Photo By Staff Sgt. Cory Reese | Isabel Schmitt, winner of Army Spouse of the Year, poses for a photo in front of the...... read more read more
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Get to know Isabel Schmitt, a veteran, entrepreneur, and military spouse. Schmitt was recently named the Army’s spouse of the year and is in the running for the 2026 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. For nearly 20 years, Schmitt has supported her husband, Col. Peter Schmitt, G-32 Aviation Officer for the XVIII Airborne Corps, raised two kids, all while balancing more than a dozen moves. Learn more about Schmitt’s commitment to the military spouse community and how she’s impacting real change for military families.
I. Before you became a military spouse, you wore the uniform. Can you tell us a little bit about your service? My time spent in the military trained me for everything I do now. Army training is like none other and I am so grateful for every experience I had while in the military. I owe my incredible life to the decision to take an ROTC scholarship. Fun fact, the two people that helped shape my life as it is today, the Army gave me!I met Wendy Way, my business partner, in 2000 at ROTC Advanced Camp. In 2004, I deployed to Iraq and on the convoy to our FOB, I met the man that later became my husband. In August 2006, I was out of the Army and I married Peter two months later.
II. Where are you currently stationed? Fort Bragg, North Carolina
III. How many years have you been a military spouse? 19 years (20 in October)
IV. How many PCS (Permanent Change of Station) moves have you completed? 13
V. How many kids do you have, and what is your favorite memory of them during a PCS move? We have a daughter in college and a son in high school. We have a marvelous sofa set that I purchased in Germany, and my kids have started going back and forth over who gets the "red sofa," when it comes time to claim their parents' furniture. The kids see that sofa as the central piece where we made memories. We read entire book series as a family on that sofa; it's a part of our story as a traveling family. Without the ability to grow deep roots in one place, that sofa, and the memories it stirs up, is home. It's a central part of our story as a moving military family.
VI. What is your first memory of supporting military spouses? My first memory is supporting Family Readiness Groups. I was fortunate to be an FRG leader early on. Peter had two company commands and a battalion command, so I had plenty of opportunities. I’ve had so much fun and was mentored and supported by some truly amazing spouses. Now, I get to mentor younger military spouses and that feels so good. One of the areas where I’m able to help a lot of spouses is with PCS moves.
VII. What is your favorite duty station and why? I love El Paso, Texas, but I left my heart in Stuttgart, Germany. I had a job at AFRICOM in the J34, our kids were in German school & fluent in German, and I had an insanely cool group of friends. I was in a band that did regular shows at an art gallery run by my German bestie, Ulla. Shoutout to Brisky, Claus, Herbert and Jan. I would go back there in a heartbeat, but honestly, every place is special. If you have never experienced a new moon at Fort Irwin, you are missing out. It's beautiful. And I never expected to love North Carolina so much. I’m still not over how friendly everyone is in this area. I could stay here. I've dropped hints more than once. I mean, I get it! Even I don't want to PCS anymore. It's tough.
VIII. The Army is putting a lot of emphasis on PCS moves, what changes do you hope to see? I hope that the Personal Property Activity (PPA) will re-open enrollment for new SCAC code holders, to increase competition, which directly helps families. Furthermore, I want to see Common Financial Administrative Control guidance in place so that the PPA can hold companies accountable. I want a seat at the table to explain what PCS moving actually looks like on the ground and how we can fix it. It starts with accountability. It ends with evening the playing field so that small businesses can work with local transportation offices.
VIIII. What are your best tips to ensure a smooth move for families with young kids? My personal tip: let your kids pack a small bag that is all about them. Don't try to control everything. Allow them the ability to control some of the processes that affect them. In our early PCS moves we would read books together throughout the move to string one location to the next. One of our favorites is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
X. What does it mean to you being named the Army's military spouse of the year? First, it feels good. Huge thanks to my co-founder and friend Wendy Way for her nomination. She believes in everything I do, and that kind of support is special. With this platform, my team and I can affect military spouse employment and entrepreneurship in a much bigger way and with a greater audience to drive the mission. I am excited to do more for our community and to highlight spouses already doing the work. I encourage you all to nominate military spouses that work to affect positive change in our community. Military family stability is military readiness. I encourage anyone out there that knows a military spouse affecting positive change, to nominate that spouse for Military Spouse of the Year.
XI. Looking back at all the things you've accomplished supporting military families, is there one thing you're most proud of? I am most proud of my response during tragic times. In tragic moments, humility, self-awareness and empathic communication & execution are key. If you are not close with a family, guide a trusted person who is through the situation. Leading sometimes happens from the rear. Personal power is the ability to step aside and manage from afar if that's what is in the best interest of a family navigating a crisis. I am proud of my ability to do that.
XII. What experiences as an Army spouse most shaped the mission and advocacy projects you're pursuing? Rather than fight what I couldn't control, my co-founder and I set out to redefine our career paths. We wanted to solve a problem that affected the military community and provide new employment opportunities for spouses. The next chapter is turning our business into a model that supports greater entrepreneurship opportunities for military spouses and veterans. I am just so darn happy to experience this groundswell of support and this acknowledgement. It gives me the drive to do more and to aim higher.
XIII. As an entrepreneur, can you tell us a little bit about it and how it impacts military families? We are a boutique PPM move management company, founded in 2020, powered by military spouses and veterans. We are committed to providing the best possible PCS move within a family's PPM budget.Wendy and I know that families that feel secure and cared for during the PCS process are given peace of mind. The PCS process is incredibly stressful. We take the largest rock in the PCS rucksack, and we carry it for families so that they can concentrate on everything else.
XIV. What is your best advice for any family thinking about doing a DITY move? First, allow me to clarify, a DITY is a move you do yourself. You pack, load and drive your truck. A PPM is a personally procured move, meaning you procure your move services.Allow yourself a flexible timeline for execution. Don't cage yourself into a timeline that is only 48 hours deep.Moving has a lot of moving parts (pun intended), and Murphy's Law absolutely applies. Give yourself time to pivot if something goes wrong. We have seen it all and you have to allow wiggle room in your move timeline. Things happen. Give yourself a minimum 4-day window to get yourself loaded and if you are packing yourself, start a month out.
XV. Is there a favorite piece of advice you received from a mentor or another Army spouse that has stuck with you, and you share with others? One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received came from my husband Peter. When he was an aide he said to me, "90% of everything I do all day is personality management." That stuck with me. Success comes from meeting people as they are and flexing your communication style to affect the outcomes you want while building people up to their highest potential. I highly recommend the book The Anatomy of Peace by The Arbinger Institute. If you are lucky enough to be in a leadership position, manage people in a way that showcases their talents and drives goodness for the betterment of community and society.
XVI. One of the major platforms you advocate for is military spouse employment, can you tell us a little bit about what you're doing in this space? As an entrepreneur, we hire military spouses and veterans from top to bottom. Our bookkeeper, tax advisor, photographers, uniform shirt makers, operators, admins, everything we need, we seek out military spouses to contract for us. The kind of energy and attitude we want is intrinsic to the milspouse/veteran community.
XVII. What's one challenge military spouses face that you believe the public doesn't fully understand? Stable employment is family stability, and the PCS cycle does not allow for stable employment. We build lives and then upend them 2-3 years later. That's tough for anyone. Throw in a deployment, three kids, no extended family support (due to distance), a dog, a turtle and two cats and you have the recipe for a constant and consistent cortisol assault on a fatigued brain. We crave normalcy like anyone else does, but military families push through because our livelihood depends on it. If military spouses can secure remote or portable work, some of those stressors go away.Income supports family stability and employment is income.
XVIII. What's one piece of advice you would give to a military spouse that wants to get involved or make a difference in their community? People will give you a million reasons why not to do something or you will find 100 excuses for why getting involved is inconvenient. The reason to get involved is always the people. Support the communities you live in by making a difference. Principally, your children need to see you getting involved and if you don't have kids, your friends need to see you getting involved because that is how we lift entire communities up. Don't let others carry the weight of civic responsibility for you. I encourage everyone to do all the things and experience the good that comes of it.
The announcement will be made here May 7, 2026. https://msoy.afi.org/
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2026 16:50 |
| Story ID: | 561991 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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