JBLM spouse honored for her service

Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year

By Lisa Ferdinando, DoD News, Defense Media Activity on May 24, 2018

Inspired by the generosity and kindness of others, Krista Simpson Anderson sought to help people the way she and her family were helped after her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Simpson, was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.

"Always lead by example and let your testimony be the light for others," Anderson said, as she was honored as the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, at the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore Annual Awards Gala, in Washington, D.C., May 10. "We are stronger together. We all should be standing up here right now."

Anderson, the mother of two young boys, is active in the military community and is married to Army Master Sgt. Gus Anderson, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

"One day I was a military spouse, the next I was a military widow," she wrote in her essay for the award. "Having remarried, I am once again a proud military spouse, and I want other military spouses to see through my journey that we all have the strength to get through anything."

Anderson's husband applauded her for her selfless service and devotion to family and others.

"I'm not just proud, I am overjoyed," the Special Forces Green Beret said. "She works so hard, not only for our military family, but other military families, and there isn't a woman out there more deserving than her."

STANDING OUT

Anderson cofounded a nonprofit that supports veterans and Gold Star families, The Unquiet Professional, and works as a speaker to raise money for Folds of Honor, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to families of fallen and wounded servicemembers, among her many activities.

"The United States Army is very, very proud of our military spouses," said Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff, said, noting the Army relies on the support of its more than 343,000 military spouses.

The spouses and the children have the hardest job of all, he said, as they are the ones who wait for their servicemember to return from deployments and dangerous assignments.

"These are the women, these are the men, these are the kids who sacrifice and volunteer and who keep us in the fight," he said.

Anderson's commitment to helping others, dedication to the military community and unwavering support for families of the fallen and wounded earned her the place as the Army's Military Spouse of the Year, said Milley's wife, Hollyanne.

Every year, each of the military services picks a military spouse of the year, and out of those spouses, one is selected as overall Military Spouse of the Year.