AWTR Show #877: Ohana Homefront Foundation

It’s okay to not be okay. Sometimes one good smile or one ear to listen can make all the difference. The founders of Ohana Homefront Foundation (OHF) wanted to make sure that families were taken care of so that the service members could focus on their job and vice versa.

Do you have a friend or family member that you’re worried about, but aren’t sure how to start the conversation? Start by letting them know that you’re there for them. Be sure to put the focus on them. And when in doubt ask, below are some sample questions to get things going:

• How can I best support you?
• What are you in the mood for right now?
• Do you want to talk about it?
• How are you feeling?
• Do you want to be alone or do you want company?
• Don’t say “I understand.” Let them talk, they will tell you what they want you to know.
• There’s no shame in a genuine “I’m so sorry”.

Suicide in our Military Community is an issue, especially for the families, yet it is not spoken about at the same level as Active Duty and Veterans. The OHF’s mission is to support the ENTIRE Military Community when it comes to suicide awareness by bringing the talk of suicide to the front for the Military Community as a whole and to offer support to all that hold down the Homefront.

Sarah Otto founded OHF in 2021 with fellow MilSpouse, Natalie Ealy. Sarah is the 2017 and 2018 NSF Dahlgren Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year and has spent over 2 decades advocating for our Military & their Families. Her husband, Jay, is a US Navy Veteran who retired in 2018 after over 21 years Active Duty.  They have 3 (adult) children, a granddaughter on the way, 2 furbabies, and 2 goats.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Ohana Homefront Foundation, check out their website here or connect with them on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.

News 6 with Jolene

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of Feb. 14, 2022, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

U.S. Troops Rapidly Deployed to Europe

Two thousand U.S. troops have been deployed to Europe, with another 1,700 scheduled to arrive early this week, reported NPR. The troop buildup is in response to Russia building their own armed forces in western Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. “Another 1,000 soldiers stationed in Germany will be repositioned eastward to Romania, which also shares a border with western Ukraine,” said NPR.

Military Health System Continuing Health Record Rollout

The Military Health System is continuing its rollout on the MHS GENESIS health care system. According to Health.mil, “MHS GENESIS, the new electronic health record for the Military Health System (MHS), provides enhanced, secure technology to manage your health information . . . When fully deployed, MHS GENESIS will provide a single health record for service members, veterans, and their families.”

File Taxes to Receive Full Child Tax Credit

File your taxes. A new effort from the Biden administration is encouraging everyone to file their taxes, including those who don’t traditionally file taxes because their income is very low. “President Joe Biden increased the child tax credits to $3,600 annually for each child under the age of 5, and $3,000 for those who are ages 6 to 17,” reported AP News.

Military Members Represent U.S. in 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, are in full swing. The games will run through Sunday, Feb. 20. A total of ten military members are representing the United States, with nine planning to compete and one as an alternate, reported Military Times. Military athletes are competing in Bobsled, Nordic Combined, Biathlon, Skeleton, and Luge. AAFES has again partnered with NBC so military members can watch for free!

• Visit: NBC Olympics online  
• Choose “Exchange” as your service provider
• Log into your Shop My Exchange account

AAFES Frequently Asked Questions

You can check out more of this week’s top stories here.

Resource Recon with Chrissy and Amanda

This week’s Resource Recon is all about our latest Social Media Scoop. 

Last month the Command Team was sharing some of their big dreams for the new year, and one post that really seemed to interest our followers was an image of our Podcast Assistant, Annie Pearce and her son, Owen, in the snow. She was holding a sign that read “Go for a hike she said, it will be fun she said” Kind of poking fun at her big dream to spend 1,000 hours outside, and it’s frigid cold and snowy up at Fort Drum.

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda B.

Today we are showcasing Army Wife Network’s Platoon Member of the Month, which means someone who is positive and empowering on our social media. With that, we’d love to recognize Morgan Farr.

Morgan is a Texas-loving, succulent-cultivating, book nerd and aspiring author. As an Army wife of 8 years, Morgan has learned to lean heavily on Christ as she walks this military life. Morgan and her husband have four children (ages 7, 5, 3, & 1) and two fantastic dogs.

As a jack-of-all-trades, Morgan is always working on projects. When she isn’t homeschooling her children, writing for Christian publications, or training her Dutch Shepherd, Morgan can be found listening to Texas country music while she is crafting, lifting weights, or reading.

Morgan is best known for her structure, discipline, and organization. Using these skills Morgan helped her husband build an awesome garage gym ministry called Farr Fitness. While they are stationed in Philadelphia they are on a sabbatical from the gym ministry and look forward to starting it back up at their next duty station.

You can connect with Morgan on her blog morgandfarr.blogspot.com and on all major social media channels using her handle: morgandfarr.

Thank you so much again to Morgan Farr for showing your amazing support for Army Wife Network and empowering other milspouses!

Thank You

Thank you for tuning into this week’s episode. Please leave a five-star rating and review on Apple podcasts, then send us a screenshot of your review to info@armywifenetwork.com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @armywifenetwork to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of AWN. We appreciate your engagement and support.

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