FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 7, 2014) -- To honor her contributions and commitment to the military community, Ambra Roberts, wife of Cpl. Luke B. Roberts of 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, was named Fort Benning's Spouse of the Year for 2014 by Military Spouse magazine.
Although her involvement for the installation began in 2009 as a key caller with a family readiness group, she said her major contributions started in 2011 following suicide attempts by her youngest son and her fight for her husband's medical care in dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.
Though she endured pain and struggles, she chose not to bathe in self-pity and decided to make a difference in the lives of others, Luke Roberts said.
"I became educated on (the subjects) and the struggle that military Families face (and chose to) take a stand on behalf of them," Ambra Roberts said. "Advocating for military and veterans is my calling. No one in the Army should ever face such trauma alone. I want to give others who are facing these hard times hope once again."
Ambra Roberts said she became an ambassador for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which gives help, hope and healing to those who grieve the death of a loved one in the military.
"This program does not discriminate when a Soldier dies by suicide," she said. "This was of extreme importance to me."
Luke Roberts said she became a caregiver for Families of fallen Soldiers.
Understanding isolation and the struggles of making sense of suicide and PTSD, Ambra Roberts said she is "willing to go above and beyond" to help Families "through their darkest hours."
Ambra Roberts said other spouses and herself appeared before Congress in Washington, asking for Family programs to be spared amongst the cutbacks.
"One of the programs that were not fully (used) was the Deployment Counseling Groups for middle schools," she said. "I realized that this is one of the programs that could have helped our child cope better with the deployment."
Luke Roberts said in 2013, his wife went to assist their older son, Skye Roberts, who lost his home and dog in Moore, Oklahoma, due to an F5 tornado, and others to clear debris.
When the next F5 tornado hit in a different city, he said she gathered supplies, water, 200 hot meals and delivered them to others who lost everything.
Ambra Roberts said she spoke before the Health and Resiliency Panel at the Congressional Military Family Congress Summit suggesting a Family support program that may reduce suicide rates among Soldiers.
"It is the spouse or Family member that witnesses the break in the Soldier before the chain of command does," she said. "I believe that support could be increased for those closest to the Soldier."
A few other contributions involved a two-day Good Grief Camp that helped 181 individuals, organizing the Red, White and Blue Veteran's Run, the South Atlantic Center for Veterans Education and Training, Inc., 6th annual Stand Down event and 2nd annual Female Stand Down event and coordinating volunteers that fed homeless Veteran's in Columbus.
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