Working in the military itself is a challenge, but sometimes the people who have the most to acclimatize to are the spouses of our military Servicemembers. Transferring duty stations, or living as a military spouse for those who are either new military families or newly married, or both can be intensely confusing and frustrating. There is a program to help military spouses familiarize themselves with military life and life as a military spouse, it’s called the Compass program.
This is a program featured and supported by the Navy, but it supports wives from all different military settings. This program is also present on U.S. Marine Corps Facilities as well as various Coast Guard bases and shore stations, but all military spouses are welcome as long as their spouse is serving on Active Duty service in the United States Military. Navy Compass is a program that helps a spouse acquire skills and knowledge to meet all the different challenges they find as a military spouse. It gives the Navy Spouse a chance to learn about the Navy and Armed Forces family, as well as making new friends and learning about the lifestyle of military families and military spouses. It fosters and promotes a positive service healthy attitude, and gives new spouses a chance to develop adaptability and learn to form realistic expectations of what life as a military spouse is like.
The Compass program is supported and sponsored by Naval Services Family Line, which is a support volunteer organization serving Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard families worldwide. They directly monitor and support the program, and set up groups outward from their existing programs. The Compass program takes the military spouse slowly and methodically through a 12-hour course of study, covering major topics of interest and importance along the way. The success of the Compass Spouse program is due to its one-on-one approach. Informally the new military spouse is taken under the wing of a senior military experienced spouse, someone who knows the ropes and can assist the young military spouse with understanding and comprehension of all the new details that are part of the military life.
Subjects and topics covered by the Compass program include Navy Lifestyle, Navy History, Missions of the Navy and U.S. Military, investing in yourself, Navy Customs and Traditions, relations with the local community and the military, and Navy rights, privileges and duties, among other topics.
