Air Force
Brittany Boccher
Little Rock AFB
I would like to use the MSOY title to further advocate for exceptional family member program families who have a family member with special needs. I’d also like to continue to empower military spouses to embrace the military life, their military community inside and outside of the base gates and to embrace the beautiful opportunities that this life provides!
Read more about Brittany here!
Chrichelle Fernandez
Tinker AFB
Last year, KJ and I helped build a program to support families left behind while their spouses were deployed. This program is something I’d like to share among the different military branches to help build morale, keep families safe and build on the idea of “stability” and constant support. My idea began several years ago during one of KJ’s deployments. Our youngest son, Tyler, was only three months old and we had just moved into a brand new neighborhood a few months before KJ left. We were the only house in our area at the time and didn’t know any of our neighbors. I had an issue with our garage door and was quoted a few hundred dollars in repair charges by a different contractors. Frustrated, I contacted one of KJ’s friends, who wasn’t deployed at the time, and he came over to take a look at the issue. It ended up being a quick 5-minute fix and a bolt that just needed to be replaced. After that, I wondered how many other military families had to deal with an unexpected home or auto repair that they paid hundreds of dollars for when it may not have been needed. In 2015 KJ deployed again, but thankfully this time, we were surrounded by neighbors and close friends who helped look after us while he was gone. After he returned, the wheels in my head started turning again on what we could do to better support families during deployments. KJ and I took my idea and we helped create a program that was designed to help families of deployed members in the event of an emergency such as home or auto repairs, and severe weather. The program was called “Task Force 960th,” since he was assigned to the 960th AACS squadron at the time. Volunteers, made up of squadron members who did not deploy, were assigned to different parts of the Oklahoma City metro area. We had several key spouses at the time that did weekly check-in’s for family members. These family members were able to contact their key spouse at any time in case assistance was needed. The Task Force developed teams based on skills sets and expertise such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, home/auto repair, children’s toys and bikes, natural gas and emergency yard work/clean up. The squadron’s deployment in 2016 was during Oklahoma’s peak storm season, so the Task Force also offered a family displacement program. If a family was displaced from their home after a natural disaster, volunteers were identified ahead of time who could offer their homes to help those families while they worked with insurance companies until a more permanent living arrangement could be provided. Along with support from our commander and fellow squadron members, the program was a success and totaled over 1,500 volunteer hours, and also saved families over $10,000 worth of repairs and assistance. Recently, I was honored to be awarded the Joan Orr Spouse of the Year award and the Key Spouse of the Year Award at Tinker for my efforts! I could not have done this without my husband’s support by turning my vision into life.
Read more about Chrichelle here!
Brandy O’Mary
JB Anacostia – Bolling
If I have the honor of being named Military Spouse of the Year, it would be my desire to address and bring awareness to issues affecting our spouses, including transitioning to a new joint base/ command center, deployments, struggles of housing, schools, and jobs. A PCS to any base can be challenging and overwhelming as you learn the area, search for the safest housing, best schools, and work to apply for a job in your career field. When you add going to a joint base, where lingo is different, you can easily feel intimidated by the other branches surrounding you. How can we help our spouses with this transition? For the past two years, I have helped build the Go2Spouse program at the White House Communications Agency. With each branch having their own language, customs, and traditions, it is imperative to give our spouses the knowledge so that they can be comfortable and confident at their home with their military family members of various branches. I’d love to spread awareness and the Go2Spouse Program with other joint bases across the world. But most importantly, I want to find the issues that are most challenging for our military spouses by connecting with them and getting to know their story. Thank you for the opportunity to share my passion with our wonderful military community.
Read more about Brandy here!
