Emergency Food Brands

• https://4patriots.com/
• https://readywise.com/
• https://mypatriotsupply.com/
• https://beprepared.com/
• https://www.mountainhouse.com/
• https://www.legacyfoodstorage.com/
• https://elitefoodstorage.com/
• https://survivalcavefood.com/
• https://americanfamilysafety.com/
• https://www.thereadystore.com/
• https://www.blackhawkurbansurvival.com/
  

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What You Need Inside a Survival Kit

Container

• Sturdy backpack
  

Food/Water

• Water: 1 Gallon per Person/Day
  

Shelter and Warmth

• Poncho
• Blanket
  

Light and Communication

• Battery Pack
• charging cord for cell phone
  
• Flash light
  
• Radio (NOAA)
• Batteries - Better to get one battery type that fits all device types.
  
• Charged unlocked phone - to call 911

Tools

• Multi Tool
• Duck Tape
• Working glove
• 550-cord
  

Hygiene and Sanitation

• Face mask (2 per person)
• Wet Wipes
• Hand Sanitizer
• Toothbrush/paste
  
• Female Hygiene
• Garbage bags
• Disposable gloves
  

First Aid

• Blood stop powder
• Bandage
• Pain killers
• Tourniquet 

Safety/Protection

• Pocket Knife
• Handgun
• Ammunition
• Whistle to signal for help
• Stimulants: Caffeine Pills/Instant Coffee (To keep you awake when you need to stay vigilant)
  

Other: These items are useful for relieving stress and supporting activity under challenging conditions.

Resources

• https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/survival-kit-supplies.html
• https://www.ready.gov/kit
• https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90354
  

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Get the Most Out of Tricare Reserve Select

Get a primary care provider.

Get all the annual tests.

Enroll your parents as dependents.

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National Guard Retirement Explained

Reference Websites

• Earning Retirement Points
• Recording and Reporting Retirement Points
• Check your retirement points
  

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Washington National Guard SAD (State Active Duty) Pay, Explained.

The National Guard calls you to serve your state for events such as COVID-19. They say you are getting the SAD pay. What does that mean?! I will explain it here. Private-proof.

First, what you are NOT getting from SAD:

• Healthcare (You are not covered under Tricare)
• Retirement (no matter how long you are on SAD orders, you don't get points for your National Guard retirement)

Now, let's talk about your pay $$$

1. If you are serving on SAD for 30 consecutive days or longer:
• You get monthly military rate, which includes the following:
  
1. the military monthly basic pay amount (based on PEBD or Pay Date)
2. BAH for your home of record
   
3. BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence), if meals are not provided
4. Special Pay (as applicable)
2. If you are serving on SAD for less than 30 consecutive days:
• You get $229.50/day (the Washington state minimum wage for working 14 hours/day)
  
  OR
• Daily Military Rate:
  (Basic Pay + BAH + BAS + Applicable Special Pay) / 30
• Most Soldiers will get $229.50/day.

What do I mean by most Soldiers?

If you are a single, you will get $229.50/day unless,

• E8 with 24 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $197.52 + $32.61 = $230.13
• W2 with 22 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $200.43 + $32.25 = $232.68
• O3 with 4 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $194.91 + $38.41 = $233.32

If you have dependents, you will get $229.50/day unless,

• E8 with 22 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $192.93 + $42.11 = $235.04
• W2 with 18 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $190.12 + $40.07 = $230.19
• O3 with 4 years of service or more.
• Their daily pay: $194.91 + $44.47 = $239.38

Things to Consider:

• If they give you weekends off, they may or may not pay you for the weekends.
• If your HOR (Home of Record) is more than 50 miles away from your duty location, they will get you a hotel room (or a place to sleep).

A horrific example:

You are an E3. You are on SAD order for 29 days. That means you are getting $6,655.50 ($229.50 x 29 days). Great pay. And you know what's more awesome? Your PSG is getting the same pay as you. Screw him, right?

But now, you work one more day, and you are on SAD

Some Useful Tools to Calculate your SAD Pay:

• 2020 Non-Locality BAH Rates
• 2020 Monthly Basic Pay Table

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Manuever Officer Education Path

Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) Degree

Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP)

• The AMSP is for Majors and Junior Lieutenant Colonels who have completed their Intermediate Level Education requirement or equivalent, with the majority coming to AMSP from Command and General Staff School (CGSS).

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Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) Pay for Army National Guard Soldiers

Can National Guard Soldiers get Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) Pay? Yes! This is the same extra pay that you can get as a National Guard Soldier as your active duty counterparts.

 

1. Who is Eligible for FLPB Pay?

In order to be eligible for FLPB pay, you must be in one of the two following criteria:

1. Be proficient (have DLPT score of at least 1/1) on at least one of the languages on Payment List A.
2. Have MOS, Branch, CMF, AOC, or FA on AR 11-6, Chapter 4–4, a thru c. And be proficient (have DLPT score of at least 1/1) on at least one of the languages on Payment List B.
   

Department of the Army Strategic Language List

• PAYMENT LIST A - Authorized for all PMOS/Branches
• IMMEDIATE INVESTMENT LANGUAGES
  
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
  
• Arabic-Levantine | AP | QAV
• Arabic-Yemeni | AU | QAY
• Baluchi | BT | BAL
• Pashtu-Afghan (Pushtu) | PV | PBT
• Persian-Afghan (Dari) | PG | PRS
• Persian-Iranian (Farsi) | PF | PES
• Somali | SM | SOM
• Urdu | UR | URD
• EMERGING LANGUAGES
  
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Acholi | AH | ACH
• Amharic | AC | AMH
• Azerbaijani | AX | AZE
• Bengali | BN | BEN
• Burmese | BY | MYA
• Hindi | HJ | HIN
• Kirghiz | KM | KIR
• Punjabi (Western) | QP | PAN
• Tadjik | TB | TGK
• Uzbek | UX | UZB
  
  
• PAYMENT LIST B - Restricted to ONLY language capable and language dependent MOS/Branch
• ARABIC: Region 1
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Moroccan | BS | ARY
• Algerian | DH | ARQ
• Tunisiah | BW | AEB
• Libyan | AL | AYL
• ARABIC: Region 2
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Egyptian | AE | ARZ
• Sudanese | AV | APD
• ARABIC: Region 3
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Saudi Arabian | AN | QAS
• ARABIC: Region 4
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Lebanese | AQ | QLB
• Jordanian | AK | QAJ
• ARABIC: Region 5
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Iraqi | DG | QAG
• "4 + 1" Languages
• (LANGUAGE | DIGRAPH CODE | TRIGRAPH CODE)
• Chinese-Mandarin | CM | CMN
• Korean | KP | KOR
• Russian | RU | RUS
  

AR 11-6, Chapter 4–4.  Language capable and language dependent military occupational specialties and career management fields for foreign language proficiency bonus purposes only

Language capable and language dependent MOS and Career Management Field (CMF) for FLPB purposes only include:

a. Enlisted:

• 00S
• 00Z: Nominative Command Sergeant Major/Sergeant Major
  
• (limited to those with a 18, 35, 37, 38 CMF background)
• 09L: Interpreter/Translator
  
• 35L: Counter Intelligence Agent
  
• 35M: Human Intelligence Collector
  
• 35N: Signals Intelligence Analyst
  
• 35P: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Voice Interceptor
  
• 35Y: Chief Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence Sergeant
  
• 35V: Chief Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Sergeant
  
• 35Z: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Senior Sergeant/SIGINT Chief
  
• CMFs
• 18: Special Forces
  
• 37: Psychological Operations
  
• 38: Civil Affairs
  

b. Warrant officer:

• 180A: Special Forces Warrant Officer
  
• 351L: Counter-Intelligence Technician
  
• 351M: Human Intelligence Collection Technician
  
• 351Z: Attache Technician
  
• 351Y: Area Intelligence Technician
  
• 352N: Signals Intelligence Analysis Technician

c. Officer:

• Branch 18: Special Forces
  
• Branch 37: Psychological Operations
• Branch 38: Civil Affairs
  
• AOC 35F: Human Intelligence
  
• Functional Areas (FA’s)
  
• 47A: USMA, Professor
• 47G: USMA, Professor of Foreign Languages
  
• 48: Foreign Area Officer
  
• FA 48 personnel are only language dependent (for FLPB  purposes) when FA 48 is their primary FA designator.

2. How Much Will I Get Paid for FLPB?

You will get paid based on AR 11-6, Table 4–2 (Foreign language proficiency bonus payment table).

Table 4–2 Foreign language proficiency bonus payment table

DLPT Score	Payment list "A"	Payment list "B"
1/1*	100*	50*
1+/1+*	150*	75*
2/2	200	100
2/2+	250	125
2+/2+ or 2/3	300	150
2+/3	350	175
3/3	400	250
3/3/3** or 4/4	500	300

• * Qualified Soldiers only. See paragraph 5-2 to determine if Soldiers qualify for sub 2/2 proficiency FLPB.
• ** Only paid when the linguist achieves a 3 on OPI to verify their speaking capability.
• Note: Any equivalent combination of DLPT scores may be used. For example: "2/2+" is the same as a "2+/2." A DLPT score higher than "3/3" but less than "3/3/3 or 4/4" (for example, 3+/3) is paid at the "3/3" level.

References:

1. HRC Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus Page: https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Foreign%20Language%20Proficiency%20Bonus
2. Current Department of the Army Strategic Language List (ASLL)
3. AR 11-6 Army Foreign Language Program: https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/r11_6.pdf
   

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Millitary Intelligence Credentials

https://www.cool.osd.mil/army/officer/aoc_35f.htm

https://dodcertpmo.defense.gov/

https://dodcertpmo.defense.gov/IntTradecraft/

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Get These Credit Cards When You Are Covered Under SCRA

When you are covered under SCRA, many credit card companies will waive your annual fee. That means you can enjoy the premium benefits without paying the premiums. Below are some of the credit cards with the highest annual fees:

Card	Bank	Yearly Benefits	Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Reserve	Chase	$300 Annual Travel Credit	$550
The Platinum Card	American Express	$200 Airline Fee Credit $100 in statement credits for Saks Fifth Avenue Global Lounge Collection	$550
Citi Prestige	Citi	Complimentary 4th Night Hotel Stay VIP Lounge Access Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® Application Fee Credit	$495
Marriott Bonvoy	American Express	1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Complimentary Gold elite status. $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement credit. $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit. Global Entry or TSA Precheck® fee credit.	$450
Hilton Honors Aspire Card	American Express	$250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit 1 weekend night reward every year after renewal.	$450

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