LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia –
Friendship is very important when you feel you are left all alone.
For spouses left behind when members deploy, the Remote & Waiting Spouses Support Group is there to help them interconnect and build each other up. Formally informal, the group meets at least once a month, all according to the needs of the members.
“Our goal is to make sure that spouses know that they are not alone,” said group president Peggy Mertz, a military spouse herself, “and also to give them a way to meet other spouses facing the same situation.”
Because of the isolationism caused by members heading around the world in support of military operations, the majority of participants come to find the high value in the camaraderie the program.
“My biggest concern is for the remote and waiting spouses out there, is they do not know there are people out there willing to lend them a hand and make things easier for them,” said Mrs. Mertz. “I have spouses tell me all the time they wish they had known about our group.”
The group is open to all military spouses, including guard and reserve. Currently there are more Navy spouses than Air Force that attend.
Mrs. Mertz began her time as a remote and waiting spouse only three months after marrying her husband. He was sent overseas and she had difficulty navigating through unit members to get the help she needed. After hooking up with another single spouse, she decided she would do all she could to help remote and waiting spouses.
“I swore no spouse would ever be left out or fall through the cracks,” said Mrs. Mertz. “I have started a support group at each base we have been stationed at.”
Each meeting is geared not only for the spouses, but also for children.
“I try my best to make each meeting or special event fun,” she said. “We gear this for the spouse and the children, and are always trying something new.”
Mrs. Mertz even brings along her 10-year-old son, who makes friends with the new children. She considers it very important that the children, too, know that they are not alone.