Family

Online fundraising sites let well-wishers provide financial support for grieving families, both in and out of uniform.

But as more requests on behalf of active-duty military dependents show up on these sites, sometimes offering emotional pleas for survivors who are destitute or “left with nothing,” donors should consider what programs are in place to assist these families, and whether online generosity may overlap with existing benefits.

States’ efforts to ease licensing burdens for military spouses relocating from state to state have been “spotty,” a defense official said, and plans are in the works to target trouble spots.

“For those states that haven’t done that well, we’re going back. We’re going to present this information to those states through their legislatures and ask them to progress further, clear it up,” said Marcus Beauregard, director of the Defense Department state liaison office.

ROME, Maine — Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills awoke in a hospital on his 25th birthday to learn that an explosion in Afghanistan had robbed him of all four limbs. He later told his wife to take their daughter and their belongings, and just go. He didn't want her saddled with his burden. 

Veterans with reproductive injuries will be able to access fertility help and have some adoption expenses covered after 2018 if a funding proposal goes forward.

The funding bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs approved by a House committee last week gives the agency approval to continue funding in-vitro fertilization after the current 2018 expiration. A 2016 law lifted a longtime ban on the coverage but is set to expire at the end of 2018 if Congress takes no further action.