Being a military spouse is already stressful and deployments essentially make them single parents for months or even years at a time. This makes pursuing their own career opportunities increasingly difficult. However flexible work can help them in leveraging resources to create work flexibility while achieving financial stability.

Hiring our Heroes reports that 33% of military spouses have even lived apart from their spouse in order to seize career opportunities. As more and more Americans are jumping on the flexible work bandwagon, there are ways for military spouses to also reap some of this change in how people work to grow their skill sets while juggling other obligations, including childcare. 

Kira Caban is a flexible work expert and leads global communications for Instawork. Her insights have been leveraged by CBS News, CBS Mornings, Fox News, Newsweek, and others. She has worked with some of the nation’s leading brands and thought leaders to discuss and provide technology-driven resolutions to the industry’s most pressing challenges.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Instawork, check out their website here, or connect with them on social media via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. And check out Instawork’s partnership with Hiring Our Heroes here.

Resource Recon with Jolene and Sarah

This week’s resource recon is brought to you from our ever-empowering, Band of Bloggers. One of our empowering bloggers, LaVaughn Ricci, shares with us her top secrets and tips for surviving a road trip – Help! I’m Road Trippin Alone with the Kids. 

“I miraculously survived a road trip recently, where I, alone, took my four children to visit family and friends. We traveled through eight different states, stretching roughly 2,810 miles (not including the miles in between to take emergency potty breaks, take an off-route break for gas and food, and visit extra family and friends outside of the main destinations) and we took 18 days to do it all.”

She dives into her secrets of a successful road trip with four littles. If you’re planning a road trip for an upcoming holiday – check out her firsthand experience with great tips and ideas. 

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amie

Today, we are showcasing Army Wife Network’s Everyday Empowerment recipient, one of our very own from the Command Team, Amanda Bicknese. 

The person who nominated our Director of Empowerment states: Amanda has helped me tremendously as I have walked this postpartum depression and anxiety path. From long phone calls of me just crying to funny stories to help calm me down. She has been a positive force through it all, and I know I couldn’t have made it without her. Amanda is simply a selfless person. As she juggles being a wife and a mom of littles, she still took the time to listen to me, help me better understand how military training works, and let me vent. 

Thank you so much to Amanda Bicknese for doing your part to empower military families around the world.

News 6 with Emma

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of October 3rd, 2022, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Emma Tighe.

Bad News for Balfour Beatty 

A former housing manager in Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas was hit with a sound slap on the wrist in the middle of an ongoing fraud investigation, reported Reuters. Stacy Cabrera was given two years probation for her role in covering up poor housing conditions while securing the company millions in bonuses. Cabrera says she felt “pressure” from the higher ups and was simply doing what she was told to keep her job. 

Move Over Tony Stark, There’s a New Bionic Suit in Town

It is no secret that a common hazard of military service is chronic back pain from years of wear and tear. This may all be in the past as the Soldier Assistive Bionic Exosuit for Resupply (or SABER for short) is getting closer to becoming a reality. According to Tech Times, Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) will fund Vanderbilt University and HeroWear to prepare the exosuit for production and field use.

Wasting Away For Free On Margaritaville Cruises  

Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at Sea is offering free Bahama Cruises to active and veteran military members! The website reads “For your dedication to serving our communities at home and abroad, Margaritaville at Sea invites all active and veteran military, first responders, law enforcement officers, and educators to sail free on a much-deserved 3-day, 2-night cruise to Grand Bahama Island.” Participating cruisers must be registered through the Govx ID platform and may have two qualified members per state room.

You can check out more of this week’s top stories 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.

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