'Air Force Spouse of the Year' named by Military Spouse magazine

  • Published
  • By Alicia Garges
  • Space and Missile Systems Center Public Affairs
VENTURA, Calif. (AFNS) --  The wife of a California Air National Guard pilot and mother of three has been named the Air Force Spouse of the Year by Military Spouse Magazine and Armed Forces Insurance.

Megan Glynn, the wife of Maj. Matt Glynn, who is assigned to the 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands ANG Station near Oxnard, Calif., was selected for the honor through an online vote by the magazine's readers. She was nominated by two friends she was assigned with in Germany for her work as a childbirth skills teacher, and as a doula who provides nonmedical support before, during and after childbirth. Megan was present for the birth of one of the nominator's children.

While Matt and Megan's grandparents and parents were friends for more than 50 years, the couple didn't meet until 2000 when Matt was a lieutenant. Both are natives of California. She's a graduate of UCLA and never really traveled very far from Agoura Hills, outside of Los Angeles.

Since marrying, the Glynns have been to Germany; Korea; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Arkansas. Two of the couple's children, 4-year-old J.P. and 2-year-old Murphy, were born in Germany and Korea, respectively. The couple's youngest, 2-month-old Cooper, was born here.  All this travel has shaped her into the person she is now, Megan said.

According to Megan, building a support network and creating a different routine for her kids is how she and her family cope with deployments. Besides the numerous overseas assignments, Matt has deployed to Iraq four times while on active duty as an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot and is scheduled to deploy again soon to Afghanistan as a C-130 Hercules pilot with the Air National Guard.

She organized play dates and dinners with her fellow spouses in Germany. While she doesn't have the same military family network here, she does have her parents nearby for support when her husband deploys.

Strength, patience and the ability to adapt to any situation is what it takes to be a military spouse, she said.

"Hold on tight, it's a wild ride filled with ups, downs and deployments," she said. "I'm proud to be serving along with my husband."

Megan's advice to other military spouses is to focus on building relationships.

"It's a wonderful time to be a spouse," she said.

This is the fourth year that Military Spouse Magazine has presented awards to a spouse from each service. This year was the first time a husband was honored as a spouse of the year. Robert Duncan, whose wife is stationed at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., was the Navy Spouse of the Year. Bianca Strzalkowski, a Marine spouse, was named the 2011 overall military spouse winner. Laura Vanderwerf of Novato, Calif., represented the Coast Guard; Crystal Cavalier of Cameron, N.C., represented the Army.

These winners and their families were honored recently at a ceremony in Washington D.C., and will represent their respective branches throughout the year.