Spouses

Nowhere does the military mission so closely integrate spouses with various opportunities to select from and enhance their interests, professional development, fitness, resiliency, and social networking.

Military Family Program, sponsored by the Senior Leader Development and Resiliency Program, is wholly focused on programs, classes, and workshops for spouses whose voices help shape the program offerings and the Military Family Program's annual Spouse Project.

The Military Family Program is a graduate-level, complementary program offering spouses and USAWC students various educational opportunities and experiences to develop skills, talents, and abilities to address personal and professional challenges more effectively.

The Military Spouse and Family Program offers the Executive Spouse Leadership Development Course and is unique to the U.S. Army War College. The ESLD focuses on providing student spouses with graduate-level training in various specialized leadership areas, including interpersonal, social, and group dynamics, military protocol, ethics, finance, public speaking, resiliency, and negotiation skills.

The goal is to increase participants' understanding of these issues and enhance their effectiveness as partners to their senior officer spouse. Graduates of the course receive a certificate from the Army War College.

Each year, volunteers select a Spouse Project. Examples of spouse's projects, e.g., the Company Commander's Spouse Battlebook and Recapture the Sisterhood/ Embrace the Misterhood mentoring resource, are known, and used worldwide. You can find the 2021 spouses' project, Raise Our Voice

From day one, spouses are invited to participate in USAWC activities to enhance your experience and your spouse's student experience. Many of these events and activities are open to the whole family. Check the First 30 Days section of this website to see the layered schedule of icebreakers and orientations for student AND spouse: seminar icebreaker, Chapel ice cream social/welcome, Spouses Club orientation & sign-up, County Info Fair, Downtown Carlisle's Welcome, and more. These early events invest in your network of fellow spouses and friends.

Throughout the year, the volunteer seminar spouse representative will act as a liaison between fellow seminar spouses and the College; they are able to answer colleagues' questions and provide "the rest of the story" that will enrich the college family life balance. The Community Leader Information Forum is held monthly and is open to the Carlisle Barracks Community. The USAWC Commandant hosts CLIF and offers an opportunity to exchange information with the USAWC leadership and Carlisle Barracks Community.

Army War College student spouses can audit USAWC courses (when space is available and faculty member agrees), sit in on open Bliss Auditorium lectures, and become familiar with much of the curriculum offerings. A wealth of events and activities complementing the students' curriculum are open to family members.

No matter what you do, you'll want to attend “Know Your World” the event is sponsored by international families for their US colleagues. A beloved 50-plus year tradition is the Senior Citizens Holiday Socials with USAWC students and spouses.

The Military Family Program supports US Army War College students and spouses to prepare for their future roles as senior leaders by offering a series of lectures, seminars, and workshops customized to the needs and interests of the group.

One example of workshops hosted by the MFP is Facilitating Leadership and Group Skills.

FLAGS is unique to the USAWC: a joint learning, information, knowledge and skills programs designed to benefit military families.

The four-day course develops critical skills, confidence, and competence in such areas as team-building methods for facilitating; motivation, team collaboration; decision-making; and identification and resolution of interpersonal behaviors.

The participating student spouses develop skills through a peer-to-peer learning process designed to increase self-awareness through exploration of communication, leadership styles, conflict and stress management, group dynamics, as well as preferences for learning and inclusion through the use of instruments and small group activities.

Please visit the Family Program Events Calendar to see the wide variety of Military Family Program offerings, addressing both personal and professional interests. The class of 2025 calendar is being developed, and AY'25 spouses will be able to help shape that calendar.

Flags

FLAGS Graduation