Military spouses are an integral part of military readiness, yet often their sacrifices go unrecognized. In 2008, the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year (MSOY) award was founded to honor military spouses from all branches of service. This annual award recognizes leadership, personal commitment, and contributions to both military and civilian communities of military spouses across the globe.

This year, three members of MOAA’s Currently Serving Spouse Advisory Council (CSSAC) are on the list of 174 nominees for 2023 MSOY. An online vote will trim the field to one spouse per military installation, and will also contribute to calculations used to narrow the field further. Here’s a bit more about the CSSAC members on the ballot, including links and information from their AFI nomination page:

Jenna Hall, Coast Guard Spouse

As a military spouse and mother of two, Jenna has learned to confront and cope with the many challenges that accompany the military lifestyle. Through the hardships, she focuses on the positives such as opportunities to experience different people, places, and perspectives when PCSing to a new duty station. As a volunteer in the Coast Guard’s Ombudsman program, Jenna has assisted over 2,400 active duty and reserve members and more than 5,000 military dependents struggling with historic inflation rates and increased mental health concerns. She has an amazing ability to inspire, engage, and advocate for the military community, locally and nationally.

“I thought my career path would simply be that of a supportive spouse,” she said. “That changed when I realized I might be able to apply my skill set to improve my situation, which I shared with others.”

Dr. Mia Reisweber, Army Spouse

Mia’s passion for supporting military spouses pursuing their own professional careers began in 2014. She’s worked tirelessly to ensure the pathways for spouse career pursuits are clear, more supportive, and more stabilizing for military families. Mia has advocated at all levels to improve child care resources and highlight the intersectionality of spouse employment and child care accessibility. Her volunteer roles include serving as a local Parent Advisory Board president and the project lead for the West Point Community Resilience Team. Mia was also a key player in the passage of the Military Family Stability Act, which was signed into law in 2019.

“My sense of worth, in part, is tied to how I serve my communities through my roles at colleges,” she said.

Mychael Willon, Army Spouse

Mychael finds his inspiration to serve the military and civilian community each day as he watches his husband don his uniform. As a retired educator, he’s a strong advocate for military students and their families within the education setting. Mychael focuses his advocacy attention on issues regarding military mental health, housing, and food insecurity. He’s working with other military service organizations to consolidate information into one platform that will allow families in need to access the many different types of services available in a one-stop destination to efficiently navigate all the military and local community has to offer. Mychael is also a voice for military families with special needs working to highlight programs and policies to better serve these families.

“Simply put, I get – and remain – involved,” he said.

Vote Today

Show your support for these amazing military spouses by visiting the AFI MSOY website and learning more about each nominee. Registered individuals (no military affiliation is required) can vote once per day; the first round of voting ends Feb. 10.

Voting takes place in three rounds: installation-level, branch-level, and the overall Military Spouse of the Year. While seemingly just an award, the MSOY title is a path to opportunity, mentorship, and support in a community of exceptional military spouses, and the title has the potential to raise the winner’s platform to a national level. Check out the 2022 recipients at this link, and previous MSOY recipients at this link.

MOAA is proud to have three members of the CSSAC represented among this esteemed pool of MSOY nominees.