Program Timeline
- Nominations Open
December 2, 2024 - Nominations Close
January 17, 2025 - Meet the Candidates
January 24, 2025 - Base Vote
January 29 - February 2, 2025 - Base Winners Announced
February 10, 2025 - Branch Finalists Announced
February 20, 2025 - Branch Vote
February 25-26, 2025 - Branch Winners Announced
March 4, 2025 - Overall AFI MSOY Vote
March 6-7, 2025 - AFI MSOY Week
May 5-9, 2025 - Overall AFI MSOY Announced
May 8, 2025
Program dates subject to change.
Rules and Criteria
To be considered for the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year®, a nominee must meet the following criteria:
- The nominee must be a spouse of an Active Duty or Reserve service member of the U.S. Armed Forces: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, or National Guard.
- The nominee cannot currently be serving on Active Duty, as a Reservist, as Individual Ready Reserve, or as a National Guardsman in any branch of the military.
- The nominee must be at least 18 years of age by the AFI MSOY nominations deadline.
- Nominees that reach the Branch Finalist stage will be required to submit a letter of recommendation and agree to participate in a video interview to be displayed publicly.
Terms and Conditions for Program Participation
* A spouse can be nominated an unlimited number of times but can only win Base title twice and may only win Branch or Overall title once.
AFI MSOY Panel and Judge Advisory Panel categories include:
- Leadership: Leadership skills shown in past efforts within the military spouse community; exhibits leadership necessary for AFI MSOY role and opportunities that come with the award.
- Involvement: Active involvement in the military community, with a focus on supporting the diverse needs and experiences of military spouses.
- Community Building: Passion/Advocacy shows inclusiveness for all military spouses; potential for working to support all military spouses; has a positive influence within the AFI MSOY and military community.
- Communication: Ability to communicate effectively in public settings and work with media outlets; has actively engaged the media on military spouse issues.
- Compelling Story: Shares a story that not only inspires but also reflects the diverse realities of military spouses.
Round and Voting Breakdowns:
Round 1: Installation Voting
- Nominations are collected and organized per base, district, and state.
- The nominee with the highest popular vote at each base, district or state will be named the respective winner and advance for consideration in the Branch Finalist spouses.
- There will be a separate category to accommodate spouses who are not currently attached to a base (e.g. spouses on recruiting duty).
- In the event a base/district/state does not receive any votes for its candidates, that installation will not have a candidate for that year.
CRITERIA WEIGHTING
Popular Vote: 100%
Round 2: Branch Finalists*
The Branch Finalist spouses will be decided based on the results of the popular vote from Round 1 and our AFI MSOY Panel. Video interviews of these candidates will be publicized to aid the voting process.
CRITERIA WEIGHTING
Round 1 Popular Vote Results: 25%
AFI MSOY Panel: 75%
* formerly Top 18
Round 3: Branch Voting
Nominees who advance to the Branch Finalist level will be eligible for their Branch round of voting. After the Branch level vote, the highest combined score derived from the popular vote, the AFI MSOY Panel and the Judge Advisory Panel will result in the seven National level candidates.
CRITERIA WEIGHTING
Popular Vote: 25%
Judge Advisory Panel: 25%
AFI MSOY Panel: 50%
Round 4: Overall AFI MSOY
Branch winners will then advance to the final round of voting. The Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year® will be selected based on the highest combined score derived from the popular vote, the Judge Advisory Panel, and the AFI MSOY Panel. The Overall AFI MSOY will not be announced until the awards ceremony.
CRITERIA WEIGHTING
Popular Vote: 25%
Judge Advisory Panel: 25%
AFI MSOY Panel: 50%
* Armed Forces Insurance carefully reviews the votes and their respective sources. In
the event that there are signals of anomalous activity or fraudulent voting, AFI reserves the right to
revoke a candidate’s victory.
Limit one vote per user, per day, for each round of public voting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can I nominate for this award?
The nominee criteria can be found by viewing the the rules and judging criteria here.
Why should I nominate a military spouse for this award?
A nominee should be an individual who inspires, empowers, engages, and advocates for the military community. You can review the rules and judging criteria here.
How long is the nomination period open?
See Program Timeline. Nominees will be notified of the deadline to accept their nominations and complete their candidate profile.
How/Where do I nominate a military spouse?
You can nominate an eligible military spouse here.
Can I nominate more than one military spouse?
Yes, you can nominate as many eligible military spouses as you’d like.
I’ve been nominated. Now what?
In your nomination email you’ll receive a link to accept your nomination and a welcome packet giving an overview of the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year® program. Carefully review it before you accept your nomination. When you accept your nomination you’ll complete your profile and answer questions that will help the AFI MSOY community get to know you and understand why you would be a good candidate for the AFI MSOY award. Take your time to answer the questions but be sure to complete it by the deadline. Remember you only need to accept one nomination.
I’m trying to nominate someone but I’m having technical issues. What do I do?
Make sure you’re using an updated modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. IE11 and below are not compatible with the nomination and voting process on our site. If you’re still having issues, please email us at msoy@afi.org with questions and we’ll do our best to help.
I’m having trouble voting for someone. What do I do?
Make sure you’re using an updated modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. IE11 and below are not compatible with the nomination and voting process on our site. If you’re still having issues, please email us at msoy@afi.org with questions and we’ll do our best to help.
A friend has asked to nominate me for this award. I was wondering what the average time commitment was for winners of this award other than the events specified on the schedule above?
The only FIRM time commitment is listed in the rules. All other opportunities are strictly that: opportunities. They are not mandatory. Time commitment is really based more on what your advocacy/initiative is and how popular the topic for speaking engagements, etc.
Can someone who has won at the base level twice previously be nominated again?
You can be nominated an unlimited number of times, but you can only hold a Base title two times even if at different bases. If you win Branch or Overall title you are not eligible to win again. Once you win at the Base level, you are eligible to be selected as a Branch Finalists. The next vote would be for Branch SOY and then Overall.
I am not a member of the AFI MSOY alumni group. Can I still attend Town Hall?
Town Hall is an exclusive event open only to AFI MSOY Program alumni and special guests by invitation only.
Why am I required to create an account to nominate a spouse?
The login and email verification process is in place for security reasons and for the integrity of the voting process.
Who is on the AFI MSOY Panel and Judge Advisory Panel?
The AFI MSOY Panel consists of all prior AFI MSOY Overall Winners and members of the AFI MSOY Team. The Judge Advisory Panel consists of representatives from various organizations including, but not limited to, nationally recognized military organizations, senior military spouses, business leaders, and others chosen at the discretion of AFI. Scoring consists of a 1 – 10 scale with 10 being the highest score. Both the AFI MSOY Panel and Judge Advisory Panel are asked to score candidates individually, not comparatively. The scoring is based on the following categories: Leadership, Involvement, Community Building, Communication and Compelling Story.