The month of May was dedicated as Military Spouse Appreciation Month. It’s the month to recognize all the sacrifices and contributions military spouses make for their families and community. An exceptional example of a spouse who goes beyond the demanding challenges of military spousehood is Mrs. Hannah Turley, the 2021 ACC Spouse of the Year.
Mrs. Turley has served as a Key Spouse for the 15th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS), Fort Stewart, Georgia, since June 2021. She has selflessly committed her time and talents to create an inclusive culture that supports the wellbeing of more than 250 service members, civilians, and contractors along with their spouses, significant others, and families; earning her the remarkable award of ACC Spouse of the Year.
“Winning ACC Spouse of the Year is the result of a lot of hard work and integration, and it means what we did meant something to the Air Force as a whole,” Turley said. “The team of key spouses I worked with at the 15TH ASOS all were a huge part of the success: Nikki Coxwell, Dana Trinidad, Sara Presnell, Lauren Schaffer, Maddison Conaway, Leah Thomas and our mentors Tracy Henfey and Lisa White. We all supported each other to accomplish what we did within the squadron, in just a short amount of time. The commander trusted me to come in and lead resiliency Fridays and he allowed me to put on events. Really just the squadron as a whole, the men and women at the 15TH ASOS welcomed me and were open to attending new resiliency events that were planned. It means so much to me that the squadron participated in events when not mandatory and for them to rally behind the resiliency events, even when half the squadron was deployed. No one rolled their eyes or made me feel like it was ‘just another resiliency’ or ‘just another Key Spouse’ event. I personally did not feel like just another Key Spouse, I felt like part of the family. The members of this squadron, spouses included, are amazing, they are individuals who have overcome so much and I view them as the epitome of Resiliency. Everyone at this squadron supports each other and that is shown through winning Dragon Challenge, Lightning Challenge, Dre Vanslee in 2020 won Air Force Aspect Special Warfare TACP Senior NCO of the year and I won ACC Key Spouse for 2021- without the family of the 15TH ASOS, I would not have been pushed and motivated this much to accomplish unity/solidarity for them.”
Turley graduated from The College of Coastal Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a Concentration in Policy Management. She then went onto Gateway Behavioral Health and worked with women and children. Her main role was cultivating change, understanding and acceptance of minority children within the Glynn County school system. For this reason, she was voted into the position of Clients Rights Officer at Gateway Behavioral Health. Hannah is now almost finished with a Cyber Defense degree and plans to use this skill to help stop the trafficking of women and children.
“Psychology helped me with being a key spouse because I know what it means to help someone to alter their thinking and their behavior to create positive change in their lives” Turley said. “I know what it means for a person to have someone they can depend on and trust. Mentally that can change the whole outcome of a deployment and help a spouse see light and feel like they have someone in their corner. At the 15TH ASOS the spouses deploy a lot so it was important for me to push resiliency not only with the Airmen/Guardians but with the spouses and children too. It also was my goal to make the 15th feel less isolated and at least bridge a gap between either Ft. Stewart (through jujitsu) or with being a Resiliency Training Assistant through Moody. Spouses need to know they can depend on the people at Moody even though we are geographically separated. Isolation can make things feel more difficult and the spouses need to be able to be resilient not only for themselves but so the children can grow up knowing what resiliency is and what it looks like.”
After becoming a Resiliency Training Assistant in 2021, Turley now speaks at Key Spouse trainings at Moody and provides insight, guidance and resources that promote resiliency. She also continues to help the 15 ASOS with Resiliency events for single airmen and families in order to bring community cohesion to the squadron and bridge the gap between Moody AFB and Ft. Stewart.
“Resiliency to me is something that can mentally pull a person out of the darkest place in their life and give them the light to thrive again,” Turley said. “Resiliency is the ability to see hope and know there is always a way up even when things can feel devastating. It is important for spouses and the members (singles included) to be involved in resiliency events together. When an Airmen/Guardian is downrange and their spouse needs help they should be able to call on anyone and feel comfortable/supported when doing so, because we are a family. The resources at a detatched squadron are different- but spouses can always call on the Airmen & Family Readiness center, people like Tierra Jackson, Phaydra Crews and Mr. Brown. The First Shirt is also a great resources if a member or spouse needs help build camaraderie/cohesion.”
Some examples of resiliency events that the 15 ASOS Key Spouse team has assembled include a range from Thanksgiving dinners to group workouts.
“Thanksgiving we had everyone pull a leaf on the wall dedicated to a member and they wrote a gratitude comment on the back and left it in a box,” Turley said. “During dinner we read some of them aloud and the responses were heartwarming. We had a field day where everyone was invited, it was a Hero ‘WOD’ event, dedicated to David ‘DG’ Gray and ended with a tug of war fight. We had awards and trophies labeled with ‘Resiliency Day.’ The squadron did not just participate they helped me put on the event. Lt. William Shepherd spoke about David Gray and who he was to him and SSgt Nathaniel Turley, TSgt Danielle Davis, Lt Ben Daniels and Joey Trinidad literally helped set the whole thing in motion.”
Turley emphasized the importance, and the success, of the resiliency events and how the events have created a domino-effect of positive change within the unit.
“I also was able to work directly with the Army on Fort Stewart at the Fight House, I attended juijitsu classes in the mornings and taught resiliency before or after and integrated resiliency with fitness,” Turley said. “This ultimately led to a resiliency event where the Army Combative's instructors, SFC Ben Jackson and Sgt Patrick Hill of the United States Army, came to the 15TH ASOS and taught a self-defense class for everyone; spouses and Airmen/Guardians. It was a blast and people were able to create bonds and get to know each other better. Since this, Lt. Col Henfey has put in place a program for the Spouses at home where some of the guys have started mowing the lawns for the helping with other tasks- this is resiliency, this is family.”
Turley and her husband are now part of the Air Force “Fortify the Force Initiative TEAM” and have moved to Schriever Space Force Base, where she hopes to continue developing resiliency within her new community.