Photo By Master Sgt. Teresa Gallagher | U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Steve Betancourt, 633rd Medical Group superintendent,...... read more read more
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LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. - Whether a person is a new U.S. Air Force spouse, about to become one, or has been a spouse for 20 years, these acronyms may be a mystery. But with a little help from the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, spouses can decode the military lingo and better understand their role in the Air Force family.
The AFRC hosted Heart Link, Nov. 9, an orientation designed to introduce spouses to the base and local community, while working to create mission-ready spouses.
“We consider Heart Link to be the Air Force 101 course for military spouses,” said Robyn Wilson, AFRC outreach readiness consultant. “It’s a great opportunity to network and become familiar with key resources on and off base.”
The course is generally geared toward spouses who are new to the military, but all spouses are welcome. The event gives new spouses the chance to meet and learn from “seasoned” spouses, who have been married to a military member longer and are used to the military lifestyle.
Col. Korvin Auch, 633rd Air Base Wing commander, and his wife, Kristin, spoke to the group about their role in the military in support of the operational mission. Spouses were also briefed on a variety of subjects, such as protocol, customer service and finance.
“Ultimately, we want to empower these spouses,” said Wilson, “We want them to feel more confident in their role so they can be better wingmen to their spouses and so they feel good about what they contribute to the Air Force as a whole.”
Lea Nerby was among those in attendance. Nerby has been at Langley Air Force Base with her husband, Master Sgt Nathan Nerby, 158th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard unit from Vermont, for ten years. She attended Heart Link to gain more information to become a better key spouse for her husband’s unit.
“I wish I would have known some of this stuff ten years ago when we first came to Langley,” Nerby said. “As a key spouse, my job is to be there for spouses when the military member is away. I help ensure individual and family readiness so I came to Heart Link to find out as many sources as I can to help the other spouses within my husband’s unit.”
Spouses also learned key financial information, such as how to read the military member’s Leave and Earnings Statement. This information can be very helpful for those managing finances while the military member is deployed.
“For ten years I’ve looked at my husband’s LES but never understood what any of it meant,” Nerby said. “Now I know what it all means and I can have a temporary pin to view his LES during tax season. I am able to file our taxes if he’s deployed and give him one less thing to worry about.”
The AFRC hosts Heart Link quarterly and welcomes all spouses. Childcare is offered on a space available basis. Spouses can call the AFRC at 757-764-3990 to register. The AFRC is available for all active duty members and their families, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and retirees.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2012 10:20 |
| Story ID: | 97752 |
| Location: | LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Heart Link: “Air Force 101” for spouses, by MSgt Teresa Gallagher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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