Photo By Maj. Paul Stennett | Key Spouses meet at the 179th Airlift Wing May 5, 2018, in Mansfield, Ohio. The Key...... read more read more
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May is the month we celebrate the military spouse. To celebrate a military spouse, you need to understand the pressure military life adds to a marriage, especially during deployment cycles. A military spouse must be ready to battle countless types of challenges. They face many extreme tests from loneliness, panic, and feelings of abandonment to pulling extra family duties and making new friends with every PCS. All of the strong, emotional traumas they experience can put considerable strain on a relationship.
Knowing a successful marriage takes work and needs a supportive environment to succeed, the Department of Defense has many avenues where spouses can pursue assistance. Considering the modern-day military is, for the most part, a married military, D.O.D. takes care of more family members than actual troops. This makes the military spouse an integral part of the mission and places a huge responsibility on the commander to promote family readiness.
To help commanders address the needs of all military families, the Key Spouse program was designed to promote partnerships between families and Wing support agencies. A key spouse establishes continuous contact with other spouses who might be in need.
These support secrets have not been lost on Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Chandler, Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor at the 179th Airlift Wing, and his wife Teresa. Teresa has been a Key Spouse and part of the program for many years, working with spouses though-out many deployment cycles.
Ralph joined the Air Force while they were dating and all 26 years of their marriage have been spent in the military.
“We’ve never known anything different,” said Teresa. “It’s been our life.”
Ralph joined the military in 1991. After completing an active duty tour, they moved back to Ohio and he joined the Air National Guard. He was stationed in Springfield, Ohio and then moved to Mansfield 20 years ago.
“I’m very proud of him, proud of all he’s done, and accomplished and his career growth,” said Teresa. “It’s been a wonderful life for us.”
Chandler’s military career affected their family most when he deployed, said Teresa. It takes a lot of commitment and brings many challenges raising children because of the time they spent apart, especially when the children started developing the concept of time.
Over the years, he deployed nine times, not to mention the many other commitments and missions over the years. During these times, away from the kids, he missed so many sporting events, special occasions, and holidays.
“We value the time that we have together, knowing that there will be times that we’re not going to be together,” said Teresa. “It has brought us closer. We just face challenges head on and take it as it comes, one day at a time.”
The Key Spouse Program is a group of volunteers, usually a family member who wants to be involved in a loved one’s military career. These volunteers support other military families during separation as an informal sounding board.
“I work first hand with the commander and the military liaison. We will share information back-and-forth,” said Teresa. “I supply the liaison with family program events and she gives me information of who is deploying and when they’re leaving.”
Teresa, herself, had a wonderful support system of family and friends, who always pitched in to help her out. She has been able to give this same support to other families through the Key Spouse Program.
“It is a great way for me to give back and be part of it all,” she said. “I think it’s a very vital program to get information out to the families to make them feel like they’re more involved with the base. It’s also a great way to meet people, make friends, get out and see what’s going on at the base, especially if they are new to the area.”
The program keeps families informed of Wing events during deployments and the volunteers keep in touch with the families. If they need help, key spouses are able to put them in touch with resources that can fill that need.
“It’s brought connection between Ralph and I,” said Teresa, “because I get to spend time with him and share the military experience. Lives can get separated; I did my job; he did his job. Now that I’m out here with him, part of the 179th Maintenance Group, it’s another topic talk about and way to connect with him.”
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2018 08:32 |
| Story ID: | 278087 |
| Location: | MANSFIELD, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Married into the Military 26 years Later, by SSgt Megan Shepherd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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