U.S. Military Spouses Forge Friendships on Remote Greek Island Through USO Coffee Connections

By Brittany Laursen

Military Spouse Appreciation Day honors the strength and resilience of military spouses, who support their loved one wherever the mission takes them. Frequent moves, leaving jobs and saying goodbye to friends are all a regular part of their journey. Often far from home and their own support networks, they must consistently navigate new and unique challenges. For those stationed overseas, these challenges are amplified by distance, cultural differences and the complexities of making friends and building a community in a new environment.

At Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay in Greece, a group of accompanying military spouses recognized a need for connection. To help them feel more at home, the USO in Souda Bay recently launched its first USO Coffee Connections event.

A longstanding USO program, military spouses in Souda Bay can now utilize USO Coffee Connections to address the many unique challenges that they as MilSpouses go through, all while doing so in a casual setting where they can share advice, make new friends and feel a sense of community.

A few months ago, Priya Munagala, the USO Souda Bay area operations specialist, met with the Command Master Chief’s wife and the U.S. Navy Ombudsman to discuss the needs of spouses. After discovering spouses were already getting together once a month to connect, Priya wanted to find out what else they needed and how she could make their time together more enjoyable.

“There are very few spouses at NSA Souda Bay. This makes it difficult for them to make friends and build a community,” said Priya. “The biggest challenge is isolation. With a small, deployed base, like NSA Souda Bay, it is not easy to meet people. Most services on base are primarily aimed at active-duty service members. Events like Coffee Connections can help to bring information to one place and build a community to support each other.”

With this event, Priya did exactly that — help spouses build a community far from home. Their first USO Coffee Connections event was intentionally designed to be welcoming, creating a relaxed space for socializing. It offered everyone a chance to meet, unwind and share their stories. This initial gathering also doubled as a planning session, where participants could express what kinds of future events they’d like to see.

“NSA Souda Bay is such a unique location, and I find that in living off base, we rely so much on the local economy for our daily support vs. base resources,” said Bryce Rodgers-Aspholm, a military spouse of 13 years. “Meeting other spouses and sharing stories - such as what the local schools are like, what stores carry specific items and what grocery stores to check out - is an invaluable resource.“

When asked about the challenges of this particular duty station, Bryce mentioned the isolation that can come with being a military spouse at a remote installation.

"Specific to NSA Souda Bay, while the area is absolutely gorgeous, it is such a small base that it can be particularly isolating,” she explained. “Many of those built-in opportunities to meet other spouses and families around base casually are lacking.”

This is what USO Coffee Connections is all about - directly addressing this challenge by providing an opportunity for spouses to connect – with the added bonus of delicious coffee and pastries.

Lisa Vanatta, a military spouse of seven years, appreciated being able to make new connections and learn about resources available to her through the USO.

“USO Coffee Connections has allowed us to gather as women, share our experiences, our victories, tips and tricks, struggles and evens the playing field so that we can just be women talking as women about our daily life here in Souda Bay,” Lisa said.

Although the initial focus has been on building those key connections, the USO intends to provide additional support in the future and collaborate with other organizations and military representatives to do so.

“Spouses have been asking about other USO initiatives, such as BBQs and appreciation drops. Some have even signed up to be USO volunteers,” Priya said.

Looking ahead, Priya envisions USO Coffee Connections as a hub of support for spouses at NSA Souda Bay.

“I hope that the USO Coffee Connections can become a safe space for military spouses,” she said. “Living far from home is a challenge on a day-to-day basis, and I hope that this event will help to further build a community that is able to support and learn from each other.”

As we celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day, initiatives like these remind us of the important role of military spouses. For the spouses at NSA Souda Bay, each new friendship and shared experience is a reminder that they are never alone — even thousands of miles from home.