The Army will celebrate its 231st Birthday on June 14. This day will be marked by celebrations and special events at Army installations worldwide.

Birthdays often are a time to pause momentarily and look back at accomplishments and success, and look forward to what the future might hold.

This is also rings true for one of America's oldest and proudest institutions. In its rich history, the Army has had many successes, and has experienced its fair share of growing pains.

However, today it remains a strong institution with a very bright and prosperous future.

While many can argue as to what has made the Army successful, few could dispute that the people who make up the Army team are at the root of each success in the Army's past. For 231 years Americans have heard our nation's call and responded whole-heartedly with the highest level of dedication and commitment. Answering that call has so inspired Army leaders that the phrase "Call to Duty" was chosen as the Army's theme on its 230th Birthday. And fittingly as this theme still rings true the Army will continue to use it this year as well.

We all know that our Soldiers stand ready to answer our nation's call, and have earned a reputation for doing so without fail. Often with very little or even no notice at all.

However, there's another special group of extremely dedicated individuals who answer that very same call, day in and day out, and in most cases without wearing a uniform or even bearing arms — these highly-dedicated patriots are our Army Families.

Throughout the past 231 years every American Soldier who has ever answered the call did so with the full support of their family. At points in time throughout our rich American History, the Army Family grew as many Americans voluntarily choose to support the men and women in their communities who answered the call; Soldiers are quite often supported during these times by a group of "extended" Army Family members, which can often include friends, loved ones and veterans looking out for those left behind.

The greatest example of this was quite possibly during World War II, a time in which Americans have been labeled as the "Greatest Generation" largely due to the effort the whole nation took in defending freedom. Today is no different, as Americans are increasingly standing behind our Soldiers and their families as the Army remains engaged in this nation's Global War on Terrorism.

The special men and women who have chosen to answer this call to duty have done so in a selfless manner, knowing that they serve a greater good in providing others with the rights guaranteed Americans in our Constitution — rights paid for by the blood of the first American Soldiers. Today's Soldiers continue that proud tradition of selfless service … giving of themselves so that others may live free.

Army families too, know full well the meaning of selfless service, as they give of themselves freely each day their Soldier serves. Without the dedication and support that Army Families provide, our Soldiers would not be able to perform their duty to the best of their ability, thus making the role of the Army Family even more critical in times of war.

As the Army continues to look to the future, it will remain strong because it is the nature of Americans to answer the call, regardless if it is a call to arms or a call to support the men and women who've chosen to serve in our Army.

As the summer months arrive, moving season has also arrived and many Army families are preparing to relocate to new communities, new homes, and new schools.

Transitioning to a new location requires time and effort by parents and children. Most people prefer to move during the summer months resulting in a May through August peak moving season in both the military and corporate worlds.

During these months van lines are saturated with bookings, creating shortages of drivers, packers, helpers, trucks and warehouse space, which often results in added stress for all.

A successful move is not a matter of chance, but rather the result of planning and hard work. Plan ahead; the earlier you make arrangements, the more likely you are to secure your desired moving dates. Here are a few helpful hints:

Advice on family relocation:

Take charge of your move: Being fully prepared for a move is the best way to reduce stress. As soon as you have orders, get a notebook (your "moving" book) and start planning. Assess your financial situation, determine what you'll need, make inventories, establish a timetable, get information on the new location, and don't forget to set aside time to deal with your feelings.

Talk it out: Sit down as a family and discuss your feelings about the move. Allow and encourage everyone to express their honest feelings, good and bad.

Everybody plans: Let children be involved in the planning process for the new home so they will feel less helpless about the move.

Keep familiar patterns: As much as possible, try to stick to the old routine such as mealtimes and bedtimes. Familiarity provides security.

Give yourself a break: Each family member handles stress differently. Don't ignore signals of stress, but don't dwell on them either. Just be aware, be patient, and be willing to look for help if it is needed.

Keep an eye on the kids: Since moving can be traumatic for kids, staying in touch with new teachers is very important. Help your kids find ways to meet new friends but don't push. Even though most kids do adjust, it's essential for parents to watch for possible danger signals such as a child spending too much time alone, loss of interest in favorite things, loss of energy or appetite, or other changes in a child's behavior patterns.

Be optimistic, but stay flexible: Things rarely turn out the way we imagine them in our worst, or even our best, expectations. An open mind and determination to make your move a positive experience is the best insurance that you'll adjust well wherever you go. Change can mean opportunity if you reach out and embrace it.

Accentuate the positive: Make a list of things about the new location that you're looking forward to, also make a list of good memories from the old location. Take time to have fun, and remember that laughter can often heal a lot of hurt.

Explore the new environment: Get up, get out, and get involved; the best medicine for loneliness is people and the best way to overcome the feeling of being uprooted is to put down roots in the new location.

Don't go it alone: Moving isn't easy and though you'll probably manage it well, there may be a time when you'll need some special support and assistance. You can find that support through your relocation counselor, chaplain, neighbors, and many of the social services in your community.

Tender Loving Care: Stress can negatively affect the body and the mind and make you more vulnerable to illness. Families need to give themselves a little extra TLC at moving time by eating the right foods and getting enough sleep.

Say your good-byes: It's important to deal with good-byes and express feelings of sadness so you can move on emotionally as well as physically.

Informative relocation Web sites:

Military Child Education Coalition — www.militarychild.org;

Army Morale Welfare and Recreation, Child and Youth Services — www.armymwr.com/portal/family/childandyouth/;

Army Community Services — www.myarmylifetoo.com;

No Child Left Behind - www.nochildleftbehind.gov/.

Department of Defense Dependents Schools across Europe have begun the process of re-registering and pre-registering students for the 2006-2007 school year.

Sponsors of children new to the DoDDS-E system must register their children for the coming school year. Sponsors of students who attended DoDDS-E schools this school year must re-register their children. The DoDDS-Europe Pre-Registration Web site — www.eu.dodea.edu — is available for all parents and sponsors to pre-register students for next year.

Access to this site is through the "Registration" link on the official DoDDS-Europe Web site.. For more information, visit your school's Web site, also reached through the DoDDS-Europe Web site, or contact your local school office.

Advice on changing schools:

Contact Army Community Service — Relocation Program (SITES) for information on your new assignment, and the surrounding communities.

Make sure you have a sponsor. Ask your sponsor questions about the schools, housing, and youth programs in your new location.

Visit the Web site for both the State Department of Education and local, county or district school system. If you're going overseas, visit the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Web site at www.dodea.edu/.

Contact the housing office at your new location for assistance with on-post or community-based housing. If you must live in temporary quarters in a different school zone, contact your School Liaison Officer for assistance.

Check the new school calendar for starting and ending dates.

Be familiar with the process of transferring records, school eligibility requirements (kindergarten age), and placement procedures of students.

If you have a student in high school, get information on the gaining state's high school graduation requirements. Be familiar with the grading and credit systems. (Remember, you may request a tour extension from the Army, if your child is a junior or senior in high school.)

Give the losing school adequate notice of withdrawal. It is Army policy to in/out process with the school.

Hand-carry copies of all recommended school records. Be sure not put these records in with your household goods!

Contact the School Liaison Officer or school counselor at your new location for assistance before you move.

The functions of the WBLO are varied and numerous. The WBLO brings significant issues (realities of Army life) into the decision-making process, and reaches out to all groups in our Army Family through personal visits, newsletters (Army Well-Being magazine and FLO Notes newsletter), as well as through the Army Families Online Web site — www.armyfamiliesonline.org.

The WBLO manages, answers, and tracks individual and group issues gathered through the Army Information Line (1-800-833-6622); monthly Well-Being polls and surveys; ArmyFamily.Link@hqda.army.mil e-mail; community contacts; and numerous forums.

The WBLO identifies, validates, and studies trends and issues impacting the Well-Being of the Army Family and communicates those findings to leaders in commands, the Well-Being Division and Headquarters, Department of the Army.

Additionally, the WBLO assists in the execution of the Well-Being Strategic Plan.

The Well Being Liaison Office's Army Information Line staff has recently had several changes in personnel.

In April, the Army Information Line bid farewell to Alicia Kadesch, a dedicated and hard working constituent liaison. Alicia was instrumental in revising the Army Information Line statistic forms and spreadsheets and exclusively responsible for the Army Information Line monthly report and insured that it was distributed to Well-Being staff members.

Alicia worked as a constituent liaison from September 2005 to April 2006; when she accepted a position with Dare Mighty Things.

Glenda Carter, who formerly served as a Constituent Liaison, has been promoted to Special Projects Officer and will be the new editor of the FLO Notes. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. She has been associated with the military and family support/readiness groups for more than 20 years as an Army spouse. During that time she has endured two combat deployments, her most recent being Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

The WBLO would like to welcome two new staff members — Jackie Berryman and Terrie McCue — to the Army Information Line.

Jackie Berryman is married to Petty Officer 1st Class Al Berryman, and has been a U.S. Coast Guard spouse for six years. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Aaliyah, who recently turned 6. She currently attends Strayer University, where she is majoring in Accounting. Her past experience includes working for a defense contractor.

Terrie McCue holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services from Hawaii Pacific University. McCue is married to John McCue, a recently-retired Army colonel. The McCue's have three children: Liza, 21; Mandy, 18; and Jack, 16. She has been a military spouse for more than 27 years, and enjoyed assignments in Hawaii, Australia, Germany and Panama. Her experience with military family support includes working the Army Family Action Plan, Family Readiness Groups, Army Community Service and Red Cross Disaster Relief Support.

Research shows that 483,514 children of active-duty servicemembers and 177,888 children of National Guard and reserve servicemembers are less than five years of age. These children deal with several unique challenges associated with living life as a military child.

In response, Sesame Workshop and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., have partnered in the development of 138,000 bilingual, multiple-media outreach kits. Sesame Workshop will develop the outreach project to help the young children of members of the U.S. Armed Services, National Guard and reserves deal with the various stresses of military life.

Featuring the Sesame Street muppets, this program entitled "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families Cope with Military Deployment" is designed for military families with children between the ages of three and five. Starting this summer, the kits will be available at no cost to schools, childcare programs, family support centers and other organizations serving the needs of military families.

These resources will provide specific strategies to help young children cope with the feelings, challenges, and concerns experienced during various phases of deployment, pre-deployment, and homecoming. The Workshop can be found online at www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/inside_press.php?contentId=15687875.

Military Homefront is pleased to provide "new information" about the NFL Players Donation that is available to all Armed Forces personnel, including members of the reserve components, active-duty, and their families.

In association with eKnowledge LLC, the Department of Defense recently announced that a group of NFL, NFL Europe, AFL and CFL football players, represented through the Victory Sports Group Agency, is donating several million dollars worth of SAT and ACT test preparation programs valued at $199 each to military families for the school 2005-2007 years.

The sponsorship will last through the entire 2005-07 school years, which will end July 1, 2007.

Families may now use the program for an entire year even if the program is requested the last day of the sponsorship. Through this sponsorship, active-duty, National Guard, reserve and retired military personnel can obtain eKnowledge's $199 SAT/ACT Standard Power Prep program(s) and the $199 fee is waived.

Families who request the program(s) pay only the shipping and handling costs associated with the request. Servicemembers may request as many programs as they need for the students in their lives.

To facilitate ordering, DoD has established a secure connection through its Military Homefront Web site - www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/. This connection will quickly verify a person's military status before linking them to the software ordering site.

You may access the verification and order pages by clicking on the "VSG/NFL Players Donation" link in the "Special Offers" section of Military Homefront's left-side navigation menu.

The programs have a one-year license and are intended for the sole individual use of students on their personal home or laptop computer and are not intended for group or classroom instruction through schools.

Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRC) resorts are affordable joint-service facilities that are operated by the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center. All AFRCs are located at ideal vacation destinations around the world.

AFRCs offer a full range of resort hotel opportunities for servicemembers, their families, and other members of the Total Defense Force. AFRCs are self-supporting and funded by non-appropriated fund revenues generated internally from operations.

Revenues from AFRCs are continually reinvested to maintain and improve the physical plant, while providing the greatest possible value for AFRC guests.

Providing high-quality, affordable resort-style facilities at the AFRCs is commensurate with the Army Chief of Staff's philosophy that Soldiers are entitled to the same quality of life as the citizens they are pledged to defend. The Army continues to promote strong family values by providing the AFRCs; a reflection of our strong commitment to improved quality of life.

AFRC room rates are affordable and based on rank, pay grade, duty status, room size, and/or room location. The AFRCs are centrally-managed, U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center-operated facilities with a mission to provide rest, relaxation, recreation, and sustainment for Army personnel, their families, and other members of the total Defense Force.

AFRC facilities include:

Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort, Florida — www.shadesofgreen.org.

Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, Germany — www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com.

Hale Koa Hotel, Hawaii — www.halekoa.com.

Dragon Hill Lodge, Korea — www.dragonhilllodge.com.

Authorized users include active-duty military, retirees, currently employed and retired Department of Defense civilians, reservists, delayed-entry recruits, and family members. Reservations are required as these facilities are often full.

The AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional Army family whose dedicated volunteer service significantly contributes to improving Army Well-Being and the Well-Being of the local community.

The Newell Rubbermaid Corporation and AUSA Family Programs have partnered to recognize the contribution that families make to the U.S. Army, and to local communities, through volunteer service.

To download the 2006 Volunteer Family of the Year Award Packet and to read more about the previous winners of this award go to: www.ausa.org, click on Family Programs, click on Awards.

The deadline for applications is June 16.

Don't forget to wish a happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads in our Army family on June 18.