JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Meet Julie Dodge, spouse of Col. Tim Dodge, deputy commander of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center-Tyndall AFB, Florida.
Julie, “a military BRAT,” comes from a long-standing military family. Her grandfather enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he was 17, fought in World War II and retired after 25 years as a lieutenant colonel. Her dad was a B-52 pilot who fought in Vietnam and also retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving 25 years.
With her husband now serving for almost 31 years, she said she “basically only knows the Air Force and … I love the Air Force, I love our way of life and I love the Airmen!”
What’s your first memory as the spouse of an Airman?
Almost immediately after getting married, we moved to Cairo, Egypt. Tim didn’t have a typical Air Force job, he didn’t even wear a uniform. Our first event that felt like a “real military event,” wearing full military mess dress and ball gowns, was actually the Marine Corps Ball. It was on a small cruise ship on the Nile River. The evening was fun, but eye opening, as the Egyptian Navy (think five or six Zodiac boats full of black clad frogmen) provided security the entire evening. Before the boat left the shore, Egyptian explosive ordnance disposal divers checked the boat for bombs. It was a crazy, beautiful and an amazing night!
What’s your best experience as the spouse of an Airman?
Attending the Air Force Aid Society Ball in Washington, D.C., representing Tyndall AFB after Hurricane Michael. The AFAS handed out over $6 million in grants for immediate hurricane relief. This money, a check payable direct to the family, went to Airmen and retirees affected by the hurricane. The hardest part of a major disaster that few consider is that, yes, insurance will eventually cover much of one’s loss, but it either takes so much time -- you spend a huge amount of money up front waiting to get reimbursed -- or have to wait to rebuild while living in hotels and eating out. This helped defray those expenses. Tim and I met with senior Air Force leaders and AFAS sponsors during the evening and told our story and those of our friends and co-workers. The ball is the major fundraiser for AFAS, so us being in attendance put a face to the hurricane disaster.
What’s a challenge you and your spouse overcame as a team?
Two Words - Hurricane Michael! October 9, 2018 we evacuated due to a potential hurricane coming our way. We thought we would just be gone for a long weekend and return to pick up some tree branches. The reality was we didn’t sleep in our home again for 607 nights! We moved nine times in four months between hotels, friend’s houses and short-term condominium rentals. I even had my kids enrolled in another school district for three months 65 miles from Panama City. When we were allowed back to town, we found a tiny, very expensive, but fully furnished short-term condo rental six miles from our house. We thought we would be there for three months, it ended up being 15, and we were some of the fortunate ones! Our house was gutted and then slowly rebuilt … a very stressful process we are still dealing with to this day. In between rebuilding our home, my husband helped rebuild AFCEC and participate with the community and base leaders to support Tyndall. I was the Tyndall Spouses Club president at the time and used this role to support the spouses that didn’t PCS as the result of the hurricane. Overall, we lost more than 90% of our spouses. It's a very hard concept to get your head around ... your entire life transformed, overnight, never to be the same again. I think many people can now relate a bit better given COVID-19 is doing the same thing to the rest of the world. However, for those of us here at Tyndall, we are reeling with a one-two punch. Our kids haven’t had a normal school year in 3 years!
What is your best advice for other AFIMSC spouses?
The best advice I have for any spouse is to join the Spouses Club! Disregard any stereotypes or preconceived notions you have about other spouses and realize that no matter their spouses rank, each spouse is just trying to get by, especially in these COVID times. It doesn’t matter what rank your spouse might hold - you will be welcomed with open arms! Every time we move, we have to recreate ourselves and find our new tribe to support and befriend us. Be the person that reaches out and don’t disregard someone because their spouse isn’t the age as yourself. You never know, that spouse you reach out to could turn into one of your life long besties!
Do you have a mantra that you live by and how does it help?
My mantra is … “It is what it is.” After the hurricane, there was too much crazy going on and I had absolutely no control over any of it. I had to just relax and let life play out and be happy with whatever advances we made and not looking at what still needed to be done.
What’s something you cherish from your time as a spouse and why?
I cherish my Air Force family the most. I have been fortunate to have met the most amazing friends at each of our duty locations. Because of this, I have a huge circle of friends around the world that I keep in close and constant contact. These ladies support me and my family. This was made clear to me after the hurricane. I had at least six friends contact me and offer to take in my boys, put them into school and keep them as long as needed. We had other friends take us in and house us for a week, friends went to our house and helped board up windows, tarp our roof and do what needed to be done immediately after the hurricane. We lost so much in the hurricane but we always knew we had a huge network behind us if we needed anything. I will continue to cherish my Air Force family forever!