JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In this week's stories of service, let's talk about our military spouses. They're our unsung heroes, supporting and maintaining the home while their husbands and wives are defending our country.
Erika Bradley is a military spouse of 14 years who is married to her college sweetheart. Her husband is in the Navy and they're currently based at Naval Station Mayport. They arrived here at the beginning of the pandemic and did two back to back deployments.
Erika is a nominee for The Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. The award recognizes military spouses' important contributions and unwavering commitment to the military community and our country.
"This lifestyle is not an easy one by any means. It comes with a really unique set of challenges and hurdles. Anytime that I have an opportunity to give somebody else a little bit of hope, give somebody else a little bit of encouragement that will help them along the way...I just love to take that opportunity because I really think that it makes a difference," Erika Bradley said.
Erika recently served as the president for the Family Readiness Group for her husband's command and got the opportunity to facilitate a homecoming with COVID restrictions for more than 350 service members and their families. She's an advocate of military spouse hiring and has volunteered with the USO and Blue Star families.
"I just find that there's something about serving others, even when you're really going through a challenging time and a hard time in your personal life. It helps take the focus off of what's wrong in your world, and gives you a bigger picture of all of the challenges that we face."
If you would like to vote for Erika, click here