The key spouse program: A critical link Published June 1, 2010 By Col. Jim Jennings 21st Space Wing vice commander PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Deployments. It's a fact of life for almost every Airman. Once the active duty member departs, life at home does not stop -- appointments, household chores, yard work, family commitments, work stress, and the list goes on. Then a crisis arises -- the washing machine is leaking water, the car starts making noises, the school calls and your child is sick or worse, there is a serious illness or death in the family. For many years the first sergeant, if the squadron had one, was the person a spouse could call. Today, however, the spouse of a deployed member has even more choices for reaching out and one choice is the key spouse. The key spouse program began at RAF Mildenhall and four other high deployment bases in July 1997. The selected bases served as test sites and modeled their program from the Navy's Ombudsman program. Within the Air Force program, key spouses can be a spouse of a servicemember or a servicemember within the unit. These individuals volunteer to undertake a critical support role within the squadron organization. The objective of the key spouse program is to promote cohesion between the unit, squadron spouses and families, and the local military community. Key spouses are appointed by the squadron commander. Every commander has their own expectations regarding what they want the key spouse program to accomplish but generally, it is to enhance the readiness of the squadron and to ensure family members have a support network in place, easy access to information regarding squadron activities and information about military and local referral services. A key spouse's actions and behavior reflect on the squadron and the credibility of the key spouse program. It takes professional dedication and a strong, sincere, desire to help others. The key spouse serves as a communication link between the commander, first sergeant, and the families. The key spouses "code of ethics" include but are not limited to; maintaining confidentiality (with the exception of someone harming themselves or others), support the unit's mission, work within the unit chain of command, provide information and referral sources, do not attempt to counsel, nor gossip. Once selected to be a key spouse, they will attend initial and recurring training. The Airman and Family Readiness Center provides ongoing training, mentorship, guidance, and support to prepare the key spouses for success. A strong foundation to the key spouse program is preparing families before a crisis occurs. For example, squadrons can offer workshops in automotive basics, fire safety, financial management, operations security and self-defense. However, remember the ultimate goal is to ensure we are preparing spouses and families for periods of separation and the depth, accuracy and variation of training, workshops and interaction with those individuals will set the stage for their success and, ultimately, that of the squadron. When I was a squadron commander, I relied on the key spouses to be an additional set of ears and eyes to make sure the squadron families were kept up to date with information and had the additional personal contact. I knew if deployed members were confident the squadron was looking after their spouses and families at home, they could concentrate on mission accomplishment during the deployment. To those of you who have served as key spouses in the past and are presently serving, I give you a heartfelt, "Thank you." Your service is greatly appreciated. To those who are thinking about being a key spouse, make no mistake, it is challenging, but it is also a very rewarding experience.