While living apart from her Soldier husband in her native Minnesota for three years, Army spouse Sarah Carruth was surrounded by a strong network of support made up family members and church friends.

But she didn't know what it was truly like to be a military spouse.

"I had a lot of people there for me, but I didn't have anyone to talk to about the stressors and frustration military life can bring on," said the 27-year-old Carruth. 

But when he was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in October, the couple moved to Washington, away from that network.

New to the area, Carruth turned to Facebook to help her get to know other military wives in the area. She quickly created pages for spouses on JBLM Main as well as McChord Field, joining as many pages connected to the two bases as she could to better network.

"My purpose is just to get to know other military wives - regardless of which service they're from," she said.

She started the pages with the goal of networking and then building a relationship so spouses can get together in person. An outwardly social person, Carruth recently created an event on the page where spouses from the page met up for coffee. To show her dedication, she even bought all who attended a coffee.

"It was really fun," she said. "We all passed around business cards and talked. It was nice to meet so many military wives from different walks of life."

Carruth has decided to set benchmarks for membership numbers on the site, vowing to do a special event once each goal is met. Those goals include Carruth hosting complimentary pizza and beverages (200 members), a raffle of a gift card for a manicure and pedicure (300), a barbecue mixer (400) and a raffle for a gift card at Macy's (500).

The Lewis Spouse Network page has more than 100 members so far, and Carruth is working to build the McChord page.

"I've received some great feedback so far," she said.

Carruth works as the admin on both the pages while working full time for the Martinsburg Institute, which participates in the MyCAA program to assist military spouses in gaining skills for portable careers. Martinsburg Institute has provided training to military personnel worldwide since 2004, helping Servicemembers benefit from a number of unique programs geared toward their specific needs.

"I'm hoping to learn from all the spouses I meet, and at the same time they can learn from me," said Carruth, who is due in July with the couple's first child. "I'm excited to help inspire and encourage military spouses to take the next step in getting their education."

To "like" the McChord page, visit www.facebook.com/groups/242512755810400/.

See also...

New Facebook page for JBLM families

New Facebook page for JBLM Single Soldiers and Airmen

What automtic cuts to defense spending looks like