Ft. Polk woman wins ‘Military Spouse of the Year

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Being married to a member of the military is no easy task, following where the country sends your spouse to serve. Manda Lynn McVey knows that feeling, being married to a soldier serving at Fort Polk. She has been voted installation Military Spouse of the Year by Armed Forces Insurance.

McVey says the situation in Ukraine and other hot spots around the world concern every military spouse.

“Since he’s active-duty Army, it’s always something that lingers around in the back of the mind, of how severe is this situation and will it require that his unit is now deployable,” said McVey. “If that becomes a thing, then that’s an extra level of terrified, as a spouse. Because when you have a non-deployable unit, that’s suddenly deployable, that’s not a good situation for the planet.”

McVey is a Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Spouse Master Resilience Trainer, and Behavior Change Specialist who helps other spouses cope with being in the military. She’s currently trying to prepare emergency disaster kits for families not familiar with Louisiana’s hurricane season.

“You can imagine someone coming in as lower enlisted or someone who is unfamiliar with living in Louisiana and hurricane season means. How unprepared people are when they get here. The kind of strain that can put on a family. Or even an individual in the barracks.”

McVey says she just wants to make sure fellow Fort Polk spouses know there’s a place to go for help.

“They’re suddenly feeling this dread of being alone. It’s really important that they remember that they’re not alone. We’re all here. We’re all here together. You have a community. Reach out. Find your resources. Find people like me. Find the Fort Polk Spouses Club.”

McVey hopes those spouses stay resilient through their trek in the military with their soldier. For more information, you can click here or call 720-717-1416.

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