Julie Taufa’asau, the Military Family Readiness Center flight chief, talks about the genesis of the agency’s spouse hub at its grand opening Oct. 28, 2024, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The hub is meant to help spouses transition to life in the surrounding Kaiserslautern Military Community, the largest U.S. military community overseas. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Spouses of Kaiserslautern Military Community personnel who are seeking help with such tasks as job searching and resume writing now have a brand-new spot with plenty of coziness and helpful resources.
The Military Family Readiness Center spouse hub, which opened Monday on the ground floor of the Ramstein Enlisted Club, is the first facility of its kind in the Air Force, 86th Airlift Wing commander Brig. Gen. Adrienne Williams said at the grand opening.
For military and civilian personnel making a permanent change of station overseas, the job part is relatively easy, Williams said.
“For everyone else in tow, it is not easy,” she continued. “The spouse hub provides a venue to explore career advancements, a place where continued professional development is possible. It’s a place to build strong connections, lasting relationships and lifelong friendships.”
The center aims to help spouses smooth the transition to the KMC, the largest U.S. military community overseas. Besides the mainstay of Ramstein Air Base, the spread-out community has a number of other Army and Air Force installations.
Although moving overseas is inherently challenging to begin with, landing at Ramstein can be daunting for spouses because the area is “geographically huge,” said Meg Hewes, a community readiness specialist for the Military Family Readiness Center.
“It’s easier to get lost in the mix here,” Hewes said. “It’s awesome because we have all of these services available, but it’s also a little overwhelming.”
The hub is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon. A conference room, available for groups to use, can be reserved starting in January. It’s currently available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The space once resonated with the “cha-ching” of slot machines before a Wi-Fi lounge replaced the gambling venue. Most recently, the lower-level floor below the Enlisted Club and VAT office was empty.
Now it’s filled with couches, computers and readiness center staffers, who have expertise in connecting people with career development resources.
Brig. Gen. Adrienne Williams, the 86th Airlift Wing commander, speaks Oct. 28, 2024, at the grand opening of the Military Family Readiness Center spouse hub at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The hub helps spouses of personnel with professional development and searches for community connections. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Its offerings are available to all spouses in the KMC regardless of which branch of service they are affiliated with.
Classes such as resume writing may be offered in the future. In the meantime, that help is available from staffers.
Taking advantage of free Wi-Fi and several computer stations, spouses could come in for help with registering to vote or navigating online employment sites, for example, Hewes said.
To build the hub, the Military Family Readiness Center secured $16,500 in squadron innovation funds, a pot of money the wing and its squadrons can use at their discretion, said Lt. Col. Katherine Kuc, the 86th Force Support Squadron commander.
The squadron allocated an additional $13,000 to finish the project, she said.
The idea for the hub arose about a year ago during a meeting between the 86th Forces Support Squadron and spouses, said Julie Taufa’asau, the agency’s flight chief.
Someone brought up “the need for a ‘soft landing’ at Ramstein, a place from the very beginning that as a spouse I can go to (where) I instantly feel welcome, I instantly have a community,” she said.
Already in the works is a weekly event coinciding with the two-day newcomers’ orientation course, also at the Enlisted Club.
But Taufa’asau said spouse attendance at orientations is generally lackluster.
“That’s part of the reason we put the name ‘spouse’ in spouse hub,” she said. “We want them to see themselves here. We want them to know this is a space for them.”
The Military Family Readiness Center spouse hub is on the lower level of the Enlisted Club at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The space has couches, computers, free Wi-Fi and staff to help with job searching, resume writing and other tasks. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
