This podcast has a giveaway! For a chance to win a free copy of the book Milspouse Strength, simply comment on this podcast or any social media post sharing this podcast. We will randomly choose a winner one week from when this podcast airs.

Have you ever wondered if you are the only one that is stressed out by this military spouse life? Within a month of changing from solider and military spouse to military spouse, Dr. Kendra Lowe experience a host of challenges to include loneliness, underemployment, stress, and more. This is what motivated her to study how significant the levels of stress are for military spouses.

Dr. Kendra Lowe found out that 1 in 4 military spouses at any given time are experiencing clinical levels of stress. And stress does not discriminate between seasoned spouses vs new spouses, spouses with soldiers that were deployed vs at home, etc. We are all vulnerable to stress.

And sometimes our coping mechanisms don’t work at new duty stations. You have to fill your toolbox as much as you can in order to find something that works at this time and this place. Don’t be afraid to put yourself first, you’re critical to the mission. So let’s work towards grounding ourselves, validating our stress, but also taking actions to take care of ourselves.

As a veteran, military spouse, and trained psychologist, Dr. Kendra Lowe’s goal is to help military families understand the impact of both positive and negative stress, healthy ways to respond to stressful situations, and ultimately how to transform stress into strength. She has an in-depth understanding of military communities with 6 years active duty service and 20 years as military spouse in the Special Operations Community. Dr. Kendra Lowe helps individuals break down individual stresses that weigh on their mind so they can feel in control of their life right now and develop the skills to change the way you see and respond to military life stress. And she is the author of the book – Military Strength: Changing the Way You See and Respond to Military Life Stress.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Dr. Kendra Lowe, check out her website here or connect with her on social media via Facebook or Instagram. Also, if you want to email Dr. Kendra Lowe, you can email her at drkendra@icloud.com. You can also order Dr. Kendra Lowe’s book Military Strength: Changing the Way You See and Respond to Military Life Stress here.

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda B.

Today we are showcasing one of our volunteers who is an MRE winner, which by the way, that stands for Motivated and Ready to Empower. A huge congratulations to Army Wife Network Command Team Member, our Special Products Coordinator, Brooklyn Morgan.

Brooklyn is a Reading Interventionist for Kindergarten through 2nd grade, mom of two (soon to be three!), and wife of 13 years to her high-school sweetheart. She earned a BS in Early Childhood Education, MSE in Educational Leadership, an ESL and Dyslexia endorsement, and is currently working on her doctorate of education with an emphasis on educational leadership, technology, and autism.

Her husband joined the military later in life. Currently, he is a pharmacist in their hometown of Conway, Arkansas. When he was 31, he was sworn into the Army National Guard and shipped off to Basic Training in 2020. After BCT, he took some time to help his pharmacy with the COVID-19 pandemic, then left in the winter to complete the Accelerated Officer Candidate School in Alabama. He commissioned in April of 2021.

Brook loves Jesus, being a mom, cuddling her dog, and spending time with her husband. She also enjoys learning, either about new educational topics or different military topics. She loves to make connections with other military spouses.

So much thanks goes out to Brooklyn for doing your part to empower military families all across the globe.

Education Minute with Brooklyn

This time of year is stressful as end of the year tests, benchmark tests, and standardized tests start to rise up. One tip for dealing with this is to make sure whoever is taking the test attends school regularly. Also talk to your child about the test and praise them for simply being there. Another tip is to support healthy habits to include eating well and getting enough sleep. The last tip is to keep it all in perspective – no single test is that important.

News 6 with Jolene

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of April 25, 2022, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

Commissary Testing Grocery Delivery Service

The Defense Commissary Agency is testing a new “doorstep delivery service”. The test begins June 1 and will run for 90 days at eight Commissary locations. The service is an expansion to the Click2Go program where commissary customers can order and pay for groceries online and pick up curbside. Delivery will be offered to on and off post locations within a 20-mile “driven” radius of the stores and will include an estimated delivery fee of about four dollars, reported Military Times.

Robot Dog at Portland Air National Guard Base

The Portland Air National Guard Base is the first Air National Guard base to “house the innovative technology developed by Ghost Robotics known as the Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicle,” It is more commonly called a robot dog. The four-legged droid is being used as part of the security mission by providing “real time video feedback” and acting “as a deterrent.”

VA Celebrates 25K Volunteers

Last week the VA celebrated its 25,000 volunteers during National Volunteer Week. In 2021, volunteers at the VA contributed a value of “more than $175 million in resources to veterans at VA medical facilities across the country.” Learn more about volunteering at a VA.

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

Special Feature Interview

Joining us today to talk about the importance of vaccines is Dr. Hunter Jackson Smith, MD, MBE. Dr. Smith is a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine and Chief of Preventive Medicine for the U.S. Army Medical Research Directorate. He is an active duty Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, currently stationed in Kisumu, Kenya.

The pandemic has had a massive impact on preventive routine healthcare. Millions of teens and adults have missed their routine vaccinations. So what can we do to stop outbreaks of preventable diseases? The simple solution is to make sure you are up to date with your vaccines.

The American College of Preventive Medicine’s Vaccine Confident campaign was created to educate people on vaccines, to discuss their safety and effectiveness. The campaign creates a dialogue on why we are confident in the science behind vaccines. The ultimate goal is to instill an assurance in the public about the decision making to get vaccinated. Vaccines save more than 8 million lives a year.

This podcast episode was brought to you by the American College of Preventive Medicine’s Vaccine Confident initiative. Science has shown that getting vaccinated for preventable diseases is just as good for your body as eating healthy. History shows us that vaccines are one of the most successful ways to ensure our own and our community’s health. ACPM encourages everyone to stay up to date with ALL routine vaccinations and boosters. Visit vaccineconfident.org for more information, or connect with them on social media via Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

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