SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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SOLDIER & FAMILY

ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

NEWSLETTER

MISSON STATEMENT:

O ur mission at the Soldier and Family

Assistance Center is to provide a sup-

portive environment for soldiers and

Family members as they deal with the

stress and uncertainly of injury, the effects of war,

and transition. We will strive to ensure that the

needs of the Soldier and Family are met and their

well-being is maintained.

June/July/August 2015

Soldier and Family Assistance

Center (SFAC)

Volume 4; Issue 2

Building 333, 35 Central Hospital Court

Fort Gordon, GA 30905

COMM: 706-791-8777

DSN: 94-780-8777

FAX: 706-792-8542

PROGRAM STAFF

SFAC DIRECTOR

706-791-4698

FRONT DESK

Information, Referral & Follow Up

706-791-0794

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

706-791-8387

SOCIAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE

706-791-2505

SOLDIER FOR LIFE (ACAP)

706-791-7341/4693

CHILD, YOUTH & SCHOOL SVCS

706-791-4722/4455

EDUCATION COUNSELORS

706-791-8503/7014

HUMAN RESOURCES

706-791-1574/1764

OUTREACH SERVICES

Vacant

Free Honorary Luncheon Langley United Methodist Church

July/August date to be determined

Call the SFAC at 791-8777 for more information

SFAC EVENTS Contact the SFAC Front Desk for sign-up. Space is lim-

ited. There is no cost and transportation is provided for

events such as bowling and luncheons!

Free Bowling

16 July 2015

Transportation will be provided

Please contact the SFAC to sign up

The Greatest American Superhero Run 28 June 2015

Costume run 5k

1 Mile Walk and Stroller Parade

Pets are Welcome!

Pre-register online for the run/walk to receive a

free t-shirt for this event!

www.fortgordonrunseries.com Race starts at the pavilion on the corner of Brainard and 36th street

Dominoes & Spades

10 June 2015 (tentative)

Location to be determined

Please contact the SFAC to register!

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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Positive Thinkers Have Twelve Qualities in Common: By: Susan Polis Shutz

1. They have confidence in themselves

2. They have a very strong sense of purpose

3. They never have excuses for not doing something

4. They always try their Hardest for perfection

5. They never consider the idea of failing

6. They work extremely hard toward their goals

7. They know who they are

8. They understand their weaknesses as well as their

strong points

9. They can accept and benefit from criticism

10. They know when to defend what they are doing

11. They are creative

12. They are not afraid to be a little different in find-

ing innovative solutions that will enable them to

achieve their dreams

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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Debt Quiz: Wondering if you need help?

Scoring: Give one point for every " Yes" answer .

Contact the SFAC Financial Advisor with your score to find

out what it means.

SFAC Stress Management/Alternative Skills Classes

Crocheting/Knitting Class Every Tuesday 1000-1100

SFAC Card Making Class Held on the fourth Thursday of every month

New unique cards offered monthly

All Classes and Materials are FREE!

1. Do you lie awake at night wondering how or if you

will ever get out of debt?

2. Do you dread opening the mail because you know that

bills are coming in that you may not be able to pay?

3. Are you living paycheck to paycheck with no sav-

ings?

4. Do you wish you had personalized guidance that

would help you better understand your debt relief?

5. Do you have more than 2 major credit cards with bal-

ances on them?

6. Do you ever feel stressed and argue with loved ones

about the money you owe?

7. Do you have to check the balances on your credit

cards to see if you can use them?

8. Are you paying only the minimum amount due on

most of your credit cards?

9. Are you borrowing from one card to pay another?

10. Are collectors or your creditors calling your Home

and place of work?

Financial classes and schedule change monthly.

Please contact the SFAC Financial Advisor for a list of classes available.

Next class scheduled for 30 July 2015 at 2pm.

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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The temporary authority allowing Soldiers to carry over 75 days of leave from one fiscal year into the next

will expire, Sept. 30.

Most Soldiers will only be allowed to carry 60 days of leave into the next fiscal year.

Soldiers will lose it, if they don't use it by Oct. 1, Army personnel officials said of leave in excess of 60

days, unless special leave accrual, or SLA applies.

SLA allows Soldiers who have served in a mission where they were eligible for hostile fire pay or immi-

nent danger pay for a continuous period of at least 120 days to accrue leave. Under SLA, Soldiers can ac-

cumulate a maximum of 120 days of leave (60 days of ordinary leave, plus 60 days of SLA).

Soldiers who meet the SLA provisions can still carry forward up to 120 days leave, if their leave and earn-

ings statement, also known as LES, has 60 days of leave coded as SLA and the LES remarks block shows

"Combat Zone Leave Carryover Balance" with its expiration date.

"Each Soldier has an individual responsibility to monitor and manage their leave," officials said in an all

Army activities, or ALARACT, message, dated March 1.

The 75-day carry-over authority began with the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing a

two-year temporary authority. Since then, Congress has extended the authority twice, adding four consecu-

tive years. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act is not expected to extend the authority, officials

said.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or DFAS, is in the process of emailing a notice to all

Soldiers projected to have more than 60 days accrued leave on Sept. 30, officials said. DFAS will

continue to include monthly notices on Soldiers' LES that state: "Important: Manage your leave. On Oct. 1,

2015, you will lose all accrued leave over 60 days, unless SLA applies."

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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Attention all CCU Soldiers, Family Members, and

Soldiers who prefer online classes:

You

can attend nearly all Soldier For Life (SFL-TAP) classes via their

online virtual classroom? Visit https://www.sfl-tap.army.mil/and click

on the Virtual Center tab at the top to register today!

“The SFL-TAP Virtual Center is an immersive, three-dimensional, online environment where Soldiers can re-

ceive all the transition and education services that they would normally receive at a brick-and-mortar SFL-

TAP Center.

”There are many resources to assist with military transition and job preparation. The SFL-TAP counselors can

conduct individual counseling sessions, assist with job searching, and provide resume assistance. Seminars are

conducted for resume preparation, interviewing training, and preparing for federal employment. Virtual Center

visitors can access the resource library which contains transition information, resume materials, seminar slides

and many other additional resources.” - https://www.sfl-tap.army.mil/pages/virtual/default.aspx

A sample weekly schedule is listed below. Please visit website above for full June/July/August schedule!

Did You Know?!?!

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TBI goes to college Today, veteran Richard Gilbert is a senior at the University of California-

San Diego. But eight years ago, he was a Marine Corps scout sniper on

deployment in Iraq when he took a bad fall during an operation and was

terribly wounded. Back home, doctors stitched up his stomach, his knee,

and his back — and diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder

and a traumatic brain injury. Of all his injuries, he says it’s the ones you

can’t see that bother him most.

“Having a broken body – break your arm, put it in a cast, you’ll be fine,” Gilbert says. “But with your brain,

you can’t put a Band-Aid on it. You can’t put a brace on it before you take a test. It doesn’t work like that.”

For Gilbert, damaged memory is probably the toughest hurdle. He can remember everything that happened be-

fore his injury. But for everything after, things are patchy: Some, he remembers clearly, in incredible detail;

other things pass out of his brain almost instantly.

“I had a rough week last quarter,” he says. “I forgot three papers. And I’m not talking like, a couple of days

before I remembered and I put it off. I showed up to class. And I don’t have an answer for that. I wish I did.”

Gilbert’s an action-oriented kind of guy: “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he says. So he’s come up with

elaborate systems to cope with his brain injury.

There’s the list of PTSD triggers and TBI symptoms that he jots down, so he can recognize what’s going on in

his head – things like loud noises, migraines and night terrors. There are the iPhone alarms that he sets to re-

mind himself of every class, appointment, and deadline. And there’s the whiteboard that his girlfriend, Betha-

ny Wilday, bought and hung right next to his door. On it, she’s has carefully written out a color-coded list of

every thing going on each week, as well as a reminder to turn off the oven, since Gilbert kept leaving it on

when he left the house.

Today, Richard Gilbert is doing well. He’s got a solid GPA in school. He’s traveled to 40 countries since leav-

ing the Marines. He’s starting a business to sell outdoor apparel and equipment. He says he know his brain’s

not normal – but he’s found the workarounds he needs to succeed.

“You have to be honest with yourself,” Gilbert says. “You have to come to terms with the fact that you’re not

‘normal.’ The thing is, I’m limited. And sometimes I sit back and I sometimes wonder how good could I be if I

didn’t have these limitations. Where would my GPA be if I didn’t have these injuries? But the first step is to

acknowledge that you do have a TBI and you do function significantly different than normal people. So even if

they’re doing something, it doesn’t mean that you can do it the same way. So I’ve just adapted and worked

around it. You just have to find a way to do it differently now, and you can overcome it.”

Article continues on page 7

Taking Brain Injury from Combat to Campus

Samara Freemark , American Public Media's Public Insight Network

Full article available at: http://www.brainlinemilitary.org/content/2013/05/taking-brain-injury-from-combat-to-campus.html

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for a list of all upcoming classes and events at SFAC!

www.facebook.com/gordonSFAC

Scan code to “Like” us

on Facebook!

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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TBI as a disability In a school setting, traumatic brain injury falls under the Americans

with Disabilities Act, which means students who’ve been diagnosed

generally qualify for special accommodations like extra test-taking

time, use of laptops or note-taking help.

Richard Gilbert, for example, got help from his school’s disability ser-

vices office, which he says was a “lifesaver.” Now he’s allowed to

wear sunglasses during lectures, to ward off the migraines that are a

symptom of his brain injury, and use a laptop in class, even when oth-

er students aren’t, though that can make him feel like he’s outing him-

self as disabled to a whole lecture hall.

“I want to pull it out,” he says, “because that’s how I remember stuff.

But then everyone in that room, all 350 people, will be like, why does

he get to have his laptop, he looks fine. It’s just a very uncomfortable

situation.”

And student veterans may be less likely than other disabled students to

even make it to their disability services office in the first place, ac-

cording to Meg Mitcham, director of veterans programs at the Ameri-

can Council on Education.

“The trouble is getting them to the door in the first place,” she says.

“We’ve all heard the stigmas against help seeking behaviors for the

military population. And then keep in mind, you don’t know you have

the injury perhaps, you don’t know that there are services and accom-

modations available out there, and you might think that you don’t need

or don’t want help for that.”

And many veterans may need academic help before they ever set foot

on campus. Amy Jak, a neuropsychologist at the Department of Veter-

ans Affairs in San Diego, leads a course at a VA clinic in Oceanside,

Calif., for veterans with TBI who are returning to school.

Jak developed the course in 2008, when she started to notice how her

patients were struggling once they got to college. The syllabus covers

study skills, concentration and focus and reading comprehension.

Tom Cottle, one of Jak’s students who was wounded in a suicide

bombing in Iraq when he was deployed there with the Army, came to

the class to get a head start before he enrolls in school next semester.

“With the brain injury, the whole learning process is real slow now,”

he says. “Your memory is gone: short-term, long-term. Sometimes

your words come out, you’ll mix them up. It’s a whole gauntlet of

things that happen. It’s horrible. I don’t want to set myself up for fail-

ure.”

Please contact the SFAC Education Services Specialists for any additional

information at 706-791-8777/7014/8503

Wounded Warriors Child

Care Subsidy Benefit

For additional information contact: Connie Preston

Outreach Services Director

Child, Youth, & School Services

Bldg. 44401 44th St.

Fort Gordon, GA 30905

706-791-4722/4455

SOLDIER & FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER (SFAC)

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KIDS BOWL

FREE ALL

SUMMER!

________________________

June-August

(all week, ages 3-16)

Kids receive two games and

free shoe rental during normal

business hours for the dates

listed above.

No groups and 1 visit per day

per child. For more details,

call 706-791-3446.

March 7—September 30

Hook a Soldier on Golf Saturday Mornings from 1000-1100

At Gordon Lakes Golf Club

June 27

Young/New Driver’s

Class Gordon’s Car Care auto

Skills Center

Starts June 1st

Summer Reading

Program At Woodworth Consolidated

Library

May 30

1st Fort Gordon

Army Ten Miler

Pre-Qualifier At Barton Field

June 6

Kids’ Fishing

Derby At Claypit Lake

June 27

Greatest American

Superhero Run Starting at the Courtyard

Pavilion

Facebook.com/fortgordonmwr @fortgordonmwr Explore: Fort Gordon MWR

Pininterest.com/fortgordonmwr Text “MWR” to “70720” Flickr.com/fort_gordon_mwr

This is a year-round program open to all allowing you to track

your mileage with your favorite GPS Device (phone, FitBit,

NikeFit, etc.) and show your log to the fitness facility staff for

verification. Miles will then be logged on our website. Partic-

ipants will earn rewards for completing certain goals and at-

taining miles. For more info, please call 706-791-2647.

GOALS: Walking 500 Miles * Running 1000 Miles * Biking 2500 Miles

For more details and updates on these events, as well as a

full list of all Fort Gordon MWR has going on, visit

WWW.FORTGORDON.COM/EVENTS

-Events subject to change-