AWTR Show #840: PILLAR: Digital Retreat for Deployment Countdowns

Has your spouse ever been deployed? Did you feel isolated while they were away? Ever wish there was one space where spouses could gather for the best support and guidance for deployment countdowns? Say hello to PILLAR!

Becky and Joanna started PILLAR after they found a way to thrive during their spouses’ deployments. Planned with military spouses in mind, the PILLAR retreat is interactive, tactical, and provides diversity in experience, topics, and delivery. Military spouses are often the pillar of their family—they are the constant.

This three-day online event gives spouses and significant others a better strategy for getting through a service member’s deployment. PILLAR is a great place for milspouses and milsos to get support, connect with each other, and learn how to manage relationships with everyone—deployed service member, children, and in-laws. Listen on your own time to get bite-sized actionable takeaways that can be used for more than deployments. PILLAR is held Nov. 12-14, and you can sign up now to get sneak peeks and giveaways.

PILLAR is the virtual retreat for deployment countdowns. Held completely online and at no cost to attendees, PILLAR hosts more than 21 seasoned military spouses and lifestyle experts who will share their proven strategies to help spouses and significant others make every moment count while they’re counting down deployment. Specifically designed to introduce attendees to the vast array of resources available to support their countdown, each day of the retreat will feature a selection of high-quality presentations, panel discussions, and valuable giveaways—all curated for easy reference in an actionable e-book digital guide.

Becky Hoy is a U.S. Army spouse of nine years and the founder of Brave Crate—the deployment countdown box for military spouses. Since launching in 2018, more than 2,000 months of deployment have been counted down using Brave Crates. Becky is passionate about encouraging military spouses to embrace the unique opportunities that deployments present for personal growth and development.

Joanna Guldin-Noll is the writer behind one of the largest military spouse lifestyle blogs online, Jo, My Gosh! Her writing has been featured in regional, national, and international digital and print publications. She’s currently the social media manager at Military.com and co-owns an independent coffee shop, Swatara Coffee Co., with her husband. Joanna lives in Central PA with her Navy veteran husband, John and her puppy Albus.

If you want to check out more about PILLAR or sign up click here or follow them on social media via Instagram or Facebook.

Resource Recon with Sarah and Amanda

This week, we are showcasing a blog by Tiffany Boyce called The Seasoned Spouse: It’s Just Right.

By definition, “seasoned” means “rendered competent through trial and experience.” Well, I surely have that part down.

Every seasoned spouse I know has been through their fair share of bumps and bruises, yet gotten back up to do it again the next day. You think a seasoned spouse has been around forever, doing what they do and doing it well—yep, you guessed it, throughout the seasons. They have lots of experience and can handle just about anything that comes their way.

But, seasoned spouses aren’t measured in the “things that have happened to them” but rather what they learn along the way.

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda

Today we are showcasing our Army Wife Network Empowers – Blue Star Families for being such an empowering organization to so many military families. Here’s a little bit about their organization:

Blue Star Families (BSF) strengthens military families every day. Through career development, caregiving, and our leading research on military family life, we’re striving to better understand and provide solutions to the challenges facing today’s military families. In April of 2009, a group of military spouses got together in the hopes of making a difference in the lives of military families. They knew the issues surrounding military families and saw a need for a platform where military family members could join forces with the general public and their communities to address the challenges of military life. Since then, Blue Star Families has grown from a few military spouses around a kitchen table to more than 150,000 members and over 35 communities and chapters around the globe. Our programs and services reach more than 1.5 million military family members every year.

Thank you so much to Blue Star Families for doing your part to empower military families all across the globe.

Encouragement Minute with Juanda

Let’s start the day with a GIFT. G is for grateful, what is something you are grateful for today. I is for imagine, set an intention for how you want the day to go. F is for forgiveness, is there anything you need to let go of. And T is for take a breath, talk with your thoughts, reflect, and spend time with them.

News 6 with Jolene

Here are this week’s top stories:

Austin Seeks Presidential Approval for Mandatory Troop Vaccinations by Mid-September

The Depart of Defense has announced mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for troops by mid-September. “I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September or immediately upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensure, whichever comes first,” said Secretary of Defense Llyod J Austin III in a memo. The DOD reported that 73% of active duty personnel have at least one dose of the vaccine. Read more here.

From Afghan interpreter to US homeless – the long road to the American dream

Afghan interpreters who served alongside U.S. troops are being welcomed into the United States with little safety net or security to live a safer life. Zia Ghafoori shared his experience with the BBC. Zia earned visa’s for his family after serving for 14 years as an interpreter with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan. He was finally granted visa’s 6 years after applying. Once in the United States, there were no networks or organizations to connect Zia into life in the U.S.. Read more about Zia’s family’s story here.

NASA is Recruiting for Yearlong Simulated Mars Mission

Nasa is accepting applicants for a one year analog mission in a habitat to simulate life on a distant world, such as Mars. The crew will live and work in a 1,700-square-foot module 3D-printed by ICON, called Mars Dune Alpha. Nasa will test the crew in a variety of areas including: equipment failure, communication delays, and other environmental stressors. To read more and see if you quality, click here.

Thank You

Thank you for tuning into this week’s episode. Please leave a five-star rating and review on Apple podcasts, then send us a screenshot of your review to info@armywifenetwork.com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @armywifenetwork to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of AWN. We appreciate your engagement and support.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS