ROA applauds President Trump for establishing the Military Spouse Commission to address policies affecting military spouses and families.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC, UNITED STATES, August 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The support military spouses and families provide is essential to the readiness of the Total Force. But military service places unique demands on families, and spouses cannot sustain that support without support of their own. Ensuring they have the resources and opportunities they need is a readiness requirement, not a courtesy.

On Aug. 3, President Trump acted on that premise, signing Executive Order 14417 to establish the President's Military Spouse Commission. The Commission, chaired by the spouse of the Secretary of War, is charged with liaising with military spouses to identify common concerns and recommending to the President practicable actions on housing, employment, healthcare, education, and deployment-related support. It has two years to report.

The establishment of the Commission is an important step toward recognizing the sacrifices made by military spouses and strengthening military families. For Reserve Component spouses, however, military service often looks different from the traditional active-duty experience. Reserve families balance civilian careers, schools, communities, and family responsibilities alongside periods of military training, mobilization, and deployment.

The Reserve Organization of America (ROA), which represents more than 320,000 Reserve Component spouses and their families, is asking the Commission to account for those differences from the outset.

“The Reserve Organization of America is excited about the President’s Military Spouse Commission to strengthen military families,” said ROA’s Chief Executive Officer, retired Army Maj. Gen. John B. Hashem. “As the Commission begins its critical work, we encourage the inclusion of a Federal Reserve spouse who can bring the perspective of reserve families balancing military and civilian careers, childcare, healthcare, and support while geographically dispersed over recurring mobilizations.”

Across nearly two decades of surveys administered by the Department of War, Reserve Component spouses have described a consistent set of needs — and, more recently, mounting strain in meeting them.

Satisfaction with the Guard and Reserve way of life fell to its lowest recorded level in 2023, with spousal support for continued service declining alongside it. Child care has emerged as a persistent pressure point, shaping whether spouses can work, how families absorb an activation, and what a deployment ultimately costs the household. Health care continuity presents a challenge distinct to these families, whose coverage is often tied to a civilian employer and disrupted at the very moments of greatest need. Running through all of it is a concern spouses have voiced in every administration since 2008: the effect of military service on family life, and whether the support available to them is keeping pace with what that service asks.

The President's Military Spouse Commission is a significant opportunity to strengthen military families across the Total Force. ROA is committed to ensuring Reserve Component spouses are fully part of that effort, and that their experiences shape the policies built to serve them. We encourage Reserve Component spouses to share their perspectives with the Commission directly here.

Matthew Schwartzman
Reserve Organization of America
mschwartzman@roa.org