred qualified patrons will win $300 in free groceries from their on-base commissaries. Altogether $30,000 in gift cards will be given away to commissary and exchange patrons during these promotions.

Joint Promotions Benefit AAFES, DeCA Patrons

This decision to link promotions between the commissaries and exchanges, including online exchange sites, follows an earlier move that allows Military Star Card members to use this card in either location. Prior to this, patrons could not use their Military Star Card at the commissary.

In order to enter the Fill Your Fridge Sweepstakes, patrons must make 2 purchases each at the exchange and commissary between April 1 and April 30. This contest is open to Military Star Card users worldwide. Shoppers can make qualifying purchases at Army and Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard exchanges; ShopMyExchange.com; MyNavyExchange.com; ShopCGX.com; exchange concessionaires and the commissary.

This promotion makes the connection between quality nutrition and scholastic success for military children.

“Nutrition is foundational to military children’s educational success, and $300 in free groceries from your local commissary would certainly help build on that foundation,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, exchange senior enlisted advisor, in a press release. “We are honored to partner with the commissary to recognize the contributions of military kids worldwide with this sweepstakes.”

The Fill Your Fridge Sweepstakes is being held in conjunction with the Month of the Military Child. This annual event held during April honors the sacrifices of military children.

Military exchanges support military children year round through their You Made the Grade program. Military children receive a coupon booklet in exchange for an overall “B” average on their report card.

AAFES and DeCA Support the Month of the Military Child

In further support of the Month of the Military Child, there are additional events and promotions at both exchanges and commissaries on military bases around the world.

A coloring contest will be held at participating commissaries throughout the month of April. Patrons can inquire at their local commissary for more information about this contest.

There are also several ongoing sweepstakes beyond Fill Your Fridge. Exchange patrons can enter for these sweepstakes by logging into their ShopMyExchange account. Prizes include toys, backpacks and exchange gift cards.

Additionally, military children 18 years old and younger, can earn a free snack at select military exchange food courts. On April 18, military children should wear purple to their military exchange food court to qualify for a free treat. This could include side item, fountain beverage or dessert.

More Cross Promotions in the Future

Working together, DeCA and AAFES have the potential to increase the benefit to their customers. Through the Military Star Card connected Fill Your Fridge Sweepstakes, patrons have the chance to win nutritional food. The additional sweepstakes for toys, backpacks, and gift cards offers patrons an additional way to show support for military children this month. Military children can also earn rewards for good grades year round!

AAFES and DeCA’s new cross-promotions show support for military children. In addition, expanding options for patrons to use Military Star cards at both locations increases the shopping options on base.

Exchange and commissary patrons should anticipate further collaborative promotions and sales.

What do you think of the collaboration between the commissaries (DeCA) and the exchanges (AAFES) for the Month of the Military Child?

A Thank You Note to My Military Child

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If I had to make a list of all the things I find myself saying to you on a regular basis, it would include things like “brush your teeth” or “take care of the dishes.”  And it’s likely that the list would also include my daily litany of questions like “how was school?” or “did you finish your homework?”

As I sit here thinking about that list, I realize the one thing I don’t say often enough is “thank you.”

What I mean is, I don’t often take the time to say “thank you” for the contributions you make to the success of our military family.

You don’t get a say when a new set of PCS orders sends us to a new duty station hundreds if not thousands of miles away from the last one. You don’t get to choose which school you will go to. You don’t have the option of saying “no, I don’t want to move,” or “no, I don’t want to leave my friends.” You don’t get to demand that we get to be together on birthdays and holidays, or heck, even weekends.

And yet, despite having to say goodbye over and over, despite having to adjust to new routines, new bus schedules, new teachers, new houses and new ways of doing things, you get up every day, hug me, and face the world with the kind of optimism that makes it just that much easier for me to get through my day.

Some days you come home excited to share all the new things you’ve learned and to tell me about all the new people you’ve met. Other days, you struggle to fit in and try not to tear up when you tell me how you miss your old school.

A Thank You Note to My Military Child

Know that you are truly loved and admired. Know that, without a doubt, your dad and I wouldn’t be who we are today, wouldn’t have accomplished as much and wouldn’t be as happy as we are, without you.

You never question the importance of your dad’s service and when you talk about him to your friends, I can see and hear your pride. When he’s away, you get as excited as I do when the phone rings.  You keep track of how many days are left until he gets to come home. You allow him to be a part of your life, even when he can’t physically be there for you.

You are one of the first to stand for the National Anthem and you never fail to hold your hand to your heart when saying the pledge. You ask questions about rank and insignia, about policy and regulation, and you look forward to company-sponsored events, seeing every member of the unit, service members and family members alike, as friends.

You probably don’t know it, but you keep me grounded when our crazy, migrant life gets a little overwhelming. Your smiles and easily-given hugs remind your dad and me why we work so hard.

You don’t question the life you’ve been born into. You laugh, love, struggle, adapt and triumph as if it was no big thing. As if reinventing your life every couple of years was some how normal and easy.

Know that you are truly loved and admired. Know that, without a doubt, your dad and I wouldn’t be who we are today, wouldn’t have accomplished as much and wouldn’t be as happy as we are, without you.

Thank you for seeing our military life as an adventure filled with purpose.

Thank you for being the strong, caring, motivated, understanding and brilliant human beings you are.

Thank you for taking this military-brat life and making the most of it.

Thank you.

Want more ideas on how to celebrate your military child this month? Check this list.

10 Ways to Thank Your Military Child

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April is Month of the Military Child. This month was established to underscore the important role children play in the Armed Forces community.

10 Thoughtful Ways to Thank Your Military Child

How do you plan to celebrate your military child this month?

There are approximately 2 million military children, ranging in ages from newborn to 18 years old; 1.3 million military children are school-aged. Having a month to recognize them and what they have been through is important.

Here are 10 thoughtful ways you can celebrate your military child during the month of April.

  1. Write them a letter. If your military child is old enough to read, write them a letter about how much you care and appreciate them. They can keep this letter close and read the words from time to time. Even better if the letter comes from the parent who is serving in the military.
  2. Take them out for their favorite treats. My own boys love to go out for ice cream. Think about a fun treat that your military child would love and take your kids out to thank them for being military children. Every child is going to enjoy doing something like that.
  3. Show them photos. If your children have been military kids for a long time they might not remember some of those early years. Show them photos when you were stationed somewhere else or any fun trips you went on together.
  4. Be patient. You should always be patient with your kids, especially when military life is making things a little more stressful. Your military child might need you to be there to understand that what they are going through is hard and to acknowledge that.
  5. Read them a book about military life. There are quite a few military kids books. Take time to read one of these books to your military child. They should be able to relate to the characters and see that they are not alone in their experiences with military life.
  6. Listen. Sometimes just listening can be a good way to celebrate your military child. They might just need someone to hear what they have to say or how they are feeling about what is going on in their life.
  7. Ask them questions. Check in with them. Even if they are little, ask them what they are thinking or feeling about an upcoming military event. Some children won’t just come up to you and talk about what is going on. Sometimes they just need to be asked.
  8. Help them make new friends. Losing friends is one of the hardest parts of being a military child. Help them make new friends and find fun things for them to do. Encourage them to sign up for activities that they would find interesting and take them to fun events in your community.
  9. Make a special dinner. Pick one day in the month of April to make a special dinner for your kids. Not much of a cook? Take them out to their favorite restaurant. Let them know why and celebrate together.
  10. Explain why they are a military child. Older kids might enjoy knowing the story about why your spouse joined the military in the first place. April would be a good time to let them know why they are a military child and what it means that their parent serves in the military. This can also be a good conversation starter to answer any of their questions or talk about their feelings.

Whatever you do during the month of April, make sure to remember your military child. Sometimes life can move so fast that we forget that they are just children trying to figure out why things keep changing so much during their lives. Taking a month to celebrate them is important.

How do you plan to celebrate your military child this month?

8 Signs You Were a Military Brat

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Nearly 29 years ago, I was born in a hospital on Shaw Air Force Base and started my journey as a military brat. For the next 18 years, I was dragged (sometimes kicking and screaming), through the military lifestyle from one side of the world to the other and back again. Plus, a couple of moves here and there stateside.

At the time, I thought military life was tiring, stressful and sad, especially for the “see you laters” when the military would send my dad away. But, I’ve come to realize that the experience made me value every little thing and embrace the lifestyle as a military spouse.

Besides being moved here, there and everywhere, there are a handful of unique qualities that military kids share.

8 Signs You Were a Military Brat

Photo Credit: Lauren Nygard Photography

You know you’re a military kid when…

  1. You don’t know how to answer, where are you from? Yes, I was born in South Carolina, but PCSed to the Philippines when I was 2 months old. 8 Signs You Were a Military BratAnd let’s not get me started on all the other moves afterward. Answering where are you from becomes a huge and elaborate monologue. Now, I just say Texas. That’s where my parents are and that’s where I graduated high school. Good for me.
  2. You have friends and family all over the world. With each move, our family grew. It’s so wonderful to have people that are from and live in so many different parts of the world. It gives the opportunity to learn from so many different cultures and traditions. And that brings me to my next point…
  3. You love adventure! I like to think that being a military kid gave me wanderlust. I desire and enjoy exploring and seeing new places and things. The military kind of forces adventure on you, but at the end of the day, despite how scary it can be, military life is also thrilling. Once my father retired, we still visited installations around the United States and managed to vacation at some awesome hotspots.
  4. You have a strong sense of pride. When my family settled in Texas, I attended a civilian school because we lived about 20 miles from base. It wasn’t a common occurrence to have military kids in your classroom. I was very proud and still am about my dad’s service and my mom’s support. They both are wonderful role models to me and I look forward to them being strong role models for my own military kids, when the time comes. The pride overflows to the whole military community too. Even before I met my husband, I always had that respect for men and women in uniform.8 Signs You Were a Military Brat
  5. You can “go with the flow” better than your civilian counterpart. Change is difficult. But, resilience is one of the strongest virtues of military kids. We’re young, adaptable and understanding (for the most part…). And because we have to, we learn to go on and appreciate what we have and love it.
  6. You LOVE (or in my case, loved) Take Your Kids to Work day! I know this depends on your school district, but when I was a kiddo, I loved going to my dad’s work! We got to see fighter planes in action and pretended to be a part of briefings, not to mention walk on the tarmac. How cool was that? Sorry Mom, accounting wasn’t nearly as fun.
  7. You own a wardrobe for every climate (or it’s a work in progress). Down coat, check! Galoshes, check! Board shorts, check! Tank top, check! Before we moved to Texas, we were in Utah, where the snow would exceed my height. My parents made sure to keep everything (within reason) that would benefit another move to the cold. You never know!
  8. You think homecomings are the best thing ever. I don’t know about you, but I think homecomings are awesome times a thousand. 8 Signs You Were a Military BratNo matter what, who, when, where…even if it’s just with friends you haven’t seen in awhile. There is just something beautiful and perfect about seeing a loved one after an extended amount of time. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

Were you a military brat? Did we miss anything on this list? Tell us in the comments section.

Month of the Military Child Photo Contest

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Dressed in dress blues for a local Daddy-Daughter Dance. Trying on momma’s boots to clomp around the house as a soldier. The tightest hug you’ve ever seen, with those small arms wrapped around their heroes’ necks. Those heartfelt moments tug at the heart strings of today’s military children.

Month of the Military Child Photo Contest

Military children have a special place in my heart. My daughters are among the nearly 2 million children who were simply born into the military life. They didn’t choose this life. Yet they embrace it. Do they do it because they love military life? Nah. They do it because they love their parent who serves in the Armed Forces.

April is the Month of the Military Child. This month, MilitaryShoppers readers are encouraged to submit photos of their favorite military child. The winner will receive a $50 shopping spree.

The deadline for photo entries is April 30. Don’t delay. Enter to win the MilitaryShoppers Month of the Military Child photo contest today.