Key Spouses work in tandem with commanders to support Airmen, families

The Air Force Key Spouse Program contributes to the resilience and welfare of the Scott Air Force Base community by helping to improve the quality of life among Airmen and their families. Key spouses reach out to welcome new members of the base community, disseminate information from unit leadership about available resources and events, and support deployed families.

Scott has a unified cadre of approximately 150 key spouses. Key spouses are interviewed and appointed by unit commanders. They are chosen for their dependability, attention to detail, communication skills, and their passion for and loyalty to the Air Force.

Upon their appointment, new key spouses attend an orientation with their unit commander who instructs them on specific unit goals and needs. Succeeding their orientation, key spouses attend an initial seven-hour training regimen at the A&FRC.

Key spouses are required to meet continuing education requirements by attending additional training once per quarter. Training topics includes disaster preparedness, deployment procedures, generational diversity, resilience, protection of personal identifying information, and security of private or sensitive information.

Monica Stouffer, Airman & Family Readiness Center chief, emphasizes key spouses are trained, professional, appointed volunteers.

“Key spouses typically make a commitment to serve for a year,” said Stouffer. “Key spouses don’t get paid; it’s all voluntary. For them to choose to be a key spouse means they willingly give up their personal time not only to go through all the required training but also to make themselves available to their unit’s Airmen and families whenever they need help. This shows how much key spouses must care and want to get involved.”

Angela Hindmand, key spouse of the 375th Civil Engineer Squadron, said, “We need to take care of our military family as we do our own family at home. This program lets spouses know that they have someone that cares about them and there are resources available to them. As a key spouse, I’m always available to help.”

Key spouses like Hindmand serve critical roles in their units by strengthening the communication flow between commanders and Airmen and by fostering an esprit de corps among unit members and their families. They promote unit readiness, encourage peer-to-peer support, provide an informal sounding board, and offer a critical link to unit leadership.

Jessica Barratini, A&FRC’s Key Spouse Program manager, said, “The Key Spouse Program is an official, professional, commander-oriented program. It is not a social club. Key spouses exist to help the unit.”

Anyone wanting to get involved with the program can contact their unit’s first sergeant or visit the A&FRC.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Key Spouses work in tandem with commanders to support Airmen, families."