Navigating the Navy as a Spouse or Partner
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When your partner is active duty in the military, your goals and the goals of your family often take a backseat to the career of your service member. In order to prevent these things from completely falling by the wayside, and to help alleviate the pressures of military life, the Navy has created a series of resources to provide families and sailors with tangible support. The following is a list of resources we think people will find useful.
In-Person Support
Fleet and Family Support Program
Fleet and Family Services is basically your one-stop-shop for anything military you could possibly need. The Fleet and Family Centers on Bangor provide a plethora of services, to include life skills and financial courses, employment and education resources, family support, victim support, relocation assistance, confidential counseling, new parent support, pregnancy loss support, and more! For more information, you can check out their webpage via link above.
Online Resources
mynavyfamily.com is an online platform that offers free online courses to military members and their dependants. All courses are designed to help active duty service members and their families improve their lives and cover a broad array of topics, including mental health, deployment support, parenting, transitioning out of the military, and many other topics. For more information and to check out their current offerings, check out their website via the URL above.
Military OneSource offers military members and their family members a wide range of services, to include a 24/7 hotline for questions, online live chat, information on a variety of military topics, and refferals for information on childcare, adoption, elder care, transitioning veterans, education, health and wellness, spouse education, spouse career opportunities, finances, taxes, document translation, language interpretation, and much, much more. For more information, check out their website via the link above.
The Submerged Life is a blog run by submariner spouses for submariner spouses. Their articles and posts cover everything about life attached to a submariner, from Sub Ball to Geo Batching. You can check out their website via the link above.
Career and Education Resources
Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program
The Spouse Education and Career Opportunieies (SECO) Program provides career and education guidance to military spouses around the world. They offer comprehensive resources and tools related to career exploration, education, training, licensing, employment readiness, and career connections. Among these resources are one-on-one career coaching, Linkedin Premium access, resume building, and a scholarship database. For more information on their services, check out their website via the link above.
MySTeP Military Spouse Transition Program
The Military Spouse Transition Program (MyStep) is an SECO program designed to help military spouses transition their career when their partner exits the military. For more information on their offerings, check out their website via the link above.
Financial Resources
In addition to the resources listed below, Fleet and Family Services, Military OneSource, and mynavyfamily.com also offer financial resources.
MilSpouse Money Mission is a financial education website for military spouses run by the DoD. The website is disability accessible and can be translated into 20 different languages. They offer guidance on financial goal setting, budgeting, understanding credit, investing, estate planning, teaching finance to children, and many more topics. To see more of what they offer, check out their website via link above.
First Command Financial Services
First Command Financial Services and its subsidiaries are dedicated to helping military families in their pursuit of financial security. In pursuit of this goal, they offer financial coaching services, investing and saving, banking, and insurance. For more information, check out their website via link above.
Sen$e is a free DoD app dedicated to providing service members and their families with financial information and education specific to miliary families, to include information on benefits and entitlements, retirement planning, military specific financial protection, financial preparation for deployment, and more! To learn more about the app, check out the webpage via the link above.
TRICARE
Navigating health insurance can be difficult at the best of times, let alone when things are a bit more urgent. The below list is a series of resources designed to help you understand your Tricare health coverage. For information specific to kids, check out our Navigating the Navy with Children packet.
TRICARE Access to Care Standards
Access to Care standards impose limits on how long patiens have to wait to get in-network appointments. For more information, visit the link above.
TRICARE West Provider Directory
Searchable directory designed to help TRICARE West patients find the healthcare providers they need. To make use of this service, visit the directory webpage via the link above.
Trying to figure out if TRICARE covers something? Check out the webpage at the link above.
Housing Resources
Navy Housing Service Centers (HSC)
Finding adequate housing for your family can be one of the most stressful and difficult things about military life. To help mitigate this stressor, the Navy has created Housing Service Centers to assist service members and their families in their search for homes. Among the services Housing Service Centers provide are landlord/tennant resolution services, counseling for special needs, complaint inspection services, and advocacy services for when housing maintainance and safety issues arrise. For more information on these and their other services, visit the NAVYLIFEPNW page via the link above.
Sexual Violence and Abuse Resources
Call (877) 995-5247 or chat online at any time of day.
The DoD Safe Helpline is a DoD service operated by RAINN as a part of the Sexual Assult Prevention and Response Office. In pursuit of their mission to help members of the military community who have survived sexual assult (including dependants), they provide a number of services, to include the above hotline, secure online chats, an app designed to help survivors create a self care plan, online spaces where you can connect with fellow survivors, self paced education programs, and other resources. All services are confidential, and designed to be culturally relevant and inclusive of men and members of the LGBTQ+ community. For more information or to make use of their services, call the number or click on the link.
DoD Safe Helpline Responders Near Me
Database can by accessed via the link above, the Safe Helpline app, or by texting your installation name, type of resource you are looking for, and what service you are with to 55-247.
The Responders Near Me Program is a comprehensive database of military and civilian sexual assault service providers run by DoD Helpline. The database includes contact information for Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, SAPR Victim Advocates, medical and mental health service providers, legal counsel, and other resources.
DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program
The DoD’s SAPR program is a program designed by the DoD to prevent sexual assault and offer support survivors, including military dependants. In support of thier mission, SAPR offers a number of resources to include the DoD Safe Helpline, the Men’s SAPR Campaign, medical resources, mental health resources, and both Restricted and Unrestricted Reporting. For more on the program and their services, visit SAPRO website via the link above.
The DoD Family Advocacy Program is a DoD program designed to respond to adult-initiated child abuse and neglect, domestic abuse, and problematic sexual behavior in children and youth. As a part of their mission, they offer parent education programs (often available via in home visits), counseling for both survivors, emergency support services, housing, financial assistance, legal assistance, victim advocacy, and other services. For more information or to make use of their services, visit their Military OneSource webpage via the link above.