Courtesy Photo | The Alaska Army National Guard's Military and Family Readiness program hosts a game...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — As the demands on military families continue to grow amid deployments, separations and fiscal constraints, the National Guard Bureau recognized the Alaska Army National Guard’s Military and Family Readiness specialists as the top-performing team in the nation for Fiscal Year 2025.
Despite a 50 percent reduction in staff due to budget cuts and attrition, the Alaska Army National Guard ranked first among all 54 states and territories for Family Readiness personnel following the bureau’s evaluation.
Performance evaluations conducted by the National Guard Bureau assess factors including staff training, deployment outreach, quality assurance reporting, personnel management, systems access and execution of spending plans.
The recognition highlights the team’s ability to sustain mission-critical support to service members and families under challenging conditions.
Military and Family Readiness specialists play a vital role in maintaining force readiness by ensuring troops can focus on their missions knowing their families are supported. They serve as the primary point of contact for service members and families seeking non-medical assistance, providing information, crisis intervention, referrals and deployment support tailored to the unique demands of military life.
Kera Spaulding, lead Military and Family Readiness specialist, underscored the importance of the family’s well-being to the mission.
“Family readiness is a critical component of military effectiveness and mission success,”Spaulding said. “The core idea is that a service member's ability to perform their duties is directly linked to the well-being of their family.When families are stable, resilient and well-supported, service members can focus on their military responsibilities with fewer distractions and less stress.”
Throughout the evaluation period, Alaska’s Family Readiness team demonstrated exceptional performance across multiple mission areas including deployment outreach, case management, training, community partnerships and fiscal accountability.
“The team’s ‘people first’ approach proved central to its success,” Spaulding said. “Even with reduced staffing, specialists conducted outreach to every deployed family who had available contact information, ensuring consistent communication and support throughout deployment cycles.”
Specialists provided emergency assistance, maintained access to critical services and preserved strong partnerships with local and statewide community organizations to expand the support network available to military families.
Family readiness programs reduce stress on service members by helping families navigate challenges such as childcare, financial planning and access to counseling resources. By addressing these needs, the programs improve quality of life for families while strengthening unit cohesion and overall readiness.
The Alaska Army National Guard Family Readiness team operates from three locations across the state — Fort Greely, Juneau and Camp Denali — supporting service members and families separated by vast distances.
By ensuring families remain informed, supported and resilient, Alaska’s Family Readiness team continues to play a decisive role in sustaining the readiness of the force and enabling service members to serve with confidence no matter the demands.
“Throughout a challenging year, the team ensured that support for service members and their families never faltered,” Spaulding said. “They provided emergency assistance, maintained access to critical services, and met all performance metrics set by the National Guard Bureau. Their performance highlights their dedication, accountability and resilience.”
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2026 21:52 |
| Story ID: | 556500 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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