A presentation to learn how to expand Cornell Cooperative Extension programming to address this important educational opportunity and audience.

1. Campus County Connections:
Serving Military Families and
Veterans in NYS
Keith G. Tidball, PhD
19 July 2017

2. Did you know?
• New York State is home to nearly 900,000 Veterans
• Seventy-two percent served during periods of combat
• Approximately 88,000 New Yorkers served in Afghanistan or Iraq
• Home to approximately 30,000 active duty military personnel as well as
30,000 National Guard and Reserve personnel
• New York has the 4th largest number of veteran-owned small businesses
in the country
• New York hosts the largest military base in the northeast, Fort Drum,
home to 18,000 Soldiers, 18,000 military family members and just under
4,000 civilian employees
• New York is also home to the oldest service academy, the United States
Military Academy at West Point which trains about 4,400 future Army
officers annually
• Outside of Fort Drum there are 3,600 Active Duty military members in
New York
• The New York Army and Air National Guard have a combined strength of
16,000 men and women
• The federal reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps
reserves count another 14,500 New Yorkers among their rank

3. The goal today is to
learn how to expand
our CCE programming
to address this
important educational
opportunity and
audience.

4. How do we
prepare?
Learn the lingo
Embrace the role
Assemble your tools
Locate your audience
Go!

5. Learn the Lingo:
Extension & the
Military 101
• DoD?
• Readiness?
• Community Capacity?
• Geographically dispersed?
• Total Force Fitness?

6. Department of Defense
& Coop Extension
The potential of the Cooperative Extension
Service and the land grant colleges and
universities to be a readily available force-
multiplier for the Family Readiness mission
area was recognized by leaders at the
Department of Defense and the Department
of Agriculture, and an MOU was signed
between the two agencies to facilitate
investment in developing, refining, and
deploying the Cooperative Extension Service
in the area of Family Readiness.

7. Military Family Readiness?
Definition
The state of being prepared to effectively navigate the
challenges of daily living experienced in the unique
context of military service.
Ready individuals and families are:
 Knowledgeable about the potential challenges they may
face
 Equipped with the skills to competently function in the fac
of such challenges
 Aware of the supportive resources available to them
 Make use of the skills and supports in managing such
challenges
Includes:
 Mobility and financial readiness
 Mobilization and deployment readiness
 Personal and family life readiness
DoDI 1342.22, Military Family Readiness, 12 July, 2012

8. Community Capacity?
“…community capacity is community
readiness and performance in the
context of opportunity, adversity, and
positive challenges.”
Bowen, Martin, Mancini, & Nelson, 2000

9. Community Capacity Building
• Goal:
Informal networks and formal systems work together
to achieve positive results for community members.
• Change is initiated by people in the community
• When informal networks collaborate with formal
systems the ability to create change grows

10. Geographically Dispersed?
Operation Desert Storm:
• Reserve soldiers = 25% of deployed servicemen
(Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1992, 1991)
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan & 2007 troop surge:
• Reserve and National Guard soldiers = 40-50% of deployed
servicemen (Defense Manpower Data Center, 2009)
Families of these soldiers are located in geographically
dispersed civilian communities, not traditional military
installations where important services to support the
stresses of deployment are readily available.

11. Geographically Dispersed?
• National Guard and Reserves service members:
– Primary occupation is not military
– Families may not consider themselves military families
– Geographically dispersed from other service members &
families
– Not necessarily located near a military installation
– Family identity changes from civilian to military with one letter
or phone call

12. Total Force
Fitness
“Total force fitness is more than a
physical fitness; it is the sum total of
the many facets of individuals, their
families, and the organization in which
they serve. It is a state of being.”

13. Total Force Fitness Overview
Total Force Fitness (TFF) is a DoD framework for well-being that views “health, wellness, and resilience and as holistic concept”,
requiring “a connection among mind, body, spirt, and social relationships”. 1
Main Points2:
• *TFF was created by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and became policy
in 2011.
• TFF is the DoD’s 21st Century paradigm for improving
Population Health, and includes eight domains of fitness.
• TFF is a state in which the individual, family and organization
can sustain well-being and performance under all conditions.
• The Services are responsible for implementing TFF Programs.
• TFF requires the collaboration of the partners in public health.
1. Senate Report 114-63
2. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 3405.01
*The 8 domains in blue were the original domains recommended by the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. Additional measures, highlighted in gray, are under consideration.
Service
Members
& Families
Financial
Employment
Physical
Environmental
Medical & DentalSpiritual
Nutrition
Psychological
Behavioral
Social
Legal
TFF Domain Areas
Service
Members
& Families

14. Total Force Fitness Cooperative Extension
Physical Strategic goal: Combat childhood obesity by ensuring availability of affordable, nutritious
food and providing individuals and families science-based nutritional guidance.
Health Literacy
Environmental Strategic Goal: Optimize the production of goods and services from working lands while
protecting the nation’s natural resource base and environment.
Strategic goal: Advance the development and delivery of science for agricultural, forest,
and range systems adapted to climate variability and to mitigate climate impacts.
Homeowner education from pesticides to disaster preparedness.
Medical/dental
Nutritional Strategic goal: Advance our nation’s ability to achieve global food security and fight hunger
General nutrition education, healthy food choices
Spiritual
Psychological Family Science, Child Development
Parenting, Aging/caregiving
Behavioral Enhance youth and family development, Financial education, CYFAR programs focus on
youth and families at risk.
Social Youth development (4-H)
Strengthen educational capacity to prepare the next generation of scientists, agricultural
producers, and educators.
Relationships, parenting

15. An excellent reference for understanding military acronyms is the DoD Dictionary of Military Terms available at
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/ . Another widely used site is www.milterms.com .
For a hard cover resource, consult Dictionary of Military Abbreviations written by Polmar, Warren, and Wertheim, and
published by the Naval Institute Press (118 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21402).
Other Lingo

16. I am a member of
Cooperative Extension,
which has always had
a close relationship
with America’s military.
How do we prepare?
 Learn the lingo
 Embrace the role
 Assemble your tools
 Locate your audience
 Go!
Embrace the Role

18. New York State Military Installations New York State Cooperative Extension Locations

19. 19
Ok, so what is my role?

20. Encourage Participation in
Local Community
Programs
Extension personnel can notify military personnel, including
installation commanders, family/community service center
directors, public affairs officers, and other appropriate
personnel of local program initiatives. Military personnel can
then notify others of the availability of Extension educational
programs. Military personnel often participate in Extension
education activities as a result of public notification in
newspaper, radio, and television announcements, as well
as newsletters. Examples of special activities include
special interest meetings, workshops, seminars, leader
training sessions, and home study courses. Military
personnel are notified, invited, and welcomed to participate
in the programming activities on the same basis as other
citizens within the local community.

21. Consultation
Extension may agree to provide a faculty member to
share expertise for an ongoing program on a military
installation. Extension and the military installation may
agree to conduct a workshop for installation personnel,
train military volunteer leaders, or a similar activity
designed especially for a specific need of the installation.
In this model, the military installation may work with
Extension to purchase the educational resources and
staff time. In some instances, the training may be
provided with only a charge for educational materials.

22. Sharing Resource
Materials
Military personnel working with families are often
interested in utilizing Extension educational resource
materials such as publications and audio visuals.
Installations can purchase materials in the same
manner as other clients who desire multiple copies.
Most Extension publications and materials have a set
price. Some Extension resource materials, such as
trainer manuals, usually require a session(s) to obtain
the materials. Trainings may be held on or off the
installation depending on circumstances and needs.

23. Delivering Special
Programs
Some military installations partner with Extension to
locate one or more Extension professionals part‐time or
full‐time on an installation to provide educational
programs for military personnel and families. These
long‐term projects require cooperative planning. In most
cases, a charge will be made for the customized
program. CCE Jefferson County has a successful
model of this at work. What about Camp Smith, West
Point, Watervliet Arsenal, and the Air National Guard
Bases?

24. Opportunities for
Collaboration
Common concerns of the military community
include readiness and retention of service
members in military units, quality child care, and
the employability of military spouses. It is widely
accepted in military circles that a service member's
overall satisfaction with military service is directly
related to his or her perception that the needs of
the family are being met.

25. 25
In many respects, the
needs of military families
and youth are no
different than those
experienced by their
civilian counterparts.
However, there are
unique considerations
inherent in a military
lifestyle. Deployment, the
fluctuating family support
associated with
geographic dispersion,
and the implications of
military service, intensify
common lifestyle
concerns for military
families.
• 4‐H Youth Development
• Child Care and School‐Age Care Programs
• Family Caregiving
• Family Financial Readiness
• Family Life Education
• Family Member Employment
• Food Safety and Food Security
• Home Care, Maintenance and Energy Use
• Nutrition and Health
• Volunteer Development
I can see my role being to
conduct these kinds of
programs for military families
and veterans…

26. How do we prepare?
 Learn the lingo
 Embrace the role
 Assemble your tools
 Locate your audience
 Go!
Assemble
your
TOOLS!

27. • The CCE Veterans and Military Families
Focal Area will serve as both a
“clearinghouse” for information about
existing extension programs and an
“incubator” for the development of new and
expanded extension programing for
veterans and military families in New York.
• In this sense, we will guard and grow an
expanding collection, or library, of
evidence-based, gold-standard extension
education and outreach programs
targeting the nearly 40,000 service
members and military families in New York
State.
Introducing the CCE Veterans & Military Families
Focal Area

28. CCE Veterans & Military Families Focal Area
MFLN
USDA/DoD
Asst. Director
Veterans, Military
Families & Disaster
Education
Cornell
Cooperative
Extension
VetMilFam
PWT
Veterans &
Military
Families Focal
Area
DNR/CALS Bronfenbrenner/CHE
CALS CHECCE
ASSOCIATIONS
Small Farms Prog./CALS

29. More Tools – The Military Families Learning Network
The Military Families Learning
Networks invites military family
service providers and Cooperative
Extension professionals to online
professional development
opportunities where they can
exchange experiences, resources,
and research to enhance professional
impact and professional growth.
Well developed Concentration
Areas:
Community Capacity Building
Family Development
Family Transitions
Military Caregiving
Network Literacy
Nutrition and Wellness
Personal Finance

30. More Tools- MFLN Web and Social Media
Earn a certificate of completion and/or continuing education credits.
Certificates of completion for many MFLN webinars, learning events, courses, and even some podcasts. Learn how to obtain a
certificate of completion, as well as professional associations accreditations, such as NASW CEUs, Fincert, AFCPE, to name a
few. Find for-credit and on-demand courses you can take today at
https://campus.extension.org/course/search.php?search=mfln
Attend upcoming webinars. Find the latest listing of all MFLN upcoming webinars. View each webinar event listing for more
details on registration, webinar location links, certificates of completion, and supporting resources to view and/or download.
Engage via the MFLN Blog. Join MFLN beyond the webinar. Read stories and experiences shared by other practitioners
supporting military families. Get the backstory behind the topic. Listen to interviews with expert speakers, and review key
insights captured in webinar discussions.
Connect with us via social media. Connect with the Military Families Learning Network to learn about the wide array of
professional development topics MFLN offers or learn about more specific areas of interest with one of our concentration area
teams today!
Listen to audio and podcasts. Connect with our concentration area teams to find audio casts on topics such as mindfulness,
military families in transitions, and ways professional can support military families during times of transitions, stress, and crisis.
Get the inside scoop from the experts, military families, and practitioners like you!
Read or subscribe to the MFLN Network News to hear about the latest network updates and current professional
development offerings.

31. More Tools - Training
https://militaryfamilies.extension.org/community-capacity-building/community-capacity-building-training/
Fundamentals of Community Capacity
Building
Module 1 (45-60 minutes) – Community
Action & Change
Module 2 (25-35 minutes) – Becoming a
Community Capacity Building
Organization
Module 3 (40-60 minutes) – Results-
Focused Planning
Advanced Community Capacity Building
Module 4 (40-60 minutes) – Community
Assessment
Module 5 (30-45 minutes) – Strengthening
Formal Systems Through Collaboration
Module 6 (25-40 minutes) – Mobilizing
Informal Networks
Module 7 (20-40 minutes) – Engaging
Military Leaders
Module 8 (20-35 minutes) – Monitoring
Results and Activities
Module 9 (25-40 minutes) – Sustaining
Desired Results

32. More Tools – CCE Web and Social Media
@CCEMilFamVet @ccemilitary CCE-VETMILFAM-L@list.cornell.edu

33. How do we prepare?
 Learn the lingo
 Embrace the role
 Assemble your tools
 Locate your audience
 Go!
Locate Your Audience?

35. 35
Farmer-to-farmer learning groups for veterans to gather, prioritize educational goals, learn
from each other, and develop mentoring relationships with other farms and organizations
available to support their goals. In addition to these learning groups, these regional networks
may also gather for more intensive day long trainings, farm tours, or field days.
If you are interested in being involved in in your
region please contact the leader for that region:
Western NY – email Lynn Bliven
Northern NY – email Catherine Moore
Eastern NY – email Leora Barish
Southern NY – email Laura Biasillo
Central NY – email Dean Koyanagi

36. Utilize Keith and the Growing CCE
VetMilFam Network
• Liaison to USDA/NIFA Military
Families & Vets program;
program and grant opportunities
• Training opportunities
• High visibility/high impact
programs

37. Lets Go!
How do we prepare?
 Learn the lingo
 Embrace the role
 Assemble your tools
 Locate your audience
 Go!

38. 38
Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly!
Crawl – Take the Community Capacity Training; join the listserv, learn about veterans & military families in your county
Walk – Get involved with MFLN webinars, blogs, and social media; reach out to local veteran groups
Run – Work with FARM OPS to host training; work with Keith to explore options
Fly - Be relevant, visible, and viable in your communities!

39. VETMILFAM Program Work Team – HIRING!

40. “Be Relevant…” (Julie Suarez)
Will it be REMEMBERED as RELEVANT & RELIABLE?
Is it EVIDENCE –BASED? (Empirical)?
Is it VISIBLE & VIABLE?
Is it VALUABLE?

41. Thank you!
kgtidball@cornell.edu
http://vetmilfam.cce.cornell.edu/