American Corporate Partners (ACP) is a nationwide, nonprofit organization that proudly assists America’s veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian world through one-on-one, career development mentorships. In January 2019, ACP launched a similar mentoring program for active duty military spouses. While there are a number of reports clearly showcasing the need for such a service, no one can explain this need better than active duty spouses themselves.
This month, ACP spoke with Amanda Huffman, who is both an Air Force veteran and active duty military spouse, about some of the unique challenges she has faced and how her ACP Mentor has helped her turn her passion into a business venture. If you are the spouse of an active duty servicemember, sign up for your own free, customized career development mentorship through ACP today!
ACP: What do you feel some of the biggest employment barriers or challenges are for milspouses?
Amanda: Feeling the strain of having to decide between having a career and taking care of your family. Even when you are able to find a job which is often a struggle in and of itself the military spouse is often expected to pick up the slack. If kids are sick you have to take off work. If your husband is in training you can’t stay late or have to find additional childcare. The stress of starting over and not having a solid support network makes it hard to find a job and then keep it when life happens.
ACP: What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career development as a result of your spouse’s service?
Amanda: When I left the military to be a stay at home mom, I knew that my husband was slated to move less than a year after I separated. I debated on finding a job with my engineering degree, but it also felt silly to work for a company knowing I would be leaving in less than a year. Losing the personal connection to the military where I was part of the fight was really hard. I thought leaving the military would be the same as leaving all the jobs I had before, but the military had changed me and made me who I was and losing that part of me was really difficult.
ACP: Did you anticipate facing these challenges?
Amanda: I had always wanted to be a mom and having the chance to stay at home felt like I finally was getting to do what I wanted to do. But being a mom wasn’t anything like I imagined. The lack of purpose and the feeling of losing a part of myself was not something I had expected to feel. I had been worried life would be boring after serving in the military, but boring didn’t describe how I felt. Lost, lonely, longing for purpose those were the feelings I wrestled with the most.
ACP: How has having a mentor helped navigate some of these challenges?
Amanda: I would have given up a long time ago when I started my business if I didn’t have people around me supporting me along the way. I think the biggest thing I have gained from ACP is having a mentor who is helping me change the way I look at my business from a personal venture to a business. To dream bigger, to know what opportunities are available and she pushes me to set big goals. I know she will be checking in at the next call so I have to do the work that I could easily wait for another day without her keeping me accountable.
ACP: What other tools and resources for milspouses have you utilized that have been beneficial?
Amanda: The Milspouse Creative Facebook Group was where I got connected with the military spouse community. It was there I met so many people that I now call friends even if we have only met online. I learned how important it is to network and collaborate. And it is the military spouse community that pulled me back in to the veteran community that I had felt so disconnected from when I left the military behind.
ACP: What are your long-term career goals?
Amanda: In January, I launched Women of the Military podcast to share the stories of military women. And in June, I published my first book, Women of the Military sharing the stories of military women. My goal is to continue to share the stories of military women to help them know how important their story is. I am working to create a brand that can support Military Women by giving them a place to share their story and not feel so alone. This is only the beginning.
ACP: What advice would you give to other milspouses who might be struggling to develop their own long-term career goals?
Amanda: Find something you love to do and find a group to help push and support you. My blog started by writing 5 minutes once a week and there have been a lot of ups and downs to get me where I am today. But I couldn’t have done it without the Milspouse community that I found on Facebook. But my final words of advice would be: Don’t give up, don’t do it alone and keep pushing until you find the thing that makes you happy.
About Amanda: Amanda is a military spouse and veteran who served in the Air Force for six years as a Civil Engineer including a deployment to Afghanistan. She traded in her combat boots for a diaper bag to stay home with her two boys and follow her husband’s military career. Her blog Airman to Mom incorporates stories from her past military life and how she views life through her unique life experiences of both a veteran and military spouse. She is the host and creator of the podcast Women of the Military sharing the stories of women who have served or continue to serve in the military.