Fellow Guardsmen,
I wanted to make you all aware of the Extended Military OneSource Benefit for Veterans and Families from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
For many who serve, military life provides a sense of purpose, community, and identity. During the transition to civilian life, Service members and their families face new milestones and life changes. As a military family establishes a new foundation, the realities of finding a new job, adjusting to a new cultural climate, and changes in military pay and benefits can be challenging.
To make this transition easier, Executive Order 13822 expressed the President's intent to expand support provided to transitioning veterans. Consistent with this intent, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have agreed to extend Military OneSource services to veterans for up to one full year after separation or retirement from military service. This benefit provides the full continuum of support needed by veterans and their families to help facilitate their transition.
Military OneSource is both a 24/7 call center and a website that provides information, answers, and support at no cost to the user. Confidential support services include specialty consultations on topics ranging from financial counseling and tax-filing assistance, to special needs support and relocation resources. Spouse education and career opportunities support a successful transition by helping spouses achieve their goals at any stage of military life. Private, non-medical counseling helps Service members, veterans, and families through relationship challenges, job stress, parent-child communication, and other situations and stressors of daily life.
The extension of Military OneSource services reinforces the Department's role in assisting Service members, veterans, and families during the transition process. I strongly encourage you to refer active duty, reserve, National Guard members, veterans, and families to Military OneSource, available on-line at www.militaryonesource.mil and at 1-800-342-9647.
Sincerely,
Joseph L. Lengyel
General, USAF
Chief, National Guard Bureau