McRaven, Navy spouse among first lady’s State of the Union guests
January 24th, 2012 | First Lady Spouses State of the Union address White House | Posted by Bill McMichael
Adm. William McRaven, the nation’s top special operator, and Navy spouse Adrienne Howard will join first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden for tonight’s State of the Union address, the White House announced today.
The invitations honor veteran Navy SEAL McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, who as commander of Joint Special Operations Command had operational control of the Obama administration’s signature moment in the war on terror — the May 1, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout — on the occasion of the SEALs’ 50th anniversary, being marked this week. It also honors Navy spouses such as Howard — and, by extension, all of those “married to the military.”
McRaven and Howard are among 21 guests who will be seated in the first lady’s box.
McRaven’s story is well known. Howard’s is not.
A native of Lynchburg, Va., Howard currently lives in San Diego, Calif., with her three children. According to the White House, her husband, Cmdr. Colby Howard, commands the destroyer Dewey, currently on deployment.
Like many military spouses, Howard has moved a lot — 14 times during her husband’s career. Their oldest child has attended 9 different schools in that time.
For nearly 20 years, Howard has been heavily involved as a volunteer in family readiness groups and Navy spouse organizations. This past September, after hearing about Joining Forces initiative launched by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Howard reached out and urged her local community to “adopt” a single sailor. You can read her story on the White House-affiliated Joining Forces Blog.
Military spouse input needed
July 19th, 2011 | Health Life at Home Marital life Navy Research Spouses | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Naval Health Research Center is looking to enroll more than 10,000 military spouses in a new study of military family health. The Department of Defense Millennium Cohort Family Study aims for a more comprehensive understanding of how military families are coping with military life after nearly a decade at war.
The new study is the fourth part of the ongoing Millennium Cohort Study, being conducted by the Deployment Health Research Department at the Naval Health Research Center. Officials say the study, which began in 2001, is the largest prospective health project in military history.
It’s not open to everyone. The service member of the spouse must have received an invitation and have also enrolled in the Millennium Cohort Study at https://secure.millenniumcohort.org/. Participants are selected randomly from a military database.
Eligible spouses are being asked to complete a web-based questionnaire that asks about their mental and physical health, the quality of their marital and family relationships, their deployment and reunion experiences, their perception of how their sponsor is coping and how military life and deployment are affecting their children, if applicable. Spouses, once enrolled, will be asked questions periodically over three years, regardless if the service member is still in the military or not or no longer living with them. All information will be kept confidential.
Enrollment for the family study began June 7.
To enroll in the family study, go to http://www.familycohort.org/.