Families Can Escort Servicemembers to Airline Gates

April 7, 2005

New policies established by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) now allow deploying servicemembers to spend more time with their families before boarding airline flights. Under the new TSA guidelines, family members may be given a pass by the airline granting them access beyond the security checkpoint to escort deploying servicemembers to their gate while they await commercial flights. Family members can also get a pass to greet their deployed servicemembers at the gate when they return home. The airline the servicemember is flying with issues the passes to family members at the ticket counter. Family members will be required to have photo identification and the pass to get past the TSA security checkpoint. The TSA policy is scheduled to continue indefinitely at the nation’s 450 commercial airports.

NMFA Awards Military Families— April 28 Deadline

The NMFA Family Award recognizes families who have dealt with the challenges of the military lifestyle. The winners of this award will be able to help other military families—they are given the opportunity to select a charity whose work benefits military families to receive a contribution from NMFA in their name.

The NMFA Family Award is given to 15 families who “exemplify the best of the military family lifestyle” and demonstrates the theme of “Strong Family, Strong Force.” NMFA will award $1,000 to 14 families and make a donation of $500 in the families’ names to the charities of their choosing.

One family, who wins the grand prize, will receive $2,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at a reception. They will also have the opportunity to present a check in the amount of $1,000 to a representative from the aid organization they have selected to be the recipient of the charitable contribution.

Any charity whose work benefits military families can receive the award contribution with two exceptions. Charities in which a member of a winning family is a principle stakeholder are not eligible to receive the donation. Also, the Department of Defense stipulates that the military cannot receive money from private organizations, so many federally-funded family programs are ineligible.

Those eligible include any active duty, National Guard, Reserve and retired military family, as well as the families of fallen servicemembers, and families of wounded servicemembers who were injured on duty within the past three years and who have since been discharged.

Nominations will only be accepted online at www.nmfa.org (see the same Web site for nomination information). A complete nomination includes a 500-750-word narrative and a completed Family Award Nomination Form. Narratives should focus on how the entire family is involved.

Nominations will be accepted through May 31, 2005. Winners will be notified by the end of June.

Nestlé of Vevey, Switzerland, is sponsoring the award.