April 2003, Vol. 1 Altoona Region Family Action Center MSG James Vatter* & SGT Chris Zimmerman 327 Frankstown Road, Altoona, PA Local: Toll free: For emergencies: Temporarily (cell) (cell) Fax * Acting Supervisor until vacant position is filled. O ur first issue is basically going to be dedicated to making sure everyone has the appropriate point of contact information for your Unit Rear Detachment, Family Readiness Group (FRG), and Family Action Center (FAC) closest to you. When and who should you call? The FRG is there for you to develop relationships with other family members who also have loved ones deployed or deploying overseas. Family Readiness Groups establish communication networks to keep family members informed and involved. Whereas, the Family Action Center provides support and referrals for financial, legal, TRICARE, DEERS, ID cards, Chaplain assistance, and other issues that the FRG and the Unit Rear Detachment may not be able to provide. HUNTINGDON, PA LEWISTOWN, PA EVERETT, PA UNIT POC SGT Andrew Daddario CPT Eric Zimmerman FRG LEADER Mrs. Lineberry UNIT POC SSG Curtiss Smith FRG LEADER Mrs. Barbara Hawn UNIT POC SSG Russell Corey FRG LEADER Mrs. Christy MacIntyre Monthly FAC Newsletter T here are several other Family Action Centers located across Pennsylvania. You are welcome to contact or visit any of them for assistance. It’s not required that you only use the one closest to your soldier member’s unit. Many soldiers drill at armories located quite some distance from their homes. If one FAC is closer to your home feel free to contact that office so we can provide you with better service. CORAOPOLIS* SPC Candice Johnson MT PLEASANT SFC Mark Powell JOHNSTOWN* MSG James Vatter SGT Heather Huston HARRISBURG LTC Rodney Miller MSG Jon McWilliams SGT Shana Longenecker LEWISBURG* SGT Calvin Miller SPC Ricky Philips SCRANTON* SGT Daniel Stella PHILADELPHIA 1SG Lawrence Kerwood SGT Ayoko Patterson *Denotes office will be closed after 31 May 03. ALLENTOWN CSM Kenneth Hill

UNIT POCs SSG Deborah Wilkins SSG Joseph Wilt FRG LEADER Mrs. Patty Coleman PAGE 2APRIL 2003, VOL. 1 ALTOONA, PA CLEARFIELD, PA JOHNSTOWN, PA ALTOONA, PA UNIT POC SGT Beth Krider FRG LEADER Vacant UNIT POC SGT Richard Lafferty FRG LEADER Mrs. Cheryl Whipple UNIT POC 1SG Arthur Vaughn FRG LEADER Mrs. Mary Schultz SOLDIER’S RANK/NAME SOLDIER’S UNIT C/O POST LOCATOR 845 HASE RD, SUITE 102 FT. STEWART, GA You may use the following address to send letters and care packages to your loved ones while they’re at Fort Stewart. F or those who had been briefed and considered themselves only covered by Tricare Standard or Tricare Extra, you may now be eligible for Tricare Prime Remote if your soldier is called to active duty for 30 or more days. The big key here is you’ll have No Co- Pay! However, it is an enrollment based program. You must enroll by the 20th of the month in order to be covered under Tricare Prime Remote by the 1st of the next month. This process doesn’t mean you are not covered during the interim. You are automatically covered under Tricare Standard or Extra from the day your soldier goes on active duty until the Tricare Prime Remote coverage begins. Enrollment forms can be downloaded from the website. E veryone eligible for Tricare benefits is eligible for the pharmacy benefit. Short term prescriptions (such as antibiotics) of up to 30 days can be filled locally at $3.00 for generics and $9.00 for brand names. If your docotr wishes you use the medication more than 90 days, you should order through the National Mail Order Pharmacy Program. NMOP is also $3.00 for generics and $9.00 for brand names. Deployment information for 28 ID families: Information on Legal, Education, Medical & Financial issues: Counseling, financial assistance, & emergencies: To find Tricare authorized pharmacies & doctors, NMOP: Dental program information: Soldier & Sailors Civil relief act and other Legal questions: All soldiers are required to establish an Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account. They can access , instant messaging and other important information on this military website. What few realize is that they can sponsor family members to get guest accounts. This provides a very secure way to communicate with your deployed loved one and is very important since soldiers sometimes are unable to access or send s to commercial accounts. It should also help reduce your phone/postage bills. Instant messaging is another wonderful way to keep in touch with loved ones. It allows you to have a conversation with each other over the computer without the time constraints and costs of a phone call. Army Knowledge Online offers this service. No programs are required to be downloaded either, which allows you to use AKO on any computer with internet access. To establish an account visit and follow the process for a new user. Once this is accomplished, your sponsor will be contacted via to confirm they want you to have the account. After he or she gives their okay, you’ll be able to use the AKO Services.