ENGAGE LIVE Highlights Military Spouse Leadership at Warfare Symposium 

The Air & Space Forces Association’s United Forces & Families program convened military spouses, senior leaders, and advocates during the 2026 Warfare Symposium for ENGAGE LIVE: Ignite the Family Force, a half-day event focused on advancing military spouse leadership as a critical component of readiness and quality of life. 

The event underscored a central theme: military spouses play a vital role in strengthening families, stabilizing communities, and supporting mission effectiveness across the Total Force. While many attendees of the Warfare Symposium attended the event with a focus on the critical concerns and challenges of joint warfare around the globe, the United Forces & Families program focused on empowering the spouses leading on the homefront. 

Leadership in Practice 

The event began with a live podcast conversation between Debbie Schiess, Spouse of Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess, and Dr. Patrick Donley, Director of AFA’s Doolittle Leadership Center and host of the “Building Better Leaders” podcast. The episode explores the evolving role of military spouses as leaders within their homes, professions, and communities. The discussion addressed common challenges, including frequent relocation, career disruption, and access to opportunity, while highlighting pathways for impact and continued leadership development.

Donley also led a dedicated leadership workshop for military spouses, providing practical frameworks and tools to support decision-making, communication, and influence. 

Advancing Readiness Through Family Support 

Throughout the program, speakers and participants emphasized that military spouse leadership contributes directly to force readiness. Military spouses routinely lead through complex and dynamic conditions, managing households during deployments, building careers across duty stations, and contributing to their communities through service and advocacy. 

United Forces & Families programming continues to align these efforts with broader quality-of-life priorities, including spouse employment, childcare, housing, education, and health care. Strengthening these areas remains essential to sustaining resilient families and a ready force.

ENGAGE Publication Expands Military Spouse Voices 

ENGAGE LIVE also marked the release of the newest edition of ENGAGE, AFA’s digital publication designed to elevate perspectives from across the military spouse community. 

Over the past two years, the publication has released six editions, each developed by compensated military spouse professionals contributing expertise in writing, design, and storytelling. 

The latest edition highlights leadership across sectors, including employment, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and community engagement, and reflects the breadth of experience within the military spouse population. 

Looking Ahead 

United Forces & Families will continue to expand programming that supports military families and elevates spouse leadership as a key component of mission success. Future ENGAGE editions and events will build on this momentum, offering additional opportunities for military spouses to contribute their perspectives and expertise. 

Want to author a future edition of ENGAGE? Apply here.