Providing a vital link between commanders and families Published July 25, 2014 By Holly Logan-Arrington Robins Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Everyone needs support at some point. And, for military spouses at Robins, the base's Key Spouse Program - managed by the Airmen & Family Readiness Center - does just that. Tech. Sgt. Ronald Megginson, Key Spouse Program coordinator, said the program is designed with information in mind. "Your key spouse is the military family liaison to unit leadership," he said. "Key spouses can be a vital link in communication, ensuring information gets from leadership to families, while allowing the feedback to flow from the families to unit leadership." The program was developed as a Quality of Life Initiative in 1996. Voluntary, command-specific implementation was encouraged Air Force-wide in 1999. The Air Force standardized and deployed the program in March 2009. Megginson said family readiness is essential to Air Force readiness. "If things aren't good at home, things won't be good for military personnel at work - especially in a deployed environment," he said. "A key spouse is a conduit of information for military families. They're meant to pass on information to other spouses and be a point of contact when someone's not quite sure what to do or who to contact. "It's an opportunity for a spouse to contact another spouse who is trained to be in the know," he added. Commanders and first sergeants recognize the importance of the Key Spouse Program, and they exercise great scrutiny in selecting people for the position. "It's more than names on a page," Megginson said. "It's a vital connection to military families." Key Spouse University In January, Robins tested and implemented the base's Key Spouse University. The half-day course provides annual Suicide Awareness and Resiliency training, followed by a variety of optional classes instructed by base helping agencies. Training areas include: -Understanding Sexual Assault Response; -Family Violence Education and Prevention; -Improving Communications; -Spousal Protocol; -Stress Management; -Compassion Fatigue; -Understanding Force Management. A&FRC plans to coordinate reoccurring key spouse meetings in the future for key spouses to share ideas across units. "I'd like to encourage Military member's spouses, regardless of branch of service, to reach out to their units and find out who their key spouse is," he said. "Not to join a chat group or spouse's coffee, but to get connected to an invaluable unit resource. If the unit needs a key spouse, or additional assistance, take the time to get involved. You'll find a greatly rewarding experience." Megginson said commanders and first sergeants would do a huge service to their units by closely examining their key spouse programs. "A few invested minutes of your time can pay huge dividends to the unit with the right person," he said.