ARLINGTON, Va. -- Mrs. Sarah Streyder, spouse of Space Force Staff Sgt. Jason Streyder, Information Technology Requirements Manager, assigned to the Office of Special Investigations Headquarters Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va., is having a memorable year.
Mrs. Streyder was selected as the 2022 Quantico Marine Corps Base Armed Forces Insurance Space Force Spouse of the Year, the first Space Force spouse to be so honored at base level.
That momentum culminated with her earning the prestigious 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year (MSOY) Award. The announcement was made May 5, 2022, during the annual awards luncheon ceremony at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Virginia, on the eve of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which honors the commitment and sacrifice of our nation’s 1.1 million military spouses.
She accepted the award in front of hundreds of the nation's top military supporters.
“Sarah is a prime example of just how special our extended OSI/Space Force family really is. She is one very impressive spouse,” said Brig. Gen. Terry L. Bullard, OSI commander upon hearing the news. “We're very fortunate to have her and husband Jason with us.”
Sarah’s road to this year’s top MSOY award was initially paved by winning MSOY at the base level in 2020 for Quantico MCB.
“As the 2020 base winner, I know firsthand the incredible opportunities that come from AFI’s MSOY program,” Sarah said. “I’ve met countless inspiring military spouse leaders who encouraged me on a personal level and promoted my platform.”
She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Secure Families Initiative, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is mobilizing military partners, family members and veterans to vote and advocate for their communities, especially on issues of foreign policy and national security.
“My platform is advocacy,” Sarah said in an AFI MSOY website interview. “Ever since I launched my nonprofit, there’s been a huge demand for our training materials, because so many military spouses have seen how advocacy can improve outcomes for our families and communities.”
Sarah was selected by a guest judging panel and thousands of online national votes cast March 10-11 for the seven service branch winners (Air Force, Space Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard). This year's competition began with more than 300 base-level nominations spanning the Defense Department.
The core judging criteria centers on: overall involvement in the military community, exhibition of leadership skills, community building capability, communication skills and overall personal story.
Nominated by her peers, Sarah’s litany of accomplishments include her work as part of the White House’s correspondence office team, then later with the Department of Commerce’s legislative affairs team, where she helped coordinate administration-wide strategy on trade policy advocacy.
As an accomplished communicator, Sarah has spoken on FOX News, CNN and CBS, has written for USA Today, and was quoted by The New York Times and Newsweek sharing her opinion on the military-family perspective on current issues affecting the home front.
Besides being the first Space Force spouse to earn AFI MSOY, Sarah is the fourth Department of the Air Force spouse and fourth OSI-affiliated spouse to win at the DoD-level since the award’s inception in 2008. OSI’s Lori Bell won the award in 2010, Jeremy Hilton was honored in 2012, and Brittany Boccher took the honor in in 2016.
When asked what she hopes to accomplish with the AFI MSOY title, Sarah sees furthering her advocacy.
“This title would help me achieve new goals,” she said. “For example, I’d like to see the (service) branches train their Voting Assistance Officers to expand their outreach beyond just service members, to help military spouses register as well. That would be a huge win! If I’m lucky enough to earn the AFI MSOY title, I look forward to sharing that idea directly to leadership.”
Editor’s Note: The AFI MSOY website contributed to this article.