Surviving spouses of fallen Soldiers in the National Capital Region now have a person on their side who understands the stresses of military life.
Kelly Burger became the new Fort Belvoir Army Community Service Survivor Outreach Services coordinator March 11. She grew up in the Army before serving four years active duty in the Army herself.
She is honored to take the SOS coordinator position because she feels like she is helping her own Family.
"There's no greater honor then serving military Families," Burger said. "I grew up in the military, so that's who I feel like my Family is."
Burger was in the Adjutant General Corps during her four years of military service, and earned her Master's degree in professional counseling after she was discharged. She's spent the last three years at Fort Meade, Md., working in the Exceptional Family Member Program office.
Having experienced military life as a child, an active-duty servicemember and now as a spouse, Burger feels like she brings an understanding of each aspect of military life to her new position.
"I understand the lifestyle, plus the stresses and demands on a military Family," said Burger. "You never know when a parent, you or a spouse will be deployed. Especially now with the wars, there's a lot of uncertainty, so the constant moving and adapting are some of the big stresses."
Burger's main experience dealing with surviving spouses of fallen Soldiers is through her work with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Spouses. She spent a few hours two days a week helping the spouses find resources they needed and answering questions about their benefits.
"I would do research and help the spouse find resources for their specific need," said Burger. "I haven't had the opportunity to speak with someone who recently lost their spouse, but I think the best things I can do for the surviving spouse is listen, offer support and help them find any information and resources they need."
Burger recently went through Casualty Assistance Officer training which showed her the process surviving spouses and their Families go through in the immediate aftermath of losing a Family member.
Knowing the process the Families go through will be helpful once they come to the SOS Office, according to Burger, since there is usually a large gap from the time the spouse suffers their loss until when they come to see Burger.
"I don't usually see them until almost a month after they've lost their Family member," said Burger. "It's nice to know what they've already gone through and resources they've been given by the time they come to me."
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