Amber Sayer

Share your military spouse story:
My husband and I met in high school in 2007. We reconnected after seeing one another that winter where I learned he had joined and shipped off to basic training that summer. From that time our relationship began. Fast forward to 2010, we were both working our first jobs and I was in college. That year, we found out that we were having a sweet little girl, born in August. We made commitments that we would always strive to do the best for our family, breaking generational curses and setting goals. We worked multiple jobs, and I had a goal to be a first-generation college graduate. A few years went by and Corey's love for aviation grew. He wanted to become a UH60 pilot and that is exactly what he went on to do. Putting together his flight school packet, he proceeded to the in-person board where he passed but was told the wait could be months to a year. We got engaged and 1 month later received a call that there was a shortfall, meaning there was now a spot open. Within 72 hours we packed up our life, got married amongst boxes, family and friends, and made a "honey-move" to Fort Rucker, three states away. He completed flight school and I became a Warrant Officer spouse. We moved home where he worked as a civilian and on and off active-duty orders, and I was hired as the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Guard and volunteered with our FRG for the first time. In 2017 we welcomed our second child and now CW2 Sayer, deployed on his first mobilization to the Middle East. Working on our installation and connecting with many families, I had support allowing me to complete my degree and be looked after by friends and family. Corey came home that next fall and we reintegrated back into our family roles, both having accomplished milestones together. Here we are today, Corey now CW3, working full time as a pilot and myself, working for Headquarters, Department of the Army still supporting work with the substance abuse and suicide prevention across the Force.

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
As a military spouse, specifically in the National Guard, we have unique challenges. Navigating not only the civilian world and workforce, we continue to be a military family where my spouse reports for duty anytime he is called. While we do not have to relocate frequently, we still experience deployments and state-side emergency missions for hurricanes, and much more. This lifestyle requires me to role model resilience and flexibility when it comes to extended periods of separation, constant change, and much unknown where I believe I have been successful in showing adaptability. During my time as an FRG leader, our unit experienced deployment as well as a horrific loss when a helicopter crashed during a training exercise. This unfortunate event required us to stand strong, take direction from the Commander and provide any support we could to the families. Through this, our FRG supported through making wellness calls and providing resources to unit families for months to come.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
As the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for our State, I trained over 1000 Soldiers, DoD Civilians and Families in Resilience, Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention. I was then hired as the R3SP Coordinator, overseeing those programs and most recently taken on a program analyst role continuing the work in support of Headquarters, Department of the Army. I am a Level 2 Resilience Trainer, ASIST Suicide Intervention Trainer and hold other health promotion trainer certifications. I was honored to have been selected to co-lead an International Advisory Group over the last few years to support the Belize Defence Force through the LANG State Partnership Program. Their Leadership sought to stand up their first ever, Mental Wellness Program in their Country in 2024. Myself and our State Chaplain worked with their Ministry Leaders and other Military Components to create and operationally support their implementation of a Wellness program available to their Soldiers, Coast Guard and Families.

Describe how you support your community:
For our National Guard component, the common stressors that our Soldiers and Families experience are connected to financial, employment and relationship concerns. Unfortunately, our units are not co-located to one installation where resources are free and easily accessible. This creates a large hinderance to receiving care quickly. Because of this, building community is something I have had to do. I have taken initiative in my position to successfully connect Soldiers, Airmen and families with resources that can provide support, both within our installations and in the local communities across our state, ultimately saving lives. Family members and circle of support members often forget that they are also eligible for support resources, just as their Soldier or Airman. It quickly became a priority for me to attend deployment Yellow Ribbon Events, Family Readiness Events and any community events to ensure they are educated on how and where to access resources.

What do you advocate for? Why?
Advocating for access to and awareness of wellness resources is important to me. There are so many resources available, but such stigma still exists that is unfortunate to think that many in our Military and their spouses are unaware. This is especially true in the National Guard where we typically find our resource programs reacting, versus preventing. I believe it is important for spouses to be aware of the information that their member receives during a drill weekend. I was able to establish a social media page for our prevention program and worked to create avenues for communication with spouses. I connected with other programs to ensure information was included in newsletters, FRG emails, community events, and by standing up the first La National Guard Deployment Cycle Resilience Training team. During Yellow Ribbon Deployment events, we have trained thousands of Spouses and family n resilience skills and discussed in length, resources while their loved on is deployed and home.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
Using my position in the State resource programs has been a huge help to spread awareness of prevention resources. Our spouses and family members can be difficult to access as a Guard community where we may not live near one another and rarely get the opportunity to connect in person. I always strived to ensure the trainers under our program were well versed on so many of the resources available, ensuring that these resources were shared multiple times throughout training events. Connection is key when it comes to relationships and if I am able to help one spouse, it is more likely that others will learn of the support received and come forward for help themselves.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
If I was to be awarded the AFI Military Spouse of the Year title, my mission would continue to be to spread awareness of prevention efforts and education of the many resources available. As a military spouse, I like to believe that we are the first line of defense to our Service Members who may be in distress when it comes to mental health. Spouses play a critical role in suicide prevention efforts and it can be as easy as creating a connected community while promoting awareness of prevention education opportunities and resources available. It is important that we, like our Service Members, are also trained to know the signs to look out for someone need may need support. Military communities are so resilient. Military spouses can work together to create a safe space where other spouses feel comfortable to talk or ask for help without fear of judgment. We can build relationships to strengthen our bonds that can reduce feelings of isolation, which is a common issue in our challenges.