Danielle Wyatt

Share your military spouse story:
In March of 2010 I married my best friend. That following October I stood in the back of a room at MEPS in Illinois proud as can be as I watched my husband raise his right hand and swear in as a soldier of the U.S. Army. I knew that day our lives would change but I could never have predicted how much. In the last 9 years we have moved 4 times, survived a 9 month deployment, many missions that took my husband away for extended periods of time, and were blessed with 2 amazing sons. Through it all I have stood next to my soldier and cheered him on every step of the way. When your other half is here today, gone tomorrow, and back home two months later you realize just how strong you are because you have to be. Being a military spouse has taught me a lot about who I am and who I can be. It has helped me find a voice I didn't know I had. As I have found my voice I have found an urge and need to volunteer. I volunteer in the schools because I truly believe military children are heroes just like our service members. They did not ask for this life and at such a young age these kids see the importance of the men and women who defend our country. I give them my time as a way to show them I appreciate them. I look at my boys every day and see how proud they are of their dad, and any service member they see and continue to be amazed by them. I always like to volunteer with my husband's units because it keeps me connected. It also gives me the opportunity to give back to the service members and their families as a way to say, "Thank you. Thank you for putting your life in danger. I support you." People ask me all the time if I wish we would have done things differently and not have my husband join. To that I say NO! We are apart of the biggest family in the world. I would not have it any other way.

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
As a member of the PTA I am giving a voice to the students that they cannot have on their own. As a member of the SFRG I am bridging a gap between the Unit Command and the families. As a member of the PWOC board I am giving support to spouses who are in need. As other spouses see members in action it helps them to stand up and be a part of something bigger.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
I try and get involved in many aspects of the military community at each of our duty stations. We are currently at JBLM where I am a board member on the PTA at my children's school and have standing times that I work in both of their classrooms. I am also involved in the SFRG for my husband's battalion. We left Ft. Eustis July 2019 where I was the PTA President at our son's school, the Participation Chair for Protestant Women of the Chapel, and was the FRA for the Battalion, as well as the SFRG Leader for my husband's unit. I could never do what my husband does each day but give me the chance to be there for a Soldier, spouse, or military child and I am there with bells on.

Describe how you support your community:
I am in charge of out PTA free family nights. This gets families out together for a night of fun where all they have to focus on is their family and not the cost. By taking the stress of money out more families are able to participate in more events and create memories they may not have. When units do not have SFRG volunteers there is a disconnect between the unit and the families. This can cause many issues for the service member and the families. Giving the families someone out of uniform to talk to gives them comfort and a chance to truly understand events that are going on. It also gives families someone to talk to that is truly there to listen and help without the fear of getting their service member in trouble. We have always lived my a few rules in our house, "Happy wife, happy life", and for my service member to focus on his mission we have to make sure home is squared away. Being part of the SFRG helps that happen.

What do you advocate for? Why?
My first platform is working with Garrison and housing to help fix extended wait list as well as how the wait list work. When duty stations do not have ample amounts of on post housing it makes for longer wait lists. The way the wait list works at JBLM currently does not give incoming families the priority needed over people who are already here with housing. My second platform is to get cost of living for locations where families face larger hurdles. This goes along with the extended wait list due to insufficient housing available on post. Families are forced to stay in hotels, or settle for housing they cannot afford or are unsafe. If families here were able to receive cost of living a lot of the housing stress and struggles would been lifted.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
Right now, I am trying to get a full understanding of processes and work with Garrison to find the steps to fix the issues. I will be contacting The Armed Services in the Senate and plan on reaching out to the media as I get more information.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
I want to see finding housing get easier for families in the larger duty stations. PCSing alone can be an uphill battle. When you get to your next duty station finding your new home should not be. I also want to see more duty stations receive cost of living. We do not always get to pick where we are PCSing to. When we find ourselves in duty stations where the cost of living is twice our last one and we are still living off the same income it puts a lot of extra strain on families. Knowing you will receive cost of living will take a large stress away which will keep the service member focused on their mission, and their family able to take care of themselves. With this title I hope to accomplish both of these goals as well as find more ways to help give other spouses the courage to have a voice and stand up and fight for what they believe in.