Task & Purpose Task & Purpose

Michelle Villarreal Zook

Michelle Villarreal Zook commissioned in the Air Force in 2006, earning her wings as an air battle manager and serving as a squadron executive officer, a group executive officer, and a squadron section commander. After leaving the Air Force in 2011, she pursued a graduate degree in public policy, focusing on those policies that affect the military, veterans, and military families.

Recent articles from Michelle Villarreal Zook

Screenshot from surprise homecoming on YouTube.
Family & Relationships
Before Surprising Your Kids With An Unexpected Homecoming, Ask Yourself These Questions
Deployments are very emotionally difficult for military children; the added element of a surprise reunion filmed for YouTube can make them a lot worse.
VA helps soldiers buy homes
News
The Big Problem With Senate’s Proposal To Cut Housing Allowance
The Senate’s new plan to cut base allowance for housing unfairly punishes service members in dual-military marriages and some people seem okay with that.
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Community
How I Am Teaching My Children The Meaning Of Memorial Day
By talking about our fallen friends with our children, we keep their names alive.
A supermarket displays stickers indicating they accept food stamps in West New York, N.J., Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that would require the state to expedite the handling of applications for food stamps.
Transition
Why Vets Should Not Be Exempt From Cuts To The Food Stamps Program
Is it such an appalling idea to expect that single, able-bodied adults in America should at least look for a job in order to receive food stamps benefits, even if they are veterans?
Capt. Spencer Crandall, currently assigned to U.S. Air Forces Central, and his wife Kristen hold each other’s hands as they talk about what expression of apology means most to them during a marriage retreat in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 23, 2012. The couples also learned about different expressions of love and how a person tends to favor a specific expression of love and apology. The purpose was to teach the couples how to better communicate with each other. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Jeffers/Released)
Family & Relationships
When The Costs Of War Impact The Capacity For Intimacy
Sexual dysfunction as a complication of combat injury is more common than we realize.
Spouses and families of Marines and sailors with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, receive a range safety brief before conducting live fire shooting during Jane Wayne Day at Range G-3 on Camp Lejeune, Oct. 6, 2011.
Family & Relationships
We Need To Stop Spreading Negative Stereotypes About Military Spouses
Most spouses aren’t asking for special treatment, but they don’t want to be insulted or stereotyped either.
Sgt. James Fontenot, of Susanville, Calif., embraces his children Scarlett, 3, left, and James II, 2, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at the National Guard office in Oroville, California.
Family & Relationships
Military Children And The Effects Of 14 Years Of War
How will the costs of being at sustained war for more than a decade impact the children who grew up without a parent? The truth is, we don’t know the answer.
Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transfer food into storage units for the Virginia Peninsula Food Bank in Newport News, Virginia.
Community
The DoD Should Reform Its Food Assistance Program, Not Eliminate It
Rather than do away with DoD's Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance program, there is much greater value in reforming the program.
The U.S. Army’s ‘Cyber Center of Excellence’, Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., hosted a multi-service ‘NetWar’ to show, and build, cyber Warrior capabilities Tuesday, June 10.
News
How Should The US Respond To Cyber Attacks?
Given cyber warfare’s inherently asymmetric nature, do the traditional laws of armed conflict still hold true?
Connie Crisler, a military spouse, goes through the growing pile of bills she is struggling to pay at her Augusta, Georgia, home.
Family & Relationships
The Big Problem Faced By Military Spouses Around The Country
Employers can't seem to look beyond the "military spouse" title.