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Guardian spouse named Military Spouse of the Year

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Areca T. Wilson
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
Sarah Streyder was recognized, during a ceremony May 5, as the Armed Forces Insurance Space Force Spouse of the Year and Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year for her advocacy and voting education efforts.

Nominations for this award are made by both the military and civilian communities and honor military spouses from all branches of service for their important contributions and unwavering commitment to the military community and the nation.

Streyder, who works as the Secure Families Initiative executive director, a military-serving nonprofit she founded, was nominated by a friend and colleague. She received the award after four rounds of advancement, which began in January.

"It's surprising and humbling," Streyder said. "I went into this excited and passionate to represent my branch because I'm really proud of the Space Force and everything we're building."

Streyder is the first spouse to represent the Space Force, and the first Guardian spouse to receive the top honor of overall military spouse of the year. She became a military spouse nearly seven years ago when her husband Jason, now U.S. Space Force Sergeant and IT requirements manager at the Office of Special Investigations Headquarters, initially joined the Air Force in 2015.

Since becoming a military spouse, Streyder has used her time and talent to spread awareness and educate service and family members about their voting rights.

"I'm very passionate about my platform," she said. "I care a lot about voting and advocacy, and making sure military families know how to do that and how to do it well."

Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said he was inspired by Streyder’s dedication to serving others.

"I am incredibly proud of Sarah for her selfless support to our military families," Raymond said. "She is the perfect example of the commitment and connection so many of our Guardian spouses and loved ones bring to our new service, and we are thrilled that Sarah is being recognized as the first-ever Space Force Military Spouse of the Year.”

Mollie Raymond, family advocate herself and the Space Force’s first spouse, also expressed her gratitude for Streyder's passion for her platform and the military community.

"The life of a military spouse is challenging, but it's gratifying," Mollie said. "In addition to taking care of service members, spouses like Sarah do what they can to support the spouse community, and we could not be more grateful and proud."

While Streyder said she is happy to be named Military Spouse of the Year, she said she is even more ecstatic to continue building a better path for current and future military families.

"The experiences we've gone through shape who we are today; however, I think each of us has faced difficulties that we don't want the next generation of military spouses to go through,"

Streyder explained. "It's less that I would change my own experience; it's more wanting to improve the future experiences of those coming behind me."
 

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