Photo By Brittany Trumbull | Dr. Fran Gill moderates an Army aviation spouse fireside chat with Christine Obadal,...... read more read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Army Aviation spouses shared hard-earned lessons on resilience, career continuity and raising children through constant change during a fireside chat April 16 at the annual Army Aviation Association of America Summit in Nashville, Tenn.
Moderated by Dr. Fran Gill, an emergency room physician and spouse of Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, commanding general of the Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, the discussion on being “Resilient by Design” brought together Christine Obadal, a former Army intelligence officer and current Deloitte executive, and Mary Bier, CEO of the Military Child Education Coalition.
Both speakers opened with personal accounts of navigating the challenges of military family life, focusing on the difficulty of sustaining careers while managing frequent moves and deployments.
A recurring theme amongst the group was adaptability. “Adaptability, flexibility and holding the course,” Obadal said. “You don’t know how you’re going to do it until you know, and then you keep pivoting until you find what works for you. For your family.”
Bier mentioned the importance of identifying career “non-negotiables,” such as remote work, to maintain continuity.
“I knew I didn’t want to rebuild my career every time we moved,” she said. “So this was something I simply wouldn’t budge on.”
Both cautioned against the notion that military spouses can “do it all,” encouraging honesty about trade-offs instead. “The only wrong decision is one you can’t live with,” Obadal said.
Child care was another central issue, particularly given the lack of extended family support due to frequent relocations.
“We have juggled different options over the years, from childcare to a nanny, depending on what fit for us in each season,” Gill said. “As a family with both an ER doctor and Army aviator, our childcare needs were unique, but we always found what worked for us”
Financial planning also emerged as an important factor in having two working parents. Obadal and Bier said their families often planned around a single income, treating a second income as supplemental.
“Your employment just isn’t guaranteed as a military spouse, knowing you may have to move and adapt,” Bier said. “Building a lifestyle assuming two incomes can be really risky in the beginning.”
They also highlighted career flexibility including remote work, contract roles and portable fields such as technology, project management and sales as great options to long-term success. Networking, especially with other military spouses, was strongly encouraged.
They addressed the impact of military life on children, noting that frequent moves often six to nine before high school graduation, can affect academics, mental health and social stability.
“The biggest challenge for all of us, and our kids too, is starting over again and again,” Bier said.
She added that about 70% of military-connected children attend civilian schools, where support systems can vary, making programs such as Purple Star schools especially important in communities near installations and anywhere that military members are nearby.
Throughout the discussion, panelists emphasized resilience, self-advocacy and continuous personal growth as essential tools for military spouses.
Gill closed the session with audience questions, which ranged from military child programs to reentering the workforce after time spent focusing on raising a family.
“Reinvention is hard, but in this life it’s just inevitable, you can do this,” Obadal said.
The second spouse professional program at the 2026 AAAA Summit takes place Friday, April 17, also moderated by Gill with a lineup of 5 Fort Rucker spouses and focuses on “Pivoting with Positivity: Finding your way around the challenges of military life.”
| Date Taken: | 12.31.1969 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2026 18:04 |
| Story ID: | 562923 |
| Location: | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army Aviation Spouses Discuss Resilience in Careers at AAAA Summit, by Brittany Trumbull, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
