Spouse Spouts

The Exceptional Family Member Program or EFMP is designed to help military families impacted by disability or chronic illness.  Is this program working? For the most part the answer is yes, but what happens when EFMP doesn't work? What happens when misinformation is shared? What happens when EFMP doesn't help?  The answer to these questions and more will be discussed on this episode of Spouse Spouts. Join Susan and Dave as they talk about a tough subject, share ideas, speak with families from across the miltiary to discuss EFMP, their experiences, suggestions for improvements, and more! 

What a rough episode we had last week! Both Dave and Susan had technical difficulties. Advocacy is such a great topic, so we are here to talk about it again.  However, let's look at a specific area of advocacy. Let's talk about healthcare. How do we navigate a system that is full of red tape? How do we navigate a system that is reactionary and not preventative? We wish we had an answer to those questions, but we don't. What we have is tips on how to get the best healthcare for you and your family.     

We're talking advocacy and what it means to be an advocate. More than that, we're also talking who needs to advocate, why a person needs to advocate, and where and when it's appropriate to advocate.  Why tips and tools do you use to advocate for change? What works and what doesn't work? Get the answers to these questions and so many more on today's Spouse Spouts.  Join Susan and Dave for a lively discussion on the finer points of advocacy on Spouse Spouts. 

Have you ever wondered what it would take to reach our potential as a human race? Cerno's Mission, "Help those who aspire to Keep Climbing! We challenge people to think and act differently, step outside their comfort zone, and activate their limitless potential at work and in life." Michelle is more than the co-founder of Cerno, she's a military spouse in the STEM field, a passionate advocate for families, and the 2016 AFI Air Force Spouse of the Year. Join Susan and Dave for a candid conversation about stress, families, getting outside, and how to keep climbing towards success.       

Support the military. Support the troops. Support military families. All nice phrases and slogans, but is it actually happening? What about suport within the military? Is that happening?  What is meaningful spouse support, and when do we stop being blindly supportive and say "enough"? Also, how do we support each other as spouses? A lot of questions, and hopefully we'll get some answers.  Join Susan and Dave as they talk spouse support; what works, what doesn't work, and when to say enough. 

For this episode of Spouse Spouts Susan and Dave are talking with Cara Loken, the 2016 Armed Forces Insurance National Guard Spouse of the Year.  Cara is the founder of Nebraska Arts for Vets, an organization that brings the arts to our veterans.  "Nebraska Arts for Vets is a creative outlet for veterans that suffer from PTSD, mental issues, physical concerns, and other combat related issues. It is a way for them to take their mind and focus on something else besides the side effects left from war. Our mission is to show our veterans other outlets that can help them focus on creativity and using the imagination to create a masterpiece, or help them tell their stories using different artistic methods. Art therapy is considered by many as a mind-body connection that can influence physiological and psychological symptoms."  Join Susan and Dave as they talk art, veterans, mental health, PTSD, and ways to help! 

We love a great discussion here on Spouse Spouts and expect that a discussion about family support will be both interesting and great.  The question before us is this: is family support and family readiness working in its current form? Susan grew up a military kid and remembers what family support used to be. Dave is a Navy veteran and remembers how family support used to be in the Navy.  Join Susan and Dave for a lively discussion on family support and the sharing of ideas to help military families. 

Less than a week till Valentine's Day. Is this a day that's special for you, or is it just another day? What is your spouse is deployed or training? What do you do? How about if you can't get a sitter to go to dinner? What about remembeing cards for your kid's classroom? There's so much to remember! Join Susan and Dave on their "It's All About Love" episode as they share Valentine's stories and how to create your own romantic holiday, even if your loved one is away. 

Nomination are over and it's time to start voting. But who do you vote for?  Join Susan and Dave as they look through the profiles and share who the nominees are for the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year! Susan and Dave will go base by base, post by post, to read to you the nominee information and the new voting rules and timeline for the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year.  Don't forget to listen! Susan Reynolds and Dave Etter met because of the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, so this program holds a special place in our hearts! 

Susan and Dave are pleased to have Babette Maxwell on the show! Babette will be here telling us all about MilSpouseFest and how it will be in six locations this year!  From the event page: "During the event, you’ll participate in hands-on activities and interactive discussions. There are no lectures or PowerPoint presentations here. We promise that our activities have a purpose and our guests have something real to say. That’s because our guests are connected to the military (and many of them are military spouses themselves). They’ve been there and done that… and not only survived but succeeded too! New this year we have added an "After Hours" for anyone who wants to hang out and have questions answered from our amazing sponsors. Or shoot, just hang out, mingle and have more time to make connections. And by the way… did we mention that there will be all kinds of giveaways, freebies, and some truly killer prizes for attendees? We’re talking gift cards, Fitbits, Apple Watches, iPads, and other giveaways." https://www.eventbrite.com/e/milspousefest2017-san-antonio-tickets-30506109595

Far too often Dave and Susan are asked the question, "What can MSOY do to help?" Well we have the answers.  Please join us for this episode of Spouse Spouts as some of the 2016 installation winners share their experiences with Military Spouse Magazine, Armed Forces Insurance, and the Military Spouse of the Year Program. We'll answer questions, share experiences, and more.  Nominations for MSOY are ending soon, so this episode can help you decide if you would like to try to be the 2017 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year! 

Money, money, money. Finances, and more money. It seems so complicated, but is it?  When Susan was in college, she got into serious credit card debt. Susan also learned some tough lessons. But there's more that Susan wished she would have known when she was younger. With this being a new year, Susan and Dave thought it would be helpful to bring Doug Nordman on Spouse Spouts to talk about finances and the military. There's a lot going on with upcoming tax season, and changes to retirement.  You can read about Doug here: http://the-military-guide.com/about/about-doug-nordman/

MSOY-An acronym used for the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year! What is MSOY and why are Susan and Dave talking about it? Because it's what brought us together! The Military Spouse of the Year program through Military Spouse Magazine has spent years building up the military spouse community. Through the MSOY program, spouses have come together from all over the world to work together to build up our community. Our voices are strong and they are being heard thanks to MSOY!  Join Susan and Dave as they interview Lindsay Bradford 2016 AFI Navy Spouse of the Year and VP of Military Spouse Programs and Suzie Schwartz, President of Military Spouse Programs. 

I'm not one for resolutions, how about you? Every year I would try and stick to my resolutions and every year I would fail miserably. So, I stopped making them and so did Dave. However, resolutions work for some people. Maybe you're one of those people they work for.  What about a goal? Or what about a theme? Maybe goals and themes work for you instead of a resolution. Whatever it is that you do, call in and speak with Susan and Dave about your plans for the new year! 

It's our third and final episode on Mental Health and the Holidays. For today's show we'll have Keita Franklin, PhD and Wendy Lakso from the Defense Suicide Prevention Office as our guests.  We will talk about what the Department of Defense is doing to help combat suicide with our service members and their families. We will also discuss the myths that surround mental health and what is being done to dispel those myths.  Susan Reynolds and Dave Etter are the host and co-host for Spouse Spouts.