1. April 2003, Vol. 1 Altoona Region Family Action Center MSG James Vatter* & SGT Chris Zimmerman 327 Frankstown Road, Altoona, PA 16602 Local: 814-569-1608 Toll free: 800-494-7087 For emergencies: Temporarily 814-386-5972 (cell) 717-821-2028 (cell) Fax 814-569-1609 james.vatter@pa.ngb.army.mil christopher.raymo.zimmerman@us.army.mil * 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 717-248-5852 CPT Eric Zimmerman 717-248-6708 FRG LEADER Mrs. Lineberry 717-755-9045 UNIT POC SSG Curtiss Smith 814-643-3030 FRG LEADER Mrs. Barbara Hawn 814-643-3202 UNIT POC SSG Russell Corey 814-652-5533 FRG LEADER Mrs. Christy MacIntyre 814-839-9125 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 800-297-8449 MT PLEASANT SFC Mark Powell 800-266-8641 JOHNSTOWN* MSG James Vatter 866-864-3576 SGT Heather Huston HARRISBURG LTC Rodney Miller 800-801-0863 MSG Jon McWilliams SGT Shana Longenecker LEWISBURG* SGT Calvin Miller 800-801-3201 SPC Ricky Philips SCRANTON* SGT Daniel Stella 800-593-7286 PHILADELPHIA 1SG Lawrence Kerwood 800-694-8730 SGT Ayoko Patterson *Denotes office will be closed after 31 May 03. ALLENTOWN CSM Kenneth Hill 610-721-8059

2. UNIT POCs SSG Deborah Wilkins 724-832-5318 SSG Joseph Wilt 814-533-2370 FRG LEADER Mrs. Patty Coleman 814-479-7123 PAGE 2APRIL 2003, VOL. 1 ALTOONA, PA CLEARFIELD, PA JOHNSTOWN, PA ALTOONA, PA UNIT POC SGT Beth Krider 814-765-4352 FRG LEADER Vacant UNIT POC SGT Richard Lafferty 814-946-7351 FRG LEADER Mrs. Cheryl Whipple 814-941-6552 UNIT POC 1SG Arthur Vaughn 814-946-7353 FRG LEADER Mrs. Mary Schultz 814-944-7838 SOLDIER’S RANK/NAME SOLDIER’S UNIT C/O POST LOCATOR 845 HASE RD, SUITE 102 FT. STEWART, GA 31314 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 www.tricare.osd.mil/enrollment 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: http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Military_Affairs/FAM/index.html Information on Legal, Education, Medical & Financial issues: www.guardfamily.org Counseling, financial assistance, & emergencies: www.redcross.org To find Tricare authorized pharmacies & doctors, NMOP: www.sierramilitary.com Dental program information: www.ucci.com Soldier & Sailors Civil relief act and other Legal questions: www.jagcnet.army.mil/legal All soldiers are required to establish an Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account. They can access email, 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 emails to commercial email 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 www.us.army.mil/portal_home.jhtml and follow the process for a new user. Once this is accomplished, your sponsor will be contacted via email 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.