Married to the Army

Protect Your Right to Display the Service Flag

Visit this website for more information:
www.serviceflagpetition.com

Below is the text of the letter (provided by the above website) that you can send to your Congressman:

Copy and Paste the sample letter text below to send off!

RE:          Letter in Support of H. R. 2546 IH

Dear Congressman (or Senator) Name,

I am writing to ask you to support H. R. 2546 which is intended to ensure that the right of an individual to display the Service Flag on residential property not be abridged.

The Service Flag is an official banner regulated by the Department of Defense, and has been displayed in the United States since World War I.   It is displayed by families who have family members serving in the Armed Forces during any period of war or hostilities.  Each blue star on the Service Flag represents one family member serving.  If a member dies or is killed, the blue star is covered by a gold star.  Blue stars represent hope and pride, and gold stars represent sacrifice to the cause of liberty and freedom.

H. R. 2546, sponsored by Congressman John A. Boccieri (D-OH), protects families who live in areas with certain home owner association restrictions.  It would allow these families to display the Service Flag in honor of their loved one while they serve in the Armed Forces.

I ask that you support this measure, politics aside, in support of our military and their families. 

Paternity Leave

In a recent roundtable discussion, the new paternity leave policy was explained. First, let me say that I think this is great that it has been made law. With my husband's unit, they were great about giving soldiers time off after the baby arrived as well as being sure they were home for the birth (even if that meant sending them home from deployment). But I know that is not the case for every unit so I think this policy is very important and long overdue.

The new policy, which actually went into effect in October of 2008, allows the soldier to take 10 consecutive days of leave in conjunction with the birth of a baby. The leave must be taken within 45 days of the baby's birth, unless the soldier is deployed at the time. In that case, the soldier has 60 days from the time of redeployment to use the 10 days of leave time. This leave is non-chargeable!

This policy mainly applies to male spouses so they are able to have that bonding time as a family after their new arrival. Female soldier who give birth as well as soldier who choose to adopt fall under different guidelines.

What are your thoughts on this new policy?