The TAPS Daily

Welcome to The TAPS Daily - curated news and resources relevant to military, veterans, and their families. For more news and resources, visit our Government Resources page.

1. CDC Provides Helpful Tips and Guidance for Safely Navigating the Thanksgiving Holiday
   CDC
   The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and isolating for many people. Gatherings during the upcoming holidays can be an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, families, and communities healthy and safe.
2. Millions stick to Thanksgiving travel plans despite warnings
   AP
   About 1 million Americans a day packed airports and planes over the weekend even as coronavirus deaths surged across the U.S. and public health experts begged people to stay home and avoid big Thanksgiving gatherings.
3. Thanksgiving could make or break U.S. coronavirus response
   AP
   As governors and mayors grapple with an out-of-control pandemic, they are ratcheting up mask mandates and imposing restrictions on small indoor gatherings, which have been blamed for accelerating the spread of the coronavirus.
4. Arlington National Cemetery announces revised plans for Wreaths Across America
   Stars and Stripes
   Arlington National Cemetery will close to the public from December 13 to 19 to allow Christmas wreaths to be placed at 267,000 graves, officials announced Wednesday.
5. Thanksgiving Meals for Military Families, and More
   Government Executive
   A shipping company announced last week that it is distributing Thanksgiving meals to thousands of military service members and their families throughout the United States this year.
6. Macy's will hold its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade -- but only for TV
   CNN
   Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will not be the usual millions lining the Manhattan parade route to watch the giant balloons, festive floats and performers. But take heart: The parade itself will go on. It's just going to be staged as a TV-only event in 2020.
7. What if Zoom crashes on Thanksgiving? These video meeting choices can save your virtual family gathering
   USA Today
   Zoom, which has lifted its 40-minute limit on free meetings for Thanksgiving, says this time it will be able to handle the crowds. But what if Zoom does crash again? What to do? There are other video meeting services out there, and all have free options.

• Parents, 2020 could be a time for new holiday traditions that outlast COVID-19 restrictions
  USA Today
  Experts say that there are many ways to support your children — and keep the festive spirit alive — during the holiday season.
• Reminders & Tips for the Holidays
  Teenage Grief Sucks
  The holidays can be painful during grief. Here are some reminders and tips for how you can get through the holiday season while grieving.
• NAGC Holiday Toolkit: Supporting Grieving Children During the Season of Family
  NAGC
  It is important we recognize and honor our traditions and celebrate family while honoring the loved shared and memories of family members that have died.
• Supporting Grieving Children During the Holidays
  TAPS
  The holidays can be a magical time of year, but for children who have lost a parent, sibling, or other significant person in their lives, the holiday season can be an emotional minefield.
• Helping Grieving Children Through the Holidays
  Grief Share
  Children often have trouble expressing their emotions, and when they see their parents hurting, they naturally want to protect their parents, so the children may not be open about their own grief.  The following are tips that a parent or another adult can use to help grieving children through the holidays.
• Helping Kids Who Grieve During the Holidays
  Psychology Today
  The holidays are a happy time for lots of kids, but for those who are grieving, this can be a period that losses are felt more deeply. Here are a few tips on supporting children who have experienced loss.

• A Thanksgiving Message from TAPS President & Founder Bonnie Carroll
  TAPS
  The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) President and Founder Bonnie Carroll sends her well wishes to all military survivors this Thanksgiving 2020. TAPS is a family here for you, offering comfort, care and understanding.  We stand together. You are NOT alone.
• Creating New Holiday Traditions While Honoring the Past
  TAPS
  This year, when so many gatherings and travel may be limited, cultivating holiday traditions that honor your grief and promote connection with others can be very healing. Join the TAPS Institute to discuss creative ways to engage in the holidays in ways that meet you where you are in your grief journey.
• Honor In Every Season
  TAPS
  Every season offers a fresh chance to honor loved ones. TAPS shares excerpts from “Passed and Present - Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive” by Allison Gilbert, who serves on the TAPS advisory board and the National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) board of directors.
• TAPS Store: Support TAPS When You Shop This Holiday Season
  100% Of The Proceeds Support TAPS Programming.
• TAPS and Wreaths Across America team up to honor those who served and died for our country
  Please honor and remember our country’s fallen heroes by sponsoring a Remembrance Wreath that will be laid on the graves of our military and veteran loved ones.
• TAPS Magazine Winter 2020
  Check out the latest issue of TAPS Magazine supporting families of America’s fallen heroes.
• TAPS COVID-19 Response
  TAPS has resources for anyone experiencing the impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Upcoming Events
  Make plans to join your TAPS Family at an upcoming event.
• TAPS News Archive
  Catch up on all the TAPS news stories over the years on the TAPS media resource page.

• Pentagon sends nearly 300,000 pounds of traditional Thanksgiving dinner to U.S. troops around the world
  CNBC
  Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Pentagon sent nearly 51,000 pounds of roasted turkey to American troops stationed on U.S. military installations around the world.
• Pentagon transition begins, with a COVID-19 twist
  Defense News
  Less than a day after the General Services Administration opened the doors for the landing team from the Biden-Harris campaign to arrive at the Pentagon, members have already had two conversations with current defense officials, with more to come.
• Commanders remind troops to remain on guard against the coronavirus during Thanksgiving
  Stars and Stripes
  Coronavirus regulations vary from base to base and often require cross-referencing color-coded charts and maps with pages of amended orders to determine permitted, non-permitted and sometimes-permitted activities in each zone.

• An Unlikely Thanksgiving Tradition Carries On
  NY Times
  After a misdirected text, Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton became internet famous for their holiday celebrations. This year, they will feel major loss from the pandemic at their table.
• Doctors provide mental health tips for Thanksgiving changes
  Yahoo News
  This Thanksgiving is going to be unlike any other due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• How To Deal With Grief If It's Your First Holiday Without A Loved One
  Huffington Post
  For Americans who have lost someone to COVID-19 or anything else this year, the holiday season might be an uphill battle. Here's advice on processing the pain.
• Grief can feel even tougher than usual during holiday season — especially in 2020. Here’s how to get through.
  Yahoo
  More than 257,000 Americans have died during the pandemic, and their losses are sure to be felt acutely right now, as their survivors prepare to face the first holiday season without them.

• Pentagon nixes dining halls for troops' annual Thanksgiving meal
  The Hill
  The Pentagon has sent nearly 51,000 pounds of roasted turkey to U.S. troops stationed overseas, albeit with a twist on how they will be served in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
• Climate Change, Terrorism Top List of Challenges Facing U.S. Military
  Military.com
  The Defense Department Inspector General's annual list of challenges for the military in the coming year features a newcomer: the long-term threat to installations and operations from climate change.
• N.Y. National Guard adds troops to airport screening mission
  New York National Guard
  The New York National Guard has screened more than 456,000 airline passengers since starting a mission to help the New York State Department of Health limit the spread of COVID-19.
• NCNG Soldiers distribute food to needy before Thanksgiving
  National Guard News
  North Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Airmen worked with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern North Carolina to distribute free food at a drive-thru event at the Crown Coliseum on November 24.
• Deployed and pregnant soldiers can receive temporary promotions under expanded policy
  Army Times
  Soldiers deployed to combat or who are pregnant will be able to temporarily promote to the ranks of sergeant through sergeant major before completing the mandatory professional military education courses under an expanded policy that starts January 1.
• Here’s what you need to know about the military’s coronavirus vaccine roll-out
  Military Times
  There are scant details yet available on when a COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to service members and whether it will be mandatory, the Pentagon’s top spokesman told reporters Tuesday.
• Marine Corps short 6 infantry battalions, Navy short 100 ships, this new strength index says
  Marine Times
  The Navy and Marine Corps are only “marginally” capable of meeting America’s national security needs, according to a new scorecard from The Heritage Foundation.
• Nevada National Guard stays in fight against COVID-19
  US Army
  More than eight months into the Nevada National Guard's battle against COVID-19, the stubborn microscopic enemy shows no sign of surrender as many of the state's counties report record numbers of cases.

• Former Tuskegee Airman Frank Macon dies at 97
  Air Force Times
  One of only two original, remaining Tuskegee Airmen in Colorado has died.
• Another fatal outbreak: 27 COVID deaths at Illinois vets nursing home prompts probe
  Military Times
  State officials have launched investigations into a coronavirus outbreak at a veterans nursing home in Illinois that has infected nearly 200 residents and staff members, and killed 27 veterans.

• Military Retailers Prepare for a Coronavirus Black Friday with Curbside Pickup, Capacity Limits, Social Distancing
  Military.com
  Black Friday - the post-Thanksgiving event, considered the start of holiday shopping, will go on, tempered by measures to mitigate the virus' spread, according to a spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
• Having A Group Thanksgiving? Here's How To Think About Safety
  NPR
  While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people not gather for Thanksgiving, the reality is millions are traveling. So, the Short Wave podcast spoke to experts about how to mitigate some risk during a gathering.
• 5 Ways to Connect with Family Virtually This Thanksgiving
  Military.com
  If you're looking for free and easy options to get the whole family together, look no further. Here are five free ideas to get the gang together virtually this year.
• 'Try to find the silver linings': How families are preparing for virtual winter holidays
  Today
  Families are settling for zoom Thanksgiving gatherings amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
• Raising financially aware kids during the holidays
  Yahoo
  Being financially aware during the holidays is a tough topic for many parents to discuss with their kids. But it doesn't have to be if we just sprinkle some holiday spirit on top.
• 10 gifts deployed service members actually want this year
  We Are the Mighty
  Whether it’s your spouse or your BFF, here are 10 gifts deployed military personnel actually have on their list this year and can use on deployment.

Banner photo courtesy of the School of Advanced International Studies | John Hopkins University.