In this week’s episode, Jolene McNutt will be talking to Sarah Otto about Ohana Homefront Foundation.

Sarah Otto is a retired Navy Spouse and fierce advocate who has spent over two decades advocating for service members and families of the Armed Forces.  She is the co-founder and President of Ohana Homefront Foundation and is the 2017 and 2018 NSF Dahlgren Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year.

Ohana Homefront Foundation is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization founded in 2021 to help close the gap regarding mental health awareness and suicide prevention within the military community.  Their mission is for every military service member, veteran and family member to receive comprehensive and inclusive mental health and wellness support services.

Resource Recon with Jade and Amanda

This week’s Resource Recon is the theme for the month of May.  If you’ve visited our Instagram, you might notice that we have been focusing on what we appreciate this month, from Teacher and Nurse Appreciation weeks to Military Appreciation Month and Military Spouse Appreciation Day to Mother’s Day.  There are just so many special moments going on this month and so much to be thankful for!

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda

Today we are spotlighting our MRE team winner, which by the way, MRE stands for Motivated and Ready to Empower, Kathleen Palmer.

As Mission: Milspouse’s Director of Content, Kathleen is an educator and project seeker from Texas. In her 25 years as an Army spouse, Kathleen has taught and coached in six different states and Germany. Kathleen has a big heart for both Army families and soldiers, having served as a Soldier for Life counselor in both Germany and Korea. Her favorite part of Army life is her acquired community of battle buddies!

Kathleen loves words (both speaking and writing them) and has contributed to AWN, NMFA, The Fort Hood Sentinel, The Army Spouse Handbook, Inside Abu Ghraib, Memoirs of Two US Military Intelligence Officers, and The Army War College at Carlisle. Her favorite writing piece about being an Army wife is “The Lady in the Grey Suit” which was published in 2015 in Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors (Vol.3).  You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, or on her website, Life Is Messy, Love Big. Just like Kathleen, the site is a WORK in Progress!

Kathleen, we thank you for your service in honoring our mission and for doing your part to empower families around the world.

Moxie Minute with Amie

This week, let’s talk about vulnerability.

The team and I have been reading a novel from Brene Brown recently, who is all about the power of vulnerability. I’ve also recently read The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulburg, where one of the pillars of groundedness is vulnerability. The word itself can sound scary, but in order to connect, accept, and build relationships, vulnerability is essential. People can see through facades and perfectionism. We all genuinely yearn for others to share their authentic selves and for us to feel comfortable being our authentic selves. By embracing vulnerability, you build confidence in yourself.

As Brene Brown states, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they are never weakness.” It’s okay to be YOU. You are enough.

Until next time spouses, Moxie up!

News 6 with Emma

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of May 14, 2023, straight from M:M News 6 Correspondent, Emma Tighe:

Sage Sails the Seas

Ahoy Sage! A three year old Labrador Retriever is taking on the high seas and climbing aboard the USS Gerald R Ford as the Navy’s first service dog. She is the first to pilot a new military initiative called the Expanded Operational Stress Control Canine program. This program has hopes of boosting mental health, morale, and resiliency to our troops.

Sage is just on the ship on a six month loan, however. She is trained and owned by Mutts on a Mission, a non for profit based out of Virginia. Cmdr. Genevieve Clark, the chaplain for the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, will serve as Sage’s primary handler. She undertook 120 hours with mutts on a mission to be mission ready.

“One of the positives of having Sage aboard the ship is her help in breaking down some barriers to utilizing mental, emotional and spiritual resiliency resources,” Clark said in a Navy news release. “Sailors are coming to more warrior toughness events and improving their morale through the vast network of resiliency resources the ship offers, with Sage now present at these opportunities.”

Mutts on a mission has been around since 2008 and has mostly trained dogs to deal with PTSD and mobility issues in veterans. Sage has been training for this moment since she was 8 weeks old. She has been brought onto naval ships before and her trainers are more than confident she’ll take her extended stay with stride.

No pressure, Sage, but the Navy will be following her adventures closely before deciding to take this initiative to the next level. The ship is stocked with plenty of pee pads, canine medicines, and even a canine life vest!

Fair winds and calm seas, Sage! I hope the ship is also stocked with treats!

Find out more at NavyTimes.com

The USS Cooperstown is a Home Run for American Hero Ball Players

The Navy has commissioned the USS Cooperstown, its name honoring the 70 American professional ball players who have served in the US military. Cooperstown is the town in New York where the hall of fame is located.

Hall of famers Joe Torre and Johnny Bench were present at the ceremony, with Torres saying “It is critical that we honor the legacy of these Hall of Famers, not just for what they did on the field, but for what they sacrificed and what they accomplished off the field. Their legacy lives on with the USS Cooperstown and with the sailors here today and in the years to come.”

The players being honored have spanned from civil war veterans to the Korean War and sport household names such as Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays. The new ship even comes with a sporty motto: “Americas Away Team.”

From New York City the ship will now make its way to its new home in Mayport, Florida. Nothing more American than our national pastime and our national floating metal boats of freedom, and putting them together is a beautiful sight.

Find out more at The Hill.com

Breaking Glass Ceiling at US Army Special Ops

Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann has become the first female Sergeant Major of U.S. Army Special Operation Command (USASOC).

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the men and women of [Army Special Operations Forces],” Naumann said during Monday’s change of responsibility ceremony, according to a command news release. “It is my honor to be a part of this team. I’m excited to be back at Fort Bragg. I know well how much you invest in people because you’ve done that for me.”

USASOC oversees the training and educating of the US Army’s elite forces such and rangers and special forces. “USASOC combines a vast range of warfighting skills, from raiding and airfield seizures, to human-terrain mapping and cultural analysts,” their website says.

She comes hot off the press as the Senior NCO of the special forces command of Korea and has earned two Bronze Star Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Superior Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, the Order of Saint Michael, and the Knowlton Award.

She is replacing Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimern who will now go on to be the sergeant major of the army. Congrats, Sergeant Major Naumann! You accomplishments show that you have the brains and brawn to shatter any ceiling in your way!

Find out more at taskandpurpose.com

Today in History

On May 15,1940 the first nylon stockings were sold. In 1939 DuPont, the chemical company, set the stocking world on fire by its invention of nylon. In its heyday up to 4 million were being purchased a day. It was cheap, durable, and sheer, three benefits that stockings of old simply did not have.

The hype was short lived, however, as the entering of America into WW2 forced DuPont to stop covering ladies legs and start producing parachutes, airplane cords, and rope. This shortage caused nylon stockings to be one of the most sought after items on the black market. Some women would even marker a line up their legs to give the appearance that they were wearing nylon stockings.

After the war was over DuPont went back to the stocking making business. One newspaper even had the headline: “Peace, It’s Here! Nylons on Sale!”…..except they could not keep up with demand. This led to the nylon riots. Yes. You heard that right. Women would line up by the tens of thousands to get their hands on stockings and would wait for hours, only to find the store’s shipments did not contain tens of thousands of stockings. You can imagine how that went.

Fortunately DuPont was eventually able to catch back up with demand and peace reigned in America once more. You say you’d never, but I’ve seen how y’all behave over a Dyson vacuum on Black Friday and I do not believe you.

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 hello@missionmilspouse.org or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @missionmilspouse to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of MM. We appreciate your engagement and support.

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