Jennifer Robertson

Share your military spouse story:
I dated a guy in high school who went into the Air Force and cheated on me. I swore I'd never again date anyone affiliated with the military- seriously, never again. Well, as you can see, the mind and heart often have different plans. Six years after swearing off all military men, I married Kyle, a Navy sailor. Kyle and I dated for five of those six years while we were in college, but when he said he might join the Navy like his Dad, and I said I might marry him one day. I wanted to give him a chance to see the world, meet other people, grow with and/or without me and decide then which he liked better. I got lucky. In 2016, after his return from his first deployment, we were married, and we moved to Florida. Thus began my military spouse life. Per Kyle's orders, we've been PCSing the east coast ever since.

Describe any leadership positions or provide an overview of your leadership contributions within the military community.
When Kyle joined the USS Gerald R. Ford, I sat as active treasurer for the ships's Family Readiness Group, and past my term in that role remained active with the board, planning through the ship's entire maiden deployment schedule and homecoming affairs. In both Virginia and D.C. I volunteer with Operation Homefront as a Team Captain for the Volunteer Reserves. Operation Homefront supports families stability through a myriad of programing. I'm actively involved in the Back-to-School Brigade, Holiday Meals for Military Families and Star-Spangled Babies. Lastly, I served as one of the team leads for Operation Gratitude's D.C. Community Cares Inaugural Events during the presidential election and again in May. From setting up stations for packing care kits for first responders and deployed personnel, to assisting table leaders during the packing and even the cleanup after, I loved every bit of each of the above opportunities.

What programs or projects are you currently involved in that support the needs of military families?
I'm currently involved with the National Capital Region and Maryland Blue Star Families Chapters. I feel a sense of belonging is very important for military spouses, and if I can help one person find a new friend, learn a new resource or experience something they didn't think they would be able to, then I know I'm doing something I should be. My history with Blue Star started in Jacksonville with a lot of outdoor clean ups, it traveled to Charleston where it was coffee connect and Wreaths Across America. Outside of Blue Star Families, I'm also involved with various food distributions, like the JBAB's Top 3 Food Panty and Soldiers' Angels, both of which work with the Capitol Area Food Bank to ensure proper access to food to any service members or veteran experiencing food insecurities. I continue to volunteer with Opertaion Homefront as well.

What moments best reflect your impact on building inclusive community among military spouses?
With Blue Star Families I host a monthly coffee connect on Bolling AFB. Regardless of your affiliation to the military, color of your skin, age, social ability, etc, there will always be a place for you. If you want to talk, I'll listen. If you need a resource, I'll do my best to provide it or find it if I don't have it available there and then. If you like to craft and just need stress relief, I've got you covered. I love hosting these events and while the attendance goes up and down I welcome anyone. Need a set of arms to hold your newborn? I have them. Have a child who needs help with paint? I'm not afraid of getting it on me, life happens, and crafts are fun! Just moved here and you don't know where ITT is? I can verbally explain it, draw you a map, or show you after the event, what's your preference? In a community you're only as strong as your weakest link, so don't let you chain get weak or rusty because you have the power to take care of it, pour love into it, pour joy into it.

Identify your main advocacy effort and describe your personal connection to the cause.
My main advocacy effort is family stability and readiness. My personal connection is that I understand loneliness and studied public health in college. While I have been fortunate enough to never experience someone close to me commit suicide, I know the power of loss that it takes over the survivors life. I know the sadness it creates and how hard that grief is to grow with. If I can help create a world in which stability and readiness exists, a world in which families blooms where they are planted, by creating, hosting, and volunteering at events that make things easier for military families, then I will. Events that bring our often separated families together when we can be, or provide joy during times or separation. Events that provide things we cannot- either due to lack of opportunity or cost restrictions. I want to provide the world more joy where darkness and anxiety already exist. Where there's joy; there's strength; there's readiness and stability.

Summarize your advocacy outreach strategies, including any events, media involvement, or other communication efforts.
Last year I volunteered many hours to the area mostly with military organizations. This year, I'd like to increase those hours. The only media involvement I had was a small segment on the 4th of July for CNN. I work the backside of events setup that isn't seen, emails and virtual meetings, dolly loads of boxes off of trucks and into buildings, setups and breakdowns. I do advertisements via adobe and google doc and canva and post them to social media pages. I do research into pricing for locations and products, etc. I file after action reports to assess growth, outreach and future goals/improvements. I have to communicate with various program directors, executive directors, other team leads, and volunteers. I also communicate with families in attendance or planning to attend our events.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
I hope more people learn about all these organizations and sign up to attend more of these free events. I don't think enough people know about the resources available to them as military families. I hope we have to start writing more grant letters and looking for more sponsors and partners ourselves because we have so many families joining the neighborhood. I hope we don't have any leftovers at the end of the day and that we have to use the Amazon wishlist occasionally. That shows me that the resources are doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing- filling a need and building a community.