GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - "Sorry, you aren't going anywhere until your EFMP status is updated," is a distressing thing for a soldier to hear as he or she is preparing to PCS.

All soldiers are at risk of hearing that statement if at least one of their dependents, adult or child, is enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program, and that enrollment has expired or is not up-to-date.

"Army-wide, there are about 20,000 soldiers with expired or not up-to-date EFMP enrollments," said Jay Velis, Exceptional Family Member Program manager at U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr.

According to Installation Management Command's Web site, an exceptional family member is a dependent of any age with a disorder that requires special treatment, therapy, education, training or counseling. Enrollment is mandatory and must be updated every three years, or when there are significant changes in the dependent's condition.

"In Europe, most soldiers we currently see that have a family member enrolled in EFMP have an expired or not up-to-date EFMP," said Master Sgt. Matthew Bryant, Joint Multinational Training Command's senior career counselor.

A person's EFMP enrollment may expire for several reasons. Sometimes soldiers get divorced and forget to disenroll their spouse; or a child outgrows a condition like asthma and the parents forget the child was ever enrolled; or a previously enrolled child has grown up and moved away.

However, even though a dependent leaves or no longer needs services, the EFMP enrollment remains and can become a red flag on the soldier's file.  Soldiers will need to show the EFMP nurse official documentation of the new status. For example, divorce decree, child custody order or a birth certificate showing the child has matured past the age of allowable Army medical coverage. If a child no longer needs specialized services, the specialist who determined that status will need to provide an official statement.