We have had so many of y’all reach out to us about your Air Force Key Support Liason experiences from what worked to what didn’t to…what even is a Key support Liason? Jen here! I became a Key Support Liason (formerly known as Key Spouse) almost a year ago after being at the same assignment for about 3 years and thinking, well who else would if not me? Even as I went through the training, and received the pin *eye roll*, I was well aware that this was a program with a lot of potential but a really bad rap or, in many cases, completely unheard of.
To those who don’t know what a Key Support Liason is, 1. I am sorry:/ and 2. The Commanders Key Support Program is an Air Force Commander directed program that trains up a few spouses in each squadron to be a POC/direct line for spouses to the commander/squadron spouse emergency contact/welcome committee/and a source of knowledge of military aid programs for whatever curve balls life may through at you. When a Key Support group in a squadron is healthy, this program really shines and the unity and morale of the squadron is amazing. On the flip side, if the Key Support group is divisive, to include the role of the command spouse, or non-existent, it can really negatively affect the squadron and the spouses.
So what if your current squadron doesn’t have an active Key Support group or a healthy one? Well there are still ways to start a spouse group on your own without all the official training/KKG pin (where is my srat fam at? it’s a legit key shaped pin and the ChiO in me dies every time I see it on my desk, lol)
Anywho, the things that you will have to work at: Legally, Key Support Liasons are able to store up rosters with other spouses contact info/addresses and so on. This may be a hurdle since you have no legal/ordained (idk?) right to obtain this info if you are not trained…obviously unless you do it the normal human way of just swapping info with another spouse! A great way to keep everyone in contact is through a spouse Facebook page or a GroupMe.
Oh, and real quick, excuse me when I say “spouse”, if you haven’t been around for a while it is important to us that we make it clear that our stance is “spouse OR significant other”! So many times we have heard of girlfriends feeling alienated from a spouse group or even just mentally putting up a block themselves. Both of us did the long distance thing as girlfriends which can be SO HARD and deserves credit in and of itself, and we both believe that it can almost be more difficult to be a girlfriend because you literally have no rights/access to anything. What does this mean for current spouses? You must be sooo intentional to reach out to the significant others! You were a girlfriend once too, weren’t you? A ring doesn’t mean that you miss your significant other any more than someone without. Okay, now that we are all on the same page, lets move on to the next tip:)
Another piece of being a Key Support Liason is having access to information about all of the different resources that the AF/Military has put in place to ease the burden on families. Anyone can get this info, but without the training, you just may need to do some digging. Firstly, you can try chatting with the First Sergeant in your squadron. They are supposed to have all of this info as well- their job is basically the squadron counselor and is trained on this info as well! You could also set up a meeting with the Family Readiness office on base to ask for any and all the info they can give you!
While Key Support Liasons are not nor should they always be the party planners for the unit, it is important for them to still be involved in unit events so that other significant others can become familiar with who they are for those just-in-case moments that we hope never happen! The same goes for you if you are trying to bring the unit together without having KSLs in place. The nights that I gripe about going to a spouse event because I just want to be lazy and stay home, I try to think about the new spouse who isn’t as comfortable as I am and how just by me going, they could meet one more friendly face. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, when it comes to the spouse group, it. isn’t. just. about. you! So open up, enjoy, and let others in!!
