By: Kevin Lilley

A short survey open to all who serve and have served, and their families, will help set the advocacy agenda for organizations like MOAA seeking to improve the quality of life for those in uniform.

The Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN), a frequent partner of MOAA on these advocacy topics, launched its Military Family Support Programming Survey on Oct. 2. Open to servicemembers of all branches and statuses, veterans, retirees, surviving spouses, and family members over 18, the survey will take about 20 minutes and address issues critical to military family well-being – child care, spouse employment, finances, food insecurity, housing, and more. 

“Groups like MOAA and MFAN rely on this feedback to set advocacy agendas and gain a better understanding of how policy changes make a difference for military families,” said Jen Goodale, MOAA’s director of Government Relations for military family and survivor policy. “They provide hard evidence to present to lawmakers who may not realize how much these issues matter to the strength of the all-volunteer force.”

MFAN runs the survey once every two years. The 2021 survey confirmed many challenges facing military families that remain at the core of MOAA’s quality-of-life advocacy work – significant numbers of families facing food insecurity, continued spouse unemployment concerns (exacerbated by ongoing child care issues), and difficulty finding health care appointments, including mental health treatment.

It also was one of a growing number of indicators pointing to the effect of such problems – 62.9% of respondents said they would recommend military life to a potential recruit, down from 74.5% in 2019. 

Many MOAA priorities have been shaped and supported by this and similar surveys, such as:

• Ongoing work to restore the Basic Allowance for Housing to 100%, up from the current 95% of projected housing costs.
• Efforts to improve the Basic Needs Allowance, making sure all servicemembers and families struggling with food insecurity can access the benefit.
• Support for multiple spouse employment efforts, including the Military Spouse Hiring Act, which would make businesses that hire spouses eligible for a tax credit.

Still not convinced? All survey participants can enter for a chance to win a gift card after completing the questionnaire. Click here for more information and to take the survey.