Key spouse is lifeline for families during deployments, relocations Published Nov. 23, 2010 By Steve Hoffmann 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- You've just arrived on base and you need to get to the TMO PDQ because your belongings that were PCS'd broke and your spouse just received another DEPORD from the UDM and your own personal FPCON is bordering between CHARLIE and DELTA. What do you do? Calling your key spouse might be the safest, quickest and easiest way to get you where you need to go. The Key Spouse program exists to help Airman spouses and family members navigate the sometimes confusing and turbulent Air Force life. A key spouse is a volunteer, generally a spouse or family member, who represents the unit and is a conduit of information between commanders and the family unit. "It never fails. As soon as someone gets deployed, something happens with your car, your house or the kids. Life still happens," said Rebecca Stanley, personal and family life program manager with the airman and family readiness center. "A key spouse plays a vital role in connecting you with resources to help you solve your problems, as well as someone who will just take the time to listen to your concerns. They are becoming a real energy source on the base." The Key Spouse program was developed as an initiative to enhance the quality of life for Air Force families. Voluntary implementation was encouraged in 1999, but the program varied from base to base. But in 2009, the program was standardized with formal training, not only for the key spouses but has been incorporated into first sergeant and officer training as well. "Key spouses are not baby sitters or taxi drivers. They're professionals and we're training them to be professionals," said Ms. Stanley. "What we're doing here is teaching this system to the spouses and family members. We're teaching them that this is the way to get information, get connected and find commonalities. It's really starting to become part of the Air Force culture." Each key spouse has a mentor who knows the system, has been a key spouse themselves or are spouses of unit commanders. Together with the key spouse, they put together newsletters and send out e-mails to squadron families to keep them informed during important transitions. "The old telephone tree has become the email tree," Ms. Stanley explained. "Most of the communication has to go through active duty and a lot of it gets lost sometimes. Key spouses and mentors disseminate and organize that information and make sure it gets into the hands of active duty spouses and family members. They get the word into the household." During a brief at the Sablich Center Nov. 9, Ms. Stanley gave refresher training to first sergeants and commanders. "We want them to know that key spouses are part of their team and serve the mission through improved communication into the household." Since the key spouse is also a member of the squadron they are serving, they know what their squadron family members and spouses are going through and how best to help them. "Many of them tell us that their lives are so frenzied and out of control during deployments and transitions," said Ms. Stanley. "But when they get a call, or an email or a newsletter from their key spouse that lets them know who they need to contact or what step they need to take next, it is a real stabilizing force. That, in itself, can be a lifeline." To learn more about the key spouse program, call the airman and family readiness center, 376-8500.