By Carrie Stoelting and Stacie Stoelting Hudzinski
In our newsfeed, a poignant photo appeared of a brave military wife and her newborn baby girl. Yet something else caused pause: the beaming father absent from the photo. Yes, one of our military friends could not return for the birth of his daughter because of the coronavirus-related travel ban. And the alarming thought is that countless other military families face similar challenges.
In March, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper imposed a 60-day worldwide stop movement order. This week it was announced that the ban will be in effect until June 30, although some restrictions have been lifted. The Defense Department estimates that at least 90,000 service members have been impacted by the stop-movement order. That means that people are frozen in place. Families are separated. And some families are quarantined together.
COVID-19 dominates the media and fills countless stories and ads. Almost every aspect of life includes a reference to it. However, one highly important aspect that has been grossly overlooked is how COVID-19 is affecting our military, military families, and our veterans. Currently, there have been 3,438 positive COVID-19 cases within our active military, yet this number changes daily.
Our military heroes, their families, and veterans of all ages need our attention and prayers -including the Martinez family.
A Military Family Copes with COVID-19
Kathleen Martinez is married to a Marine officer at Camp Pendleton. Originally, he was supposed to deploy overseas for the first time. But now those plans are on hold. Kathleen shared, "We were going to have me go live back in the Midwest while he was deployed, because it is the first deployment. We don't have any family or support system out here. We thought that would be a smart idea."
But now the Martinez family must stay in San Diego where housing options are limited. Their lease is about to expire. Until this situation resolves, they will have to lease month to month and that's significantly more expensive.
Kathleen Martinez continued to say, "I feel stuck, uncertain. Everything is up in the air. I'm a planner and everything is up in the air right now, so that's a little nerve wracking, just not knowing what's next."
Military Support Groups Reach Out
Military support group Blue Star Families recently conducted a survey. During the first week of the survey, 21% of respondents said that they will be paying two rents or mortgages in the next 60 days. By the second week of the survey 37% of respondents said their spouse lost their civilian job. About one third of the respondents said they plan to dip into savings.
Lauren White of Blue Star Families said, "There are a lot of financial issues. People are without housing or are unable to make rent. Or are unable to afford food even."
She continued to say, "We want you to take a deep breath and realize that a big part of the world has just come to a halt. So you're not in any different situation than a lot of other people. Get them in order and start making phone calls to each one of those people and talk about your situation. You're going to be able to put some things on hold. You're going to be able to come up with some payment plans."
Another Military Family's Story
We recently learned about a family in Tulsa, Oklahoma who has been financially hit hard by the affects of COVID-19. The husband is a veteran. He was laid off. And then his wife was let go as well. This couple has two small children.
Sadly, this story is all too common during this time for both military and non-military families. As a nation, we need to pray and safely reach out to our neighbors to lend a helping hand. One such outreach is Soldier's Wish, which has reached out to offer support to the Tulsa couple. Soldier's Wish strives to identify unmet needs of veterans and then provide the necessary resources in response.
Soldier's Wish
Soldier's Wish executive director Lyndsey Tyler said, "Everyone has known someone who's served, whether it's an immediate relative or a dear friend, it's someone not that far removed. Everyone knows someone that's served, so it's time we serve them, and anytime we get the opportunity to give back to those who've served our country it's truly and honor and a blessing for us."
If you know a military family who's been financially affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, you can nominate them at www.soldierswish.org.
And, again, please join us on our latest project to honor all heroes in this very important time in this unprecedented time in history with a literally invisible enemy. Join Mission Possible: Honoring Heroes 2020 today at info@unitetheusa.org and please pray for us as we reach out at this time. Thank you, fellow uniters!
With God's help, we will not allow COVID-19 to fog our 2020 vision of honoring our heroes. Amen?