At a recent summit exploring the issues many spouses face when trying to get licenses and certifications in their career fields each time they move, a Virginia lawmaker urged spouses to notify their elected representatives when they encounter roadblocks — with that or any legislative issues.
At the summit, an example was offered of a hairdresser who had moved to Virginia with her Navy corpsman husband. She had licenses from five states where she and her husband had lived.
But when she took them to the Virginia state office and asked for an expedited review to get her Virginia hairdresser’s license, she was told she needed notarized copies of the other licenses. Getting those notarized copies added more than four months to the “expedited” license review process.
Bryce Reeves, a Virginia state senator who was on a panel discussing the issues at the American Legion-sponsored summit, said state legislators need to know if there are problems in the ways legislation is implemented, because that kind of information doesn’t always filter back up through the bureaucratic process.
Knowing that notarized documents were required “would have boiled my blood,” Reeves said.
When you encounter roadblocks and can’t get a satisfactory answer about a policy or procedure, and you feel that you’ve taken your questions as far as you can, contact your elected representatives.
If it’s a state policy, you can generally find contact information on your state legislature’s website. The Defense Department’s state liaison office also works with states to make them aware of a number of issues, including license portability.
Sesame Street on road again
Katie the military kid is about to make the transition to civilian life with her family, and all of her Sesame Street buddies are there to help her make the change a happy one.
USO and Sesame Street are headed to 45 military installations in nine countries to perform more than 100 shows between now and October. This new show tackles a common reality for military families — making the transition to civilian life.
The free, 30-minute show, “Katie’s Family Transitions to Civilian Life,” features new songs, choreography and messages of support for military kids. The Sesame Street troupe also is taking the popular “Katie is Moving to a New Base” show on its tour. Each installation decides which show performs, based on that installation’s needs. Some have chosen both shows.
The show is running at bases in Alaska through May 20; in Italy June 7-16; and in Germany June 19-July 9. For a complete listing of locations and times, visit uso.org/Sesame/Tour-Schedule/.
Later dates and locations will be posted as they become available.
