This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. I’m thrilled to share this with y’all and hope that some of you participate in the contest.
My friend and fellow Huntsville High School graduate, Jeremy Hilton, recently won a contest for being the Air Force Spouse of the Year and is now in the running for the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year. Jeremy is a stay at home dad to two beautiful children and is married to an active member of the Air Force. I can often be found belly aching about our patriarchal society (well, I’m usually belly aching about my patriarchal church, but . . .) and being incredulous about the latest example of sexism in the workplace or gender stereotypes in children’s toys or music or magazines or . . . you get the picture. But all you need to do is click on the link below to see someone who’s defying gender stereotypes from the other end of the spectrum.
To introduce himself to voters, Jeremy wrote the following:
I am a Navy veteran, current Air Force spouse, and stay at home dad to our beautiful nine year old, Kate, who has a number of significant disabilities and Jack, our very rambunctious two year old. My wife, Renae, is stationed at Andrews AFB. We have been married for 15 years full of adventures, PCS’s, surgeries, deployments, triumphs and heartaches. During naps (and between diaper changes), on the weekends, and at night, I advocate for all military families impacted by a disability. I advocate to senior leadership in the Air Force and DoD, within the Congress and at the White House on a wide range of issues, including respite care, education and Medicaid issues. It’s not always easy to make changes when there are entrenched interests. I’m particularly proud of the DoD IG complaint I authored and led, alongside 15 other Air Force families. The complaint findings played a large role in reforming the Air Force’s EFMP program (no, it’s still far from where I’d like to see it, but it’s getting better. . .feel free to email me at ktp1995@gmail.com to discuss). It has also been rewarding to see an original idea I had turned into legislation.
Recently, I worked with Congressional staffers on a concept to institute feedback from military families to DoD on exceptional family member issues. This was recently passed in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act and established as the new Military Exceptional Family Member Panel. A current issue I’m working on is HR 2288, the “Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act.” We’d be very appreciative if you would contact your Congressional Representative and ask them to support the bill. At the squadron level, we’ve recently instituted the Key Spouse program. I manage the Facebook page for the group and help the Key Spouse with as much as I can. Our hope is that we can provide as much local support for families as possible, particularly for those in a deployed situation.
In my free time (who are we kidding; I’m writing this at 0500 before the kids get up), I like to play poker, watch football and try to squeeze in the occasional workout. I’m currently attending night classes at George Washington University and hope to graduate sometime this decade. I very much appreciate your vote and support and am humbled to be among an amazing group of other military spouses.
Jeremy’s wife Renae wrote this:
My husband, Jeremy, is a stay at home father of our two wonderful children. Jeremy entered the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in 1991 and graduated with an aeronautical engineering degree in 1995. At graduation, he cross-commissioned into the Navy as an Ensign, where his first duty station was the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL. Jeremy completed Naval Nuclear Prototype training at Charleston, SC, and Submarine Officer training in Groton, Connecticut, before reporting to the USS Nevada (SSBN-733) in 1996. While assigned to the Nevada, he completed five strategic deterrent patrols, qualified as Officer of the Deck, Engineering Officer of the Watch, Strategic Weapons Duty Officer, and Engineer on the S8G Nuclear Plant.
In 2002, while on shore duty at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C., Kate was born with significant medical issues. Due to the expectation of a higher deployment tempo in the Navy, Jeremy decided to separate from the Navy and take care of Kate full time. Since then, Jeremy has not only made it his mission to advocate for our family, but for the thousands of other similarly affected military families.
Jeremy has taken on a leadership role in advocating for both military and non-military families on issues including special education, medical care and long term care issues. He is a published author as well as a highly regarded speaker on issues involving military families with special needs. He has briefed the Congressional Military Family Caucus, numerous Congressional delegations and staffers on the Armed Services Committee, HELP Committee, on the Judiciary Committee and in the White House. At the national level, Jeremy coordinates legislation related to military families impacted by a disability with groups including the Military Officer’s Association of America, the National Military Family Association, Blue Star Families and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. His expertise has been sought by the White House, the Congress, the Government Accountability Office, the National Council on Disability and the Department of Defense.
Jeremy is a passionate advocate for inclusion of individuals with disabilities. He produced a video series (Creating Access for All) to encourage churches to start disability ministries at their places of worship. Jeremy volunteers additional time at our church and with the 2nd Field Investigations Squadron Key Spouse Program. He accomplishes this all while also attending a graduate program at George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Jeremy is a passionate advocate for military families and so deserving of the honor of being the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year!!!
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Please click here to watch a great video about Jeremy and his family and then vote for Jeremy as the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year. You have to register (but only once!) and you can vote every hour between February 14 and March 5.
Final words from Jeremy regarding the contest:
This contest is so much bigger than me….what we are really voting for sends a message about what military families care about. I would appreciate your support, but any of the other spouses vying for the title are amazing and just as deserving of the honor. So, it comes down to passion and the number of people we can reach.
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