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Navy League recognizes SFS spouse

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  While military servicemembers are deployed, life must go on as usual for their families back home. But "as usual" includes many things spouses and children normally count on their counterparts for, and when there's any insecurity someone has to help.

That's why the military Key Spouses program exists on many Air Force bases, including Hickam - a network of people who have contacts within each squadron and in the community to help families of deployed members.

For this significant contribution, the Navy League recognized eight Key Spouses Nov. 27 with $1,000 checks and letters from the Secretary of Defense and Oahu's mayor, Mufi Hannemann. Among them was Sharron Ortiz, a Key Spouse from the 15th Security Forces Squadron, whose husband, Master Sgt. David Ortiz, is currently deployed.

"I was truly blown away by this," Mrs. Ortiz said. "I didn't know awards like this existed, but the whole thing with winning was that I knew I must be doing something right."

She did more than "something" right this year.

Since May, when she got on board with the group, the full-time student and mother of the couple's 11-year-old daughter, Hallie, Mrs. Ortiz has the "glue holding the unit together" despite its being completely engulfed in contingency operations for the stressed career field. She is the only Key Spouse for 182 deployed Airmen in the unit, 88 of whom are first-term Airmen with 21 spouses under the age of 20.

"When I found out David was deploying, I knew I would have more time on my hands and be in the position to help," Mrs. Ortiz said. "Being in this position gives me a one-on-one connection to the spouses, and they understand I am going through exactly the same thing they are."

Married for 15 years with a husband in the service for more than 17, the Ortiz family is familiar with separations. Sergeant Ortiz has been on six major deployments and 23 temporary duty assignments in that time frame. It's her understanding that gives Sharron the leg-up on predicting what wives need.

"What I do is make sure the spouses get at least one phone call per month," she said. "I call and make sure they're not having any problems, and if they are I will help them take care of it. I become the second advocate for that wife, and I have a commander's letter behind me, so I have more pull."

As the voice for the spouses, "I show the wives the squadron really does care, and just because your spouse is deployed doesn't mean we aren't here for you," she said.

Most of the stuff she does is behind the scenes, said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin McCaw, 15th Security Forces Squadron manager.

"With the ops tempo going on in the squadron, plain and simple, we couldn't do it without her; there aren't enough hands in the unit," he said.

She's the right hand of commander to ensure the spouses are not forgotten, the chief said. "Sharron volunteered to work a job where squadrons this size normally have two or three Key Spouses, but she stepped up to do it and does a fabulous job."

All this, Sharron does in spite of her having to become a single parent while her husband is deployed, managing her own life and household, still keeping in touch with him, and being enrolled in school full time, Chief McCaw said.

"Being from England, it's not like she has nearby family of her own to support her while he's gone; but she not only manages everything on her own side - she takes care of others as well," he said. "While they're deployed, our guys can feel confident their families back home are being taken care of, which reduces the stress and allows them to focus on the mission and return home safely."

For more information on the Key Spouse program, or to get involved with families of deployed servicemembers, call the Airman and Family Readiness Center at 449-0300.