Soldiers and Their Families Will Be Eligible for Up to $4,000 in Grants for Emergency Travel

Soldiers and their families will be able to get thousands of dollars in emergency travel costs covered by a top Army nonprofit group beginning next year. The group, Army Emergency Relief, said it will offer airfare grants of up to $2,000 for domestic travel and $4,000 for international trips to troops who need to fly […]
Maine Army Reserve Shooter's Military Records to Be Turned Over to Victims' Families

BATH — A woman who lost her son and husband in the Lewiston mass shooting was granted legal power to request the gunman’s medical and military records. Cynthia Young was made special administrator over Robert Card’s estate in Sagadahoc County Probate Court on Tuesday, almost a year after Card committed the deadliest mass shooting in […]
Families of Lewiston Shooting Victims Ask Judge for Army Reserve Gunman's Medical Records

More than 90 people who lost loved ones in the Lewiston mass shooting last October are trying to obtain the gunman’s medical and military records through his estate. A Sagadahoc County probate judge may determine whether to release those records during a hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. On Oct. 25, 2023, Robert Card, of Bowdoin, […]
Trump Issues Statement From Gold Star Families Defending Arlington Cemetery Visit and Ripping Harris
ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement Sunday from the Gold Star military families who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery as they defended the Republican presidential nominee and insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate politicizing fallen U.S. service members. It’s the latest volley in an extended back and forth […]
Former US Army Counselor Who Stole Millions from Gold Star Families Sentenced to Prison

A New Jersey financial counselor and U.S. Army reservist who admitted to defrauding Gold Star families that received death benefits after their family members died serving in the military has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison. Caz Craffy also will be subject to three years of supervised release and was ordered […]
How Moves Put Military Families of Color at Risk

Jennifer Barnhill is a columnist for Military.com writing about military families. Moving may be a part of military life, but for families of color and other groups, military moves pose more than an inconvenience: They threaten their safety. That puts our nation’s readiness at risk. “There’s an unspoken known factor of places that are red-flagged […]
Surprise Bills: Military Families, Advocates Fight Unexpected Base Housing Move-Out Fees

Brittany Loy and her soldier husband were moving out of The Villages at Fort Moore, Georgia, this spring as they headed to a new posting in Alaska when they found out they were on the hook for a $2,000 move-out fee. The bill included the cost to replace the air conditioning unit in the home’s […]
Special Needs Military Families Report Mixed Feelings About Program to Help with Medical Care, Services

A new Pentagon survey of military families with special needs members found that less than half were satisfied and 57% were dissatisfied or had no opinion about the Exceptional Family Member Program, or EFMP, though reactions varied by military branch. The Defense Department surveyed 100,000 active-duty troops enrolled in EFMP from November 2022 through March […]
Arlington Horse-Drawn Funerals to Remain Suspended as Families Grapple with Burial Arrangements

The Army says it will continue the suspension of horse-drawn funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery after roughly a year of no operations, leaving some family members with a tough decision on how they want to honor their service members. The timeline for when those services will resume is unclear, officials said Friday. The original […]
Army Financial Counselor Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Gold Star Families of Death Gratuity, Life Insurance Money

A financial counselor for the Army’s Casualty Assistance Center in New Jersey pleaded guilty Monday to wire and securities fraud in a scheme that bilked Gold Star families out of the money awarded them after the death of their service member. Caz Craffy, who also went by Carz Craffey, was responsible for educating surviving family […]