As military spouses, we often find ourselves having to know a little something about practically everything at any given time. Or, at least, we have to know where to go to get that knowledge. In the old days, we either relied on the chain of command or on other spouses for any nuggets of wisdom to help make our lives easier. Thankfully, times have changed.

Useful information is readily available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It may be April, but don’t be fooled. Whether you want to find a new job, figure out how to decipher your military leave and earnings statement, locate a doctor within your community or simply meet other spouses, you’ll find the following eclectic list of military-spouse-friendly Web sites worthy of being added to your personal list of favorites.

Military One Source. A relatively new online presence, Military One Source provides you with around-the-clock, toll-free information and referral telephone service on an incredible variety of topics. This site seems to represent the long-overdue consolidation of a number of resources and should certainly be one that you explore and one whose address you share with other spouses.

Military Spouse Resource Center. Want to find a new job? Continue your education? Learn about your next duty station? You can do it all at this site. A powerful tool, Milspouse.org is living proof that DoD and the Department of Labor are striving to make your personal and professional lives easier despite the challenges you often face as a mobile military spouse.

TRICARE. You can’t escape it. Health care is an issue that you will deal with your entire life whether you are a military spouse, family member, or a retiree (read: civilian). Better to embrace it than ignore it. This site provides you with so much useful information that you might find it easier to navigate if you go directly to the Site Map rather than try to find what you want on the main page. If nothing else, use the Quick Links option on the right-hand side of the main screen to at least quickly locate a provider in your area among other shortcuts.

DoD’s Military Homefront. Excellent site that specifically caters to both families and leadership of our Armed Forces. It is the official DoD Web site tasked with providing quality of life (QoL) information and it succeeds admirably. In addition to providing links to a number of QoL resources, it also provides users with easy access to service specific information.

National Military Family Association (NMFA). A staunch supporter of military families since 1969, the NMFA Web site offers links to a number of subjects, including deployment, education, family life, benefits, health care, and finance.

Spouses to Teachers (STT). Findings from an in-depth RAND research study (2004) tell us that the majority of academically credentialed officer spouses are teachers by profession. It stands to reason that mobile teachers will need to know about varying certification requirements from PCS move to PCS move. STT provides eligible participants with a stipend of up to $600. The site is user-friendly, and the program long overdue.

Military Money. Created as a result of DoD’s Financial Readiness Campaign via a partnership between the NMFA and InCharge Institute of America, Inc., Military Money provides its Web site users with an interesting array of topics from which to choose. Whether you want to learn about common tax deductions or have a refresher course on military spouse employment preference, Military Money strives to fit the financial niche.

CincHouse. This site bills itself as the nonprofit community of military wives and women. It is clearly much more than that. Full of unbiased news, advice, and humor, it is a must-mark site for any military spouse. Message boards, chat rooms, book clubs, deployment tips, and inspiration advice that doubles as sanity depending on where your mouse sits.

Military Officers Association of America. Of course, you already know how terrific this site is because you are reading this. Where else can you find a more loyal advocate of our military families than right here?

Standardized Topic Exchange Service (SITES) Database. Any set of PCS orders would be lonely without a trip to the SITES Web site. Where else could you find out everything you’ve always wanted to know but where afraid to ask about your new assignment?

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it does represent a good start. What are you waiting for? Surfs up!

Janet Farley is author of Jobs and the Military Spouse (Impact Publications, 2004) and The Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide (Jist, 2004). She also writes a career advice column for the Stars and Stripes newspapers.