Key Spouses aim to help families with everyday life Published Nov. 3, 2009 By Angela Cutrer Keesler News Staff KEESLER AFB, Miss -- As Keesler's family readiness program coordinator, Master Sgt. Jessica Woodruff has 439 souls to look after. That's a lot of souls. So Sergeant Woodruff gets a helping hand from "key spouses" - essential personnel who volunteer to help squadron spouses deal with everyday life at Keesler. "It's like they are an extension of me - of what I do," said Sergeant Woodruff. "Every squadron has a person assigned to be a key spouse, and that means not just helping with deployment issues but serving as the welcome wagon, answering questions and providing referrals for vital information." Key spouses fall within the usual change of command, talking with the first sergeants to pick up any trends that might be occurring. If morale is low in a squadron, for example, the key spouse can report reasons why and how things might be improved. Each base has its own program. Air Education and Training Command makes it mandatory for each squadron to have one because "the key spouse helps the families integrate with the base and answers questions," Sergeant Woodruff said. "Basically, it's just another way to take care of our family - they let them know what we do and help with information and referrals." One example about the importance of key spouses occurred last week when Sergeant Woodruff responded to an e-mail from a woman whose husband was suddenly deployed from Keesler. "She's 31 weeks pregnant," Sergeant Woodruff said. "She was worried about who will take her to the hospital, who will watch her kids." Sergeant Woodruff sent off an e-mail with the key spouse information for that spouse so she can have a support system during what could be a stressful time. "The key spouse program is a vital component of the Air Force, providing our family members a connection to their squadron leadership and vice versa, especially when the active member is deployed," said Jackie Pope, community readiness consultant at the airman and family readiness center. "Key spouse volunteers play a very important role in the squadron because they become the 'go to' person during times of crisis for information and referral or maybe just for a friendly face to talk to when someone is new to the base." Key spouses are volunteers who go through an initial training, and then quarterly updates. Some key spouses are actually military members themselves who want to help. Since each key spouse is a member of his or her squadron, he or she knows what the spouse in need is going through. They have something in common, which makes it easier for the key spouse to understand what the squadron spouse needs. "It makes them an extension of our family," Sergeant Woodruff said. "It's simply families taking care of families." If you are interested in becoming a key spouse or for more information, call the airman and family readiness center, 376-8508.