Photo By Eric Pilgrim | Command Sgt. Maj. William Fogle, senior enlisted advisor at Fort Knox Garrison,...... read more read more
FORT KNOX, Ky. — A recent call from Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville for installations to start providing work space for spouses is being answered by Fort Knox senior leaders, with a twist.
The directive focuses on carving out spaces for spouses who desire to start or grow their own business, or remotely work in a more office-friendly environment rather than from home.
“We’ve seen it throughout our careers. As we travel through duty stations, our spouses have really struggled,” said Command Sgt. Maj. William Fogle, senior enlisted advisor at Fort Knox Garrison. “They’ve sacrificed, not just dealing with our deployments and having to be home alone and raising a family without us, they’ve truly struggled with their own careers.”
Fort Knox Garrison leaders have decided to locate the spaces where it would also provide job opportunities. The work spaces are being housed in the basement of Building 1378, in the very same area where troops receive employment briefings during their transition out of the military.
“This is a joint effort,” said Fogle. “It’s a positive movement not just for Fort Knox spouses, but also for the Army.”
That joint effort includes the backing and support of Maj. Gen. John Evans Jr., commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command and the senior commander at Fort Knox.
“Our Army has changed significantly in the last half-century,” said Evans. “We’ve got both men and women with spouses that are Soldiers, and their spouses are also contributors to the household income — a lot of times by necessity.
“What we’re trying to do is provide [spouses] a space that’s away from the home where they can actually go and pursue some of their career goals.”
Fogle explained that they will start small to get the initiative launched with plans for expansion if demand warrants it.
“Because this is new for the Army, and specifically new for Fort Knox, we don’t know what the demand for space will be,” said Fogle. “Since we don’t understand the demand right now, we’ve set up five spaces, and we will learn as we go.”
The idea originated from McConville’s wife, Maria, who formed a committee a few years ago to review spouse educational and employment successes as well as entrepreneurial and employment opportunities, according to Andrew Cooper, transition services manager for the Fort Knox Transition Assistance Program.
“She formulated an ideology that military spouses and service members are at a loggerhead between who wants to do what,” said Cooper.
What they discovered was that 39% of military families have discussed leaving the military service so spouses can pursue employment. They also discovered approximately 48% of those spouses have a college degree or professional certification.
Cooper said that realization was eye-opening.
“They were looking at answering, ‘How can we help military spouses on the installation become more productive at no cost to the government or to the military spouse?’” he said.
The result led to the creation of the program, which they call Military Spouse Coworking Space.
“This initiative allows spouses to come together to work in an away-from-home environment,” said Cooper, “and to be able to connect and communicate with other like spouses.”
Each space at Fort Knox will include a desk, chair, enough room to construct and package reasonable-sized products, and a wifi router connection. Fogle emphasized the current wifi configuration has limited capability, but Garrison leaders are working with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service and local service providers to improve it.
Future network service plans will be made available on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
“This would be their only expense, but we are continuing to look through legal ways to try to improve the service,” said Fogle. “We would like to provide it 100% free to the spouses, but at this time we just can’t get there.”
The initial priority for the Army program is focused on establishing space at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, through their USO locations. Belvoir is expected to be the first to initiate the program within the entire Defense Department.
Fogle said since there is no USO here, Fort Knox leaders are working with the Campbell USO to get assistance on ways to set up their space. They are also getting help from experts in the field of innovative entrepreneurial work space designs, remote work capabilities, training, networking and career services, to include the Central Region Innovation Center and the Knox Regional Development Alliance.
Despite all the support, the onus for making the space available and functional falls to Garrison.
“We’re doing this out of hide; we don’t have designated people,” said Fogle. “We are hiring some more staff to do other jobs, but we will designate their additional duties to help us manage this space, provided it doesn’t interfere with our mission.
“We are actively looking for some professional volunteers, though — maybe a spouse who wants to help other spouses.”
Part of the spouse space plan includes making it multifunctional. Not only will it provide space for entrepreneur capabilities, it and other spaces through the building can also be used for training, networking and career services.
Cooper said the Garrison plan takes advantage of the unique location to provide spouses a prime spot to also network with local area businesses and government organizations that participate in employer days for transitioning Soldiers.
“We’re bringing in local folks from as close as Radcliff out to Louisville,” said Cooper. “Sometimes, we also get folks who come in from Frankfort and Bowling Green. It’s a mix.”
While the work space idea is new at Fort Knox, spouse job assistance is not.
“We brought a state representative in, and they brought in a workforce developer, so now we can allow the workforce developer to give our current military spouses the opportunity to link up and see what’s available in the area,” said Cooper. “This initiative allows the space for them to be here.”
The partnerships, coupled with the working space, are designed to open many doors for spouses to find what they are looking for, said Fogle.
“There’s a huge network here that’s helping to provide opportunities. We’re trying to tie into that network with systems and processes for local employers and educators to bridge the gap for our spouses,” said Fogle. “There is nothing like walking into a community and instantly walking into a network of professionals who can help you find a job, help you write a resume, help you navigate through the struggles of the local community.
“As an Army family, we should focus more on developing and strengthening the entire family; this helps us reach out to Soldiers and spouses in one location.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.24.2021 13:36 |
| Story ID: | 389718 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 349 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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