Army Wife Network was founded in April 2009 as the umbrella that joined what was previously known as Army Wife Talk Radio, Field Problems, and Loving A Soldier blog. Although our name includes “Army wife,” our following has since grown to include military spouses from all branches. We also serve and support those connected to the military, including male spouses, mothers, fathers, children, friends, veterans, service members, and military-related nonprofits.
What We Offer
Army Wife Network is a leading source of quality, helpful information designed to engage, educate, encourage, and empower military spouses and service members across all military branches. We’re here to provide you duty station information, support, connection so you don’t feel alone, and laughter to carry you through the everyday military life. We connect with our audience through our website, the Army Wife Talk Radio podcast, and daily social media posts across a variety of platforms. AWN is powered by a team of volunteers who have been there, done that, many times over. Read on for more details about what we offer.
Our Website
All content comes from our Band of Bloggers volunteers stationed around the world, who share empowering experiences from their personal milspouse lives, News 6 reports, humorous blogs to lighten the milspouse mood, and subject matter experts. You name it, we probably blog about it! Some of our primary topics over the course of more than 2,500 blogs include military life, career and education, deployment, health and fitness (including mental health and self care), veterans issues, retirement, PCS, and more.
Army Wife Talk Radio
If that isn’t enough, don’t miss Army Wife Talk Radio, with episodes available on our website or on the podcast app of your choice. We’ve been on the air since 2005, making AWTR the leading and longest-running podcast of its kind. It consists of weekly one-hour shows packed with resources, as well as weekly “bite-sized” Milspouse Empowerment Moments (about 15-20 minutes per episode). The goal of the show is to empower you on your military life journey in a mobile format. Subscribe to the podcast and listen when you’re sweeping up the sand tracked in by military boots, prepping for a homecoming, or running off the military life stress on your favorite trail. As with all things AWN, AWTR is powered by our Command Team volunteers. We’ve been at it for more than 16 years, with more than 800 episodes in our archives.
Social Media
AWN is actively engaged on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. We post multiple times each day with graphics or links that include humor, trending blogs, Behind the Scenes with the AWN Command Team, and sponsored content.
The SITREP
Our semi-monthly SITREP (that’s “situation report” for anyone new to our milspouse neighborhood) is a recently revamped, one-stop shop for all things milspouse empowerment: lifestyle focus, top blogs, a little bit of humor, upcoming AWTR episodes, and resources you can use.
AWN’s Founding History
Sharita Knobloch
Current Owner and Commander
Sharita Knobloch is the current owner and operator—an Army spouse, mother of two children, and a doctoral candidate in community care and counseling/pastoral care. She has more than a decade of experience as a military spouse.
“I’ve been affiliated with AWN at a variety of levels for the past seven years. With all of the changes in military spouse life, I believe the longevity and consistency with AWN says a lot. Time and time again, milsoosues have shared how AWN has been a valuable resource and vessel of encouragement, especially when they’re just starting out on this milspouse journey. It is an absolute privilege to lead our AWN team, and with support from our partners, we look forward to a future of continued empowerment of military families around the globe.”
You can read more about Sharita here.
Crystal Niehoff
Former Owner and CEO
Crystal Niehoff is married to her best friend, Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Kevin Niehoff, and is the proud mom of five and grandma of three. Former Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Army Wife Network and host of Army Wife Talk Radio and AWN TableTalk (Jan. 1, 2016-Sept. 30, 2019), Crystal holds degrees in child development and business administration, previously working in child welfare. Additionally, she holds certifications as a Christian minister from Logos University and SBD doula and birth and bereavement chaplain. In 2014, she founded Heartstrings Ministries, providing grief support for military families enduring pregnancy loss in any trimester. Her ebook, Dads & Bereavement, may be obtained through Still Birth Day.
Crystal has written extensively for nonprofit organizations, including TFI Family Services, Inc., CASA for Children, Bethany Christian Services, and Rainbow Kids Adoption & Welfare Advocacy, through which she shares her expertise on parenting, foster care, and adoption. She is also a contributing writer of From Reveille to Retreat: The Journey of a Lifetime, published in 2015 by the United States Army.
Currently, Crystal is an entrepreneur, author, SBD Birth & Bereavement Doula®, and chaplain, and is studying to become a professional life coach with a heart for helping military spouses in transition as their service members process out of the military.
In her not-so-spare time, Crystal enjoys volunteering, researching, traveling, and spending time with her family. Crystal is available for interviews and speaking engagements. You may reach Crystal via email at crystalniehoff@gmail.com. Learn more about Crystal and her accomplishments at AWN here.
Tara Crooks
Cofounder
Tara Crooks, cofounder of Army Wife Network, began her journey with the military in 1998 by marrying her best friend. She will admit she “checked in” to military life on a whim during one of her husband’s deployments in 2005 with the creation of her first podcast, Army Wife Talk Radio. Army Wife Talk Radio continued under Tara’s leadership through 10 years of broadcasting and inspired the creation of Loving A Soldier blog, Field Problems, Field Exercise, and eventually, Army Wife Network. Tara served as an avid blogger for many military organizations and has stories featured in Household Baggage Handlers and Stories Around the Table. She is a co-author of 1001 Things To Love About Military Life.
Tara is the proud mama of Wren and Chloe and wife to Lt. Col Kevin Crooks, U.S. Army. She has been married to the military for 18 years. She loves Mexican food, the color red (Field Artillery kind), primitive decorating, crafting, and baking. She is known as a glass-half-full kind of gal who can craft a serious belly laugh. Once she sat still long enough, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and human resource management. She earned some awards along her journey, too. She holds the distinction as one of Military Spouse Magazine’s “Who’s Who Among Military Spouses” for 2009, and she was named the American Legion Auxiliary “Woman of the Year 2008.” In May 2013, Tara was honored as the Armed Forces Insurance™ Army Spouse of the Year. In December of 2015, Tara put AWN “up for adoption” by another military spouse and retired to become a full-time educator in Texas where her family will retire from their military career. What she is most proud of is attaining the goal of her military journey—to empower military spouses to make the most of their lives.
Starlett “Star” Henderson
Cofounder
Star, co-author of 1001 Things To Love About Military Life, is an Army National Guard spouse and Army veteran of full-time and Army Reserve components. Since leaving the military, she worked briefly as a budget analyst with the Department of the Army and later returned to school to earn her Master of Arts in Professional Counseling. Her desire to return to service for military members and their families drew her to Army Wife Talk Radio, where Tara Crooks and she became fast “battle buddies.” She was awarded the FINRA Education Foundation’s 2011 Military Spouse Fellowship, which provides training to earn the Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®) designation.
Star has been married to the military for 18 years and has two children with Maj. David Henderson, U.S. Army National Guard. She retired from her duties with Army Wife Network in October 2013.
