Comprehensive Airmen Fitness: Spouse Group is ‘key’ to deployments Published Jan. 12, 2011 By Senior Airman Natasha E. Stannard 92nd Air Refueling Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Keeping a household together is no easy feat, especially when a member of that family is deployed. So, when the going gets tough, Fairchild Key Spouses lend a hand. "They're kind of the unsung heroes of the base," Ruth Sunde, Airman Family Readiness Center Key Spouse program coordinator said. The Key Spouses volunteer to act as official unit representatives. Once they're approved by their commander, they go through training with the Airmen and Family Readiness center where they learn: · How to work together as a team · How to adapt to different personalities · What the responsibilities of volunteering for the program are · What resources are available and how to decipher which ones are needed for given situations "The whole purpose is to be a resource and provide support," said Rebecca Watkins, 92nd Air Refueling Squadron Key Spouse. "It's our responsibility to make sure the military member's family is taken care of while they're deployed because what's going on at home can affect them and their mission." As part of the Air Force's Comprehensive Airmen Fitness initiative, Key Spouses help military families find healthy avenues to solve issues. "Our key spouse helps to bridge gaps for deployed members," Maj. Erika Kelley, 92nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander. "She communicates with families of deployed Airmen to ensure their needs are taken care of by the squadron." One of the ways these spouses assist families is by regularly calling while the military member is deployed. If a family needs help, the Key Spouse will send them in the right direction, Mrs. Watkins said. "It's nice to connect with new spouses because we're experienced with deployments and other issues that arise as a military spouse," Mrs. Watkins said. "So we can help, and reassure them that what they are going through is normal." As conduits of information, Key Spouses attend meetings so they can distribute news to their units. "We had a meeting with the Moses Lake detachment commander about the runway closure and after the meeting we went to our commander's call where we disseminated accurate information about the closure, which is a direct example of rumor control," Mrs. Watkins said. As it stands, there are several units here in need of more Key Spouses. "I would like to see multiple key spouses in every unit because they can help each other out," Mrs. Sunde said. "We don't expect people to stop their lives because they're a key spouse. We want them to keep their goals and aspirations, so the more key spouses we have, the less cumbersome it will be for that one person trying to keep the program afloat. "If spouses would like to volunteer they have to let the commander know they're interested and then the commander will interview them to ensure they can dedicate a year to being a part of the unit," she added. For more information, call 247-2246.