Northrop Grumman Military Spouse - Andrea Yerkes

We often focus on the service member and all of their contributions, but mission success is also about having a strong support system. 

 In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, I wanted to share an interview with one of our military spouses, Andrea Yerkes, a teammate in Mission Systems Talent Acquisition. 

 While Andrea reflects on her journey as a military spouse, we discuss her experiences, deployments, transitioning and overall life lessons. Here is what she shared with me:

Please tell me about your experiences as a military spouse

My favorite experience as a military spouse was being a part of the diversity that comes with the military. I was given the opportunity to learn about people from all different cultures, backgrounds, races, religions, and economic classes. Which, in turn, allowed for my own exponential growth.

I grew so much personally and professionally because of being a military spouse. I say that because personally, I moved across the country without knowing a single soul. I left my family, my friends, and the place where I grew up to explore this new life with my husband. I really had to be bold and put myself out there and live outside of my comfort zone to meet new people and make a new set of friends. The military lifestyle quickly turns friends into family. When you’re 1,000+ miles from your family, you trust these people with your lives and you become each other’s life lines. 

Professionally, I was pushed into looking for new roles and was lucky enough to land my first job in the defense industry where I truly found my passion. Although I never felt outside pressure, I felt compelled as a military spouse to prove I was worthy of employment. I remember being scared to tell my employer(s) I was a military spouse because I was afraid their idea of a spouse was that we had no longevity and we weren’t worth the investment. As many spouses probably worry, in an instant you can be reassigned to a new duty station and have to leave your employer. I always strive to be a hard worker from day one.  I wanted my employer to know that, because if I needed to relocate, and there was an opportunity to work remotely, I would have already demonstrated my abilities and dedication to my work. 

 How were you able to handle deployments and time away?

My husband deployed two months after we got married. He lived in Colorado and I lived in Ohio. We had been together for seven years but I was finishing up my BA degree, so I stayed behind. We spent a total of 11 days together after we got married and before he deployed. I ended up buying our first house and moving across the country alone to make sure he had a place to call home when he got back from his deployment. When he got home was when the beginning of our marriage really started. As many military families experience, you have to learn a new routine with your service member every time they get home, sometimes even from short field assignments. You have to learn how to live together again. The deployments, TDYs, field assignments, etc. are hard but if it teaches you anything it’s (1) how precious your time together truly is and (2) how strong your relationship can be.

Your husband recently transitioned out of the military. During this time there is a lot of focus on the service member, but how was that experience for you as a spouse?

The transition for our family off of active duty was difficult. We moved our family an hour north to Denver for a contingent job offer that ended up not working out. My husband always had an idea of what he wanted to do when he transitioned off of active duty and as he began the transition and diving into that new role, that idea and vision became very blurry. It went from a definite to “I don’t think I want to do this”. I watched someone who has been told what to wear, what to say, how to act, where to be and at what time for the last 10 years, experience a whole new world of choices. It became very overwhelming for him and as a spouse, I had very little control of the situation to offer any real help. I would say we are now two years into the “transition” and we are still adjusting to what life as a civilian looks like.

I’m probably most passionate about helping people transition because of my husband’s transition. I watched someone I love try to navigate this new area of life and it can be very scary and very unsure. I want to be a sounding board for our service members to lean on, someone who understands but can also provide actual civilian guidance to better land them on their feet.

Looking back on your overall experience, what are your life lessons?

Some of my very best friends are people I met through the military. The military taught me to love everyone unconditionally and to wear my heart on my sleeve because time with the friends that became family was never long enough. It’s not a goodbye but a “see you later (maybe and hopefully at the next duty station).”

Being a military spouse has taught me how truly resilient we are and to always have a plan B, C, D, E and F!

Thank you so much for your time today and for sharing a glimpse into what it is like for a military spouse; the challenges, growth, friendships, and joy. It has been an honor to hear your story and thank you for your service!