CAMP DARBY, Italy - Camp Darby Army Community Services recognized and thanked military spouses for supporting their Soldiers on the field and on the home front during a Military Spouse Appreciation Day coffee social today at the ACS Yellow Ribbon Room.
Among those thanked was Bethy Vallejo, a military spouse for 19 years. During that time, she's stood by her husband, Lt. Col. Douglas Vallejo, commander of 839th Transportation Battalion, through deployments, TDYs and more permanent change of stations then she can remember. She believes that being a military spouse is not just about supporting your husband, but also about supporting your community.
"The best thing a spouse can do is get involved," said Bethy. "Joining the unit's family readiness group can help you learn what's going on and being involved in a spouses club allows you to get to know other spouses and make a difference in your community."
Bethy, who is a Family Readiness Group leader and a member of Friends of Camp Darby, added that even through many PCS's, she has always found a sense of fulfillment as a full-time volunteer.
As a small token of appreciation, Bethy and other Camp Darby spouses received two inspirational and motivational books that were picked out by two military spouse volunteers.
"We decided to give books written by other military spouses as tokens of appreciation because we thought this could be something more meaningful then a gift certificate or such," said Evelyn Watkins, ACS director. "Spouses help their service member be resilient and strong, so Camp Darby Army Community Services strives to provide families with services that are flexible, adaptive, and capable of responding rapidly and effectively to new or evolving requirements for today's mission-ready Army."
Watkins added that Military Spouse Day is celebrated at military installations around the world the first Friday before Mother's Day.
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