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States. Spouses who meet necessary qualifications
may be hired locally for employment in service-
operated schools.
Above the high school level, children of naval
personnel are eligible for scholarship assistance
at a number of colleges and universities in the
United States.
OFFICERS’ MESS
A commissioned officers’ mess provides social
and recreational facilities,
meals, and
refreshments to commissioned and chief warrant
officers. Where facilities permit, privileges of the
mess frequently are extended to officers of the
other armed services and Reserve officers, as well
as to officers’ dependents. At large activities a
mess may consist of dining rooms; snack bars;
cocktail lounges; lounge areas; rooms for private
parties; and in some cases swimming pools, golf
courses, and tennis courts.
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
To promote and preserve peace of mind for
its officers and their dependents, the Navy offers
a number of special assistance programs, some
of which have substantial cash value.
Family Services Centers
At many Navy shore installations in the United
States, particularly in areas of fleet concentration,
Family Services Centers are established to assist
new arrivals in obtaining personal services they
may need.
The centers ensure newcomers to the area
receive a personal welcome, either by a home call
or at the center. The new arrival is usually issued
a brochure that includes information such as the
following:
1. A map of the area
2. A letter of welcome
3. An area directory
4. A base information guide
5. Data on available medical care, Navy
Relief, Red Cross, churches, commissaries
and exchanges, educational facilities, base
facilities, and so on
In addition, centers will refer members and
their dependents to the proper facility to obtain
needed information on, among other things,
passport applications, voting, insurance, career
counseling, base and off-base housing, and finan-
cial assistance. They may provide hospitality kits
containing necessary items of household items
new arrivals can borrow until their household
goods are delivered.
For the benefit of attached personnel receiving
orders, centers maintain an inventory of brochures
containing information on many overseas and
continental United States Navy installations.
Legal Assistance
Personnel may obtain confidential guidance,
without cost, from legal assistance officers at most
duty stations. Advice rendered generally is on
legal, personal, and property problems, or the
drafting of legal documents. Assistance does not
include representation in civil court.
Casualty Assistance Calls Program
If a Navy person dies on active duty, the
family is visited promptly by a casualty assistance
calls officer (CACO). The CACO offers the
dependents help in obtaining rights, benefits, and
privileges to which they are entitled and advises
on funeral arrangements and financial assistance,
if needed. The visit by the CACO is automatic;
the deceased’s family need not initiate the action.
Navy Relief Society
Known as the “Navy’s own organization to
take care of its own,” the Navy Relief Society
is privately supported, primarily by means
of annual requests for contributions. At the
service of Navy and Marine personnel and
dependents who need emergency help, it limits
itself, generally, to nonrecurring situations of
distress involving clothing, medical care, burial,
and the like. It cannot underwrite permanent
need. The society may make interest-free loans,
outright grants, or a combination of the two.
Navy Mutual Aid Association
The aim of the nonprofit Mutual Aid Associa-
tion is to provide life insurance at cost and
immediate aid to dependents of deceased officers.
Upon notice of a member’s death, this associa-
tion wires or cables a $2,000 cash payment to the
dependents of the deceased member anywhere in
the world. The total life insurance coverage is
$400,000 available in $20,000 increments to
association members. Membership is available to
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