Dear Readers,
The Department of Defense estimates there are roughly 1 million military spouses of active duty, reserve, and National Guard members. The U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce estimates there are an additional 11.2 million spouses of veterans, bringing the total number of military spouses to 12.2 million. But, according to the 2023 Blue Star Families Military Families Lifestyle Survey, the number of spouses who would recommend military service is grossly dwindling. Couple that with an existing recruiting crisis, and all of a sudden, we have a national security issue on our hands. If military families won’t recommend military service to the next generation, who will? How do we combat the recruitment crisis?
According to BSF, quality-of-life issues such as spouse employment, housing costs, and lack of belonging to the community influence families’ likelihood to recommend military service. While WATM can’t alleviate housing costs, we can address spouse employment – we can create opportunities for military spouses writers and offer education and career resources. And, we definitely have the power to create community. The team at We Are The Mighty brainstormed for months, and fortunately, the good folks at National University believed in our vision: a corner of the internet dedicated to encouraging, supporting, laughing with and loving on our military spouses; a space for milspouses to share their stories, to walk their journeys together, to foster a sense of community that can feel more fleeting with every PCS.
Being a military spouse requires a strength and resilience most people can never understand. The keeper of the little hearts while mom or dad is deployed, the ones who pack on a moment’s notice, who readily pivot when TDYs pop up or leave is canceled, the expectation of our military spouses is unending. The least we can do is create a space where they feel valued and seen.
It’s my honor to introduce you to Mighty MilSpouse. Mighty MilSpouse is an inclusive space for all military spouses to find community and support. With six different verticals (Career, Deployment, PCS, Resources, Travel, Wellness) discussing everything from caregiving and infertility to fitness and finances, and even a special bilingual space for our Spanish-speaking spouses, and our MilSpouse Memoirs (weekly series written by military spouses, capturing authentic, personal journeys), our MIGHTY MilSpouse vertical will ensure military spouses across the world know they’re never truly alone. We’ll publish new pieces each day, Monday through Friday, written by military spouses for other military spouses. You can find it directly from the homepage, under Mighty Milspouse. Together, let’s build a community, one story at a time.
Welcome to Mighty Milspouse!
Tessa Robinson, Editor in Chief