Spouses learn ins, outs of Ramstein

Military life comes with an overflow of greetings and farewells. Moving into new homes, enrolling at new schools, searching for jobs and many more concerns can put stress on a military spouse arriving at a base.

In an attempt to ease the stress of these many challenges, the 86th Airlift Wing hosted its first-ever Ramstein Spouse Academy March 3 and 4.

Volunteers from a variety of base organizations briefed approximately 50 spouses on 13 different topics that will benefit spouses.

“We take very good care of our spouses to ensure they are educated and trained in resilience,” said Jan Devitt, 86th Airlift Wing community support coordinator. “We need each other over here. With the information and education we are (providing), they will be able to establish a social-support structure and network. … If families are taken care of, the mission gets taken care of.”

One of the topics the class covered was spouse health. The facilitators spoke to spouses about taking care of both themselves and their families. The topics were about child care, volunteer opportunities, education and spouse life, including careers and self-employment.

In addition to speaking about health and wellness, the briefers spoke on topics involving military operations, which included deployment cycles and military spouse protocol during official functions.
According to Melissa Austin, a spouse in attendance, this type of class was one she wishes was available 23 years earlier when she was transitioning into a military lifestyle.

“I’ve been (a military spouse) for a very long time — 23 years — and I think this program is wonderful,” Austin said. “If they would have had this when I was new, I would have been very happy. It’s great to see this is being offered for spouses today.”

Phyllis Cohn, American Red Cross member and facilitator, explained how she enjoyed making an impact on the spouses in attendance at the event.

“This experience was invaluable to me to be able to talk about volunteer opportunities with these bright and motivated spouses,” Cohn said.

This class is just one avenue for spouses to get acquainted with military life.

For more information on transitioning and resources in the community, the Airman and Family Readiness Center offers a Heartlink class to familiarize spouses. To sign up for Heartlink, call 480-5900.