Sister Strong to unite area military spouses

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Members of a new program designed to bring local military spouses together will launch their first event in October.

Sister Strong, an organization made up of spouses of service members from Eglin, Hurlburt Field, 7th Special Forces Group and the 6th Ranger Training Battalion, was recently created 'to educate military spouses and promote camaraderie among sister services in the greater Fort Walton Beach area,' according to their mission statement.

Sue Merchant, Sister Strong's coordinator and an Air Force wife, said the organization was formed after spouses who attended an area military event, connected on a casual level.

"A few of us were at a recent Operation Homefront event, and we discovered we didn't know each other or know anything about each other's units," she said. "We had no idea what we're about, and we just started talking. As the armed forces become more joint, more 'purple,' it's becoming more important for our military spouses to reach out to each other, meet and learn about each other's bases. Sister Strong is going to be a great way to do that."

Sister Strong's flagship event, "Spouses Selection Day," will be hosted by the 7th SFG Oct. 19. The event will offer insight into Special Forces training, while building positive relationships among spouses. Activities include crawling; climbing obstacles; lifting equipment and marksmanship.

Sister Strong plans to have more quarterly team building events in January, April and July 2013, hosted by the four organizations on a rotating basis.

Shirley Fletcher, a Sister Strong charter member and an Army wife, wants spouses who attend an event to leave enlightened about the unit they visited.

"They should take away a better understanding of the organization they went to learn about, and what that organization does," she said.

Merchant hopes every military installation will have a Sister Strong program in the future.

"I would like to see Sister Strong grow from here," she said. "Eglin is the program's benchmark, but I want to be able to take my t-shirt, transfer to another duty station, and hook up with their program. My hope is that a spouse arriving at a new duty station goes to a Sister Strong event, the members give her a warm welcome and tell her 'we want to make this place your home.'"

The Oct. 19 event is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 7th SFG's combat readiness training facility.

Space is limited. Participation is on a first-come, first served basis. Interested participants are asked to RSVP no later than Oct. 5 to sisterstrongfwb@gmail.com with their name, organization and shirt size. An e-mail confirmation will be sent upon receipt, along with registration information. The $20 registration fee includes a t-shirt and lunch, and must be pre-paid. Participants must have an active military dependent identification card. The attire is athletic clothing and sturdy outdoor footwear.

Registration will be held from 8:30 - 9 a.m. at the CRTF, prior to the start of the event. For more information, e-mail sisterstrongfwb@gmail.com.