Jetta Allen

Share your military spouse story:
When I married my husband, I did not know the adventures, challenges, and future set before me. We were just two young kids in love, living in Alaska, preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan. That first deployment I learned firsthand the power of the military spouse network. Through our FRG I found my support that would not only get me through the deployment, but help me thrive as a military spouse. In 2009 we moved to North Carolina and our family grew miraculously. Joshua was our world, but the world he saw was different than ours. We would come to know that Joshua has Autism, a speech impairment, some occupational needs, and sensory processing disorder. Navigating the Army's Exceptional Family Member Program was our new norm. Our duty station in Colorado would give our family the skills to help our son be the best version of himself as I went back to school for Special Education and Joshua received intensive interventions. Today I share what we have learned on his journey. At USAG Humphreys in South Korea I formed a support group for adults and children with disabilities and impairments called the Humphreys Diverse Abilities Support Group. We were the first in-person and virtual group for military connected families with needs in South Korea! Our group supported over 570 families and individuals with a mission of education, advocacy, and connectedness. We met our organization goals in March of 2024 and my journey took a new turn as I accepted a position as Editor in Chief of United on the RoK Magazine. United on the RoK Magazine is a magazine with a military community focus that is distributed to United States Forces Korea installations within the Republic of Korea. This volunteer-created magazine aims to connect readers to the diversity of our communities and showcase what South Korea has to offer from culture and travel to food and family, and more. Our military community now has a dedicated space for our all stories!

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
Five years ago I formed Humphreys Diverse Abilities Support Group. We successfully advocated for the formation of our Local Interagency Coordinating Council, a dedicated forum for parents/caregivers of those with disabilities and impairments to communicate and problem-solve with Garrison agencies. Through advocacy, our duty station has JAG attorneys trained in special education advocacy. As the Chairperson of our School Advisory Committee at Humphreys Middle School, we successfully elevated formal recommendations on hiring, document handling, student safety, calendar alignment, and gifted education resulting a pilot program for gifted students. As a community volunteer, we have coordinated all the military resources across the RoK into a free PSC Resource Guide, including a dedicated chapter for EFMP families. As Editor, we have partnered with the USFK command teams to create relevant material for our readers, including command corners and stories of our military units.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
My dedication to the military community is driven by a heartfelt commitment to service. Living in the same community for five years has given me the unique opportunity to identify gaps of support and advocate for positive change within our community to help military families thrive overseas, so far from home. In 2020, I established the Humphreys Diverse Abilities Support Group to serve our EFMP families, demonstrating my commitment to inclusive community support. When COVID-19 hit Asia, my service intensified as we launched "Sew Essential" to produced thousands of masks for our community. My entire family expanded service through volunteering with the USO. I joined the School Advisory Committee in 2020, where I advocated for education improvement at multiple levels - from DoDEA HQ to the Dependents Education Council and our local military command chain. Currently I develop a space for our entire military community to tell their stories, share their passions, and offer support.

Describe how you support your community:
I measure community support through impact, often reflecting on my contributions. The most rewarding validation comes when I learn that individuals I've mentored have become valuable resources in their own communities, creating a lasting ripple effect of positive change. I support my community by creating systems that can be maintained by the next volunteer, maintaining continuity in an everchanging military community. And while the people change, the needs often do not. I support my community through building resources, helping publish a free PCS Reference Guide, The DMZ to the SEA. As founder of the Diverse Abilities Support Group, I took on the EFMP, Medical, and Dental sections for on and off post. I actively participate in education, installation needs, and EFMP support. My truest calling and passion is advocacy. Through all my volunteering, I aim to inform, educate, and advocate for my community and support its needs through networks of communication and access to resources.

What do you advocate for? Why?
As military families we often don't have the "roots" in a community as compared to family members growing up in the same towns for decades. That is exactly why I advocate. Military communities have a responsibility to its service members and their families. The mission is first, and to do that they need a thriving community! I advocate for what impacts families: education, medical services, EFMP support, and parent/family support. As an EFMP family, I know how isolating a new duty station can be when your needs are vastly different from the "norm". I want my community and other overseas duty locations to be fully supported by processes, procedures, and policy to help our military families thrive! My family has been blessed at more than one military community and I want to pass those on so others are fully supported at orders, not boots on the ground. We all know, PCS preparation starts long before arrival. Support before orders means a family can thrive when boots are on the ground!

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
My advocacy strategy employs a multi-channel approach to maximize community impact and institutional engagement. As a subject matter expert in Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) services at USAG Humphreys, the Pacific's largest installation, I leverage both traditional and digital platforms to drive positive change. This includes participation in town halls, EFMP councils, engagement with military leadership, and collaborative partnerships with media outlets and advocacy organizations. Through my role with United on the RoK Magazine, we've established a peninsula-wide resource network that connects multiple duty stations throughout Korea. Our publication is a platform, featuring expert-contributed content including mental health resources from licensed clinicians, educational support strategies, relationship guidance, quality-of-life enhancement opportunities, and professional opportunities to the community to be published, extending their portfolio and professional experience.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
If selected as AFI Military Spouse of the Year, I would leverage this platform to amplify my current initiatives while expanding their scope and impact. My strategic vision focuses on three key pillars: support, education, and advocacy through enhanced military spouse connectivity. Through years of experience in the military community, I've witnessed how strategic networking and relationship-building create powerful catalysts for positive change. My objective is to develop comprehensive support systems that address the unique challenges military families face. I envision creating a robust professional network that facilitates resource sharing and legislation changes that empower military families overseas. This framework would ease in navigating overseas assignments while building sustainable support systems. When military families are effectively supported, so it is the military's mission.