As the ongoing government shutdown continues to bring uncertainty to federal employees and their families, planners of an event for military spouses hope they can offer some reassurance to the families of service members in Hawaii.
On Wednesday, MilSpouseFest Hawaii will be held at the Schofield Barracks. It’s set to feature interactive workshops, peer discussions, and networking opportunities for military and veteran spouses tackling topics including career development, mental health, finances and community resilience.
The event is being hosted by the events division of Recurrent Ventures, the media company that currently publishes Popular Science, Outdoor Life and the military affairs website Task &Purpose. The MilSpouseFest holds multiple events per year on or near bases around the country. This year it has held events at Fort Hood in Texas, Camp Pendleton in California, in Washington, D.C., and other locations.
The Schofield event will be the seventh of the year, and will be the first time since 2019 the event has been held in Hawaii.
“Hawaii was top of the list for us to get back there,” said Jessica Manfre, the military events organizer for Recurrent Ventures. “With the shutdown continuing, we’re hoping to bring community, resources, and opportunities for connection to the families.”
She said the event aims to support spouses as well as their children, adding that “we’ll have activities for (kids) while parents connect with other military spouses and hopefully take some time to enjoy themselves awhile.”
There are roughly 48,500 active-duty service members and reservists stationed in Hawaii, many with their families. Military families that fly to Hawaii come thousands of miles to live in the middle of the Pacific, often far from friends and family.
While the military helps cover some moving costs and living expenses, the rising costs that have made making ends meet increasingly difficult for all Hawaii residents have also put the squeeze on many of these families. Manfre is herself a military spouse. She said she’s heard from military families that live paycheck to paycheck and are already concerned about feeding their children and paying their bills.
“It’s hitting home,” said Manfre. “It’s definitely a different event now than we’d planned a month ago.”
Service members in Hawaii have been deployed regularly around the Pacific conducting training exercises with allies, patrolling the oceans and skies and supporting a variety of regional missions as the U.S. competes with China for power and influence — leaving their families back home in Hawaii.
“Our team is here to lift each other up,” she said. “We’ll have diapers, wipes, giveaways and plenty of resources available because no family should have to face this kind of challenge without support. With Hawaii being the highest cost of living location for families in general, we want to stand in the gap in every way possible.”
Many military spouses in Hawaii work for federal agencies and have seen themselves either furloughed or — for those deemed critical workers — continuing to work without pay. The MilSpouseFest event is scheduled for Wednesday, which — unless lawmakers come to an agreement to end the shutdown — will be the day that paychecks will stop for active duty military service members.
Active duty troops will continue to do training and deployments both in Hawaii and around the region without pay. Manfre said she’s glad that the event will be in Hawaii on Wednesday, saying that in light of the shutdown “it’s where our support is needed. … I want spouses to walk away making friends, getting resources and hopefully knowing where they can go for support.”
A lot has changed in Hawaii since the event was last held in the islands.
The 2021 Red Hill fuel crisis put local military leadership in the islands under new scrutiny, both from island residents and military families stationed on Oahu. Fuel from the facility contaminated the Navy’s Oahu water system, which serves 93,000 people — including military families and local civilians living in former military housing areas.
Thousands of people on the waterline reported suffering a variety of ailments, in some cases leading to hospitalization. Thousands of military spouses sued the federal government for its handling of the crisis.
Providing housing and services for military families — and how it should be paid for — has continued to be a hot-button issue in Hawaii.
In 2019 a national survey of on-base living conditions by the Military Family Advisory Network found the largest number of negative reports were lodged against Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay and Schofield Barracks.
Many reported getting sick or developed long-term illnesses while living on bases due to mold and other issues, and that the private landlords contracted by the military who control the properties were slow to make necessary repairs and address issues.
The military has since poured money into improvements in Hawaii, renovating World War II-era homes and also appropriating money for new homes. But despite the large military footprint in Hawaii, the bases in the islands don’t have enough housing to host all the troops and military dependents it brings in.
In 2011, the RAND Corp. prepared a report for the Pentagon on the impact of military spending on Hawaii’s economy and found that while most military housing in Hawaii comprises privatized on-base units, roughly half of active-duty members live off-base and typically rent their housing. A Pentagon report in January showed that now 60% of service members stationed on Oahu are residing on military installations, with the rest living off-base.
The Pentagon report cited 2023 American Community Survey estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau that found of the 105,868 occupied, private rental units on Oahu, the military estimates 14,700 are occupied by active-duty service members and their families — roughly 14% of Oahu’s rental market.
That has put strain on both local and military families. Rep. Jill Tokuda said of the Pentagon’s January report that it “confirms what we all knew: that the military has a major impact on our housing supply and the availability of housing that our kama‘aina and families can afford.”
Even after the shutdown ends and federal funding resumes, more potential big changes for military families and veterans in Hawaii could still be on the horizon. Last month the Defense Commissary Agency issued a “request for information” to companies in the grocery industry, investment firms and other companies seeking feedback on the possible privatization of commissary operations.
The request covers all 178 commissary locations the United States.
Congress appropriates about $1.4 billion annually to cover commissary operating costs. But Jen Goodale, Director of Government Relations for Military Family and Survivor Policy at the Military Officers Association of American, wrote in a post on the organization’s website that “a private company taking over commissary operations would need to recoup those costs, most likely through higher prices and diluting the very benefit the system is meant to provide.
“For military families living on tight budgets, retirees on fixed incomes, and survivors reliant on commissary savings, even a modest increase in prices could erode a benefit that has stood for more than 150 years.”
MilSpouseFest Hawaii will be held at the 604 Ballroom and Conference Center on Schofield Barracks from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Local individuals or organizations that would like to support or participate in the event can contact Manfre at jessica.manfre@recurrent.io.
Source: The Garden Island
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