RICHMOND, Va. – National Guard military spouses are honored and appreciated throughout the year, but they receive a special recognition on National Military Spouse Appreciation Day the Friday before Mother’s Day, observed on Friday, May 10 this year.
“The service and sacrifices made by military spouses are tremendous,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. “Their commitment and support allows their Soldier and Airman to continue to serve commonwealth and country. Further, their efforts on a daily basis help to keep the the men and women of the Virginia National Guard focused on the mission set before them.”
The Virginia National Guard Family Programs has a very active family readiness program that exists for the purpose of supporting, educating and preparing families of National Guard service members.
“National Guard military spouses are different from that of active duty spouses,” said Vickie Sais, Virginia National Guard Family Programs director. “National Guard spouses experience different challenges such separation from their spouse during individual drill training weekends, annual training, deployments and state active duty missions, but often do not have the depth of support services like that of the active duty counterparts. In Family Programs we try to fill the gaps in service and resources for those geographically dispersed families.”
Family Programs has an informative and useful app available at the app store if you type in “Virginia Family Programs” on your smart device. The app has a number of different helpful resources that include information about their Family Assistance Centers, identification cards, TRICARE, psychological health and much more.
This month, the Family Readiness Support Services Program is saluting military spouses by recognizing them with a personalized certificate of appreciation signed by the Adjutant General. Spouses will receive a certificate in the mail during the month of May. Please register your spouse at: www.jointservicesupport.org/Reg/MilSpouse
Another benefit that National Guard spouses have is to access military service benefits and privileges, but must have a Uniformed Service Identification and Privilege Card. These cards are issued at any Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System or Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System facility. To find the nearest identification card facility near you, visit: www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl
If a National Guard service member is on active duty exceeding 30 days, family members are able to access a myriad of services that include army community services, child care, and much more. Regardless, traditional National Guard military spouse identification cards do provide them and their families unlimited access to the post exchange and commissaries.
Other resources for military spouses, include the following:
To get the most up-to-date information on Virginia National Guard Family Programs, like and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VaGuardFamilyPrograms also like and follow the Virginia National Guard Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VaNationalGuard/
For the most current information on military benefits and entitlements, contact your Family Assistance Specialist, Family Readiness Support Assistance or Transition Assistance Advisor. The staff offers services that help keep families informed, connected and confident during military separations.