Air Force Expands Global Military Spouse Connection Program

Military spouses who are heading out to other Air Force installations can now seek help finding civilian jobs through the Department of the Air Force’s Global Military Spouse Connection program. The Air Force said in a release that it expanded the program to five additional destinations. The available bases are below:

• United States: Luke Air Force Base, Arizona; Goodfellow and Laughlin Air Force Bases, Texas; Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; Travis Air Force Base, California; and Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.
• Germany: Ramstein Air Base.
• United Kingdom: RAF Croughton, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath and RAF Feltwell.
• Japan: Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.

The memo doesn’t specify which five installations are new to the list. Spouses who want to know more should check the Air Force Civilian Service Program for the relevant information before they enroll. It also lists additional locations beyond the ones that are above.

Who can apply?

The Air Force announcement says the pilot is for spouses of active-duty service members making a permanent change of station move to a participating installation.

The Air Force Civilian Service website specifies Department of the Air Force active-duty spouses with PCS orders. It also lists U.S. citizenship, except for certain underfunded positions, the ability to pass a background check, and meeting a job’s qualifications and conditions of employment among its eligibility criteria.

Eligible spouses can enroll in the program at any time through their connection page that is specifically for global military spouses. The site tells people to connect with their program or the installation’s own point of contact when they receive PCS orders.

They are instructed to turn in a two-page resume, and program staff sends these resumes to the personnel office for the new gaining base. The teams at the gaining base will connect qualified candidates with hiring managers.

The program is designed to address a familiar problem: A military move can interrupt a spouse’s career even when that spouse has years of experience and advanced education.

Kayla Amie, now at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, told the Air Force that repeated moves made her feel as though she was starting over professionally. She said the program helped get her resume in front of a hiring manager who could assess her skills.

Why Spouse Employment Is Still at The Center

The expansion of the program comes at the perfect time, as military spousal unemployment remains high, and getting it to come down has been a struggle.

In the 2024 Survey of Active-Duty Spouses, 20% of civilian spouses in the labor force were unemployed. That was little changed from 21% in 2021. The figure counts spouses who were seeking work, rather than every spouse without a job.

Moves are always tough on a family, as they uproot jobs, relationships, and other important parts of life. Spouses who are on the move with their military service members tend to have trouble fixing this part of their life, and settling down in a new community and making it home is just one step.

Finding a job, if they so want to, is hard. This program can do that. While qualifications do not always translate to employment right away, the faster the search is started, the easier and faster the process can be done. The program can also connect people with other connections in order to assess and place spouses in the proper careers based on experience.

The pilot addresses one part of that problem by connecting spouses with civilian hiring teams around their next installation. Its expansion gives more families a chance to begin that search with help, although applicants must still qualify for an available position.

For a spouse facing another PCS, the practical first step is to check whether the destination is eligible and submit a resume as soon as orders arrive.

Connections for Further Success

This program is not a specific guarantee of employment for spouses going to a new location and base, but it is a good starting point. Automatic placements are not always available, but networking is a great way to find new opportunities. Career field administrators have their own say based on a review of resumes and experiences, and hiring managers still have their own stipulations for hiring.

This distinction is also necessary for those who need to understand how the process works. When planning a move, spouses can enter the program before arriving at a new installation. While a job is not exactly going to be available, it is well worth the time to fill out an application and reuse it.

The resume should be clearly written and well done with professional standards. The Air Force launched the pilot earlier this year at Travis, Patrick and Ramstein before expanding their reach.

Its latest announcement says the program remains limited to eligible spouses moving to participating locations. Spouses with questions can use the enrollment page or contact the program at [email protected].