Military Family Life

This month we are talking with two members of Team Canada at the Invictus Games in Whistler BC in February 2025.

In our discussion we talk about :

·     what lead them to apply for Team Canada, 

·     the journey to the games once they were selected – 

·     and what it was like to complete at the Invictus Games.

We also talk about the lessons they learned – and how the experience changed their perspectives and their relationships.

If you are a fan of the Invictus Ga...

In this episode we are speaking with Carley Robb-Jackson and Amy Carpenter from Military Family Services about some of the research that is being done by MFS as part of the Gender-based Violence and Family Violence portfolio.

We also talk about:

Content Warning: We understand that discussions about family violence and gender-based violence can be difficult for some.  Please listen with care.

...

April is Month of the Military Child.  For this episode we are speaking with Chris Quigley and her friend Bella about the work they do with Military Children.  They tell us about some of the challenges they hear about and what we all do to support Military Children this month - and year round.

About our Guests:

An East coast chance meeting and marriage to a CAF Member - now veteran - was the catalyst for Chris’s now 26 year career supporting military members and their families at  MFRC's and with...

It has been three years since the first episode of Military Family Life!

This month, Claudia and Julie are looking back at our first 20 episodes.  Here are some of our favourite stories, best pieces of advice and lessons learned along the way.  

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to join us on the podcast.  We have enjoyed getting to know each one of you, and we look forward to hearing more stories from Military family members in the new year.

Here are the guests you will hear from in this epi...

In this episode of Military Family Life we are speaking with Sgt Valery Switzer.  

Valery is a CAF Member, a military spouse, a mother of two, a part-time student and a word champion powerlifter. She was also recently named Canadian Armed Forces Female Athlete of the Year!  

 In our conversation we talk with Valery about power lifting training and competitions, the importance of balance and self-care when juggling so many roles, and her advice for those starting their career in the CAF.

About out Guest:

Sergeant Valery Switzer was born in Lav...

If you are a military family member, you have likely heard someone talk about an OUTCAN posting to a fabulous distant country.

Our guest for this episode recently returned from a four year posting to Greece.  She tells us about the good, the bad and the surprises that she and her family experienced during that adventure.  

She also talks about how the lessons she has learned helps her to support others with the transitions they are facing in their own lives.

About our guest:

Monica Krul...

This month we are bringing the second half of our conversation with Shannon and Cory Nowell.

In this episode we talk about the Invictus Games, and Cory's experience on Team Canada in 2018. Shannon also tells us about her experience, and what the games are like for families members who are there to support loved ones.

About our Guests:

 Shannon Nowell has been connected to the military for her entire life- first as a Military Child and later as a Military Spouse.  Shannon is also connected to Military in her professional life having worked at...

This month, we are talking to Shannon and Cory Nowell about their lives as a Military - and Veteran – family.

 This episode is part one of two.  In it we talk about the challenges that come with relocations, IR, and Out Can postings.  We also talk the medical release process, PTSD, the transition from being a Military to a Veteran family – and the impact it has on the entire family.

About our Guests:

 Shannon Nowell has been connected to the military for her entire life- first as a Military Child and later as a Milita...

In this April edition of our Military Family Life podcast - in honour of the Month of the Military Child - we are focusing on Military children.

 Kayla Lamrock has experience as a military child, a military spouse and working at an MFRC with children and youth.

In this episode Kayla talks about her experiences of deployments and postings from the perspective of a military family member.  She also talks about what it is like to support a loved one with an operational stress injury, and the work she does now to support youth navigating th...

In this month's episode we are speaking with Lt(N) Wendy Duguid, a Regular Force Military Chaplain.

Wendy has been serving at Garrison Petawawa since 2019.   She was previously the Chaplain for the medical units, and is currently supporting the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) and 2 Signal Squadron.

In this conversation we chat with Wendy about:

This month we are talking with three former MFRC Executive Directors who have  recently retired from their positions in Goose Bay, Greenwood and Shilo.

Our co-host Claudia Beswick also added some insight, as she too recently left her position as the ED in Petawawa to take on a different role supporting military families.

With all of this experience and collective knowledge, we talk about:

This month we are talking two members of the Canadian Military Wives Choir in Petawawa.  They tell us about how the choir helped them to connect with new friends in the community, their best memories performing with the choir, and their advice for people who are thinking about joining their local choir.

About our guests:

Melissa Perry-Biezing has been a military spouse for 18 years. Originally from Newfoundland, Melissa moved to Ontario as a child.  She moved to Montreal, Quebec once she finished Nursing school, where she met my husband. Melissa has be...

Our Guest this Month
Ainsley Christensen is the curator at the Garrison Petawawa Military Museum and has worked at the museum in some capacity or another for the last 20 years. Ainsley was born in Manitoba -moved to Petawawa in 1995 and haw been here ever since  -  minus a few years to attend post-secondary school in Kingston, ON). 

Ainsley is a military spouse with three very active children ages 12, 10 and 9. As a result she I spends most of her time outside of work driving to activities and watching do all the things they love to do...

About our guest:

Andrea Nauta is a military spouse - her wonderful husband Dustin has been serving in the military since 2007. They have two beautiful girls who are 11 and 9. 

Andrea and her family have moved back and forth between Comox and Petawawa, and they are currently happily settled in Comox where Andrea works as a support worker at a local school.

 Andrea is an accomplished baker.  She started baking when she was 8 with simple cake box mixes and making cupcakes for her family.  Her passion grew year by year – and she dedicated herself to lea...

In this episode we talk about all things deployment with our guest Sandra Pinard. 

Topics include: what are the things families can do to prepare for a deployment, some suggestions for items to include in a morale mail package and tips for re-integration.

We also have an interesting discussion about the differences between Army and Navy deployments.

 About our guest:

Sandra Pinard has been associated with the Military for her entire life so the answer to the question “So where are you from?” is mor...

About our Guest:
Denver Hilland grew up in the GTA and was a professional level ballerina until she left for university.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Kinesiology and Physical Education from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Arts Health Promotion from Dalhousie University.
Denver served as the Project coordinator for the Early Childhood Collaborative Research Centre at MSVU, a Health Promoter for the Health for All Family Health Team, and is now a Health Promotion Specialist for PSP Health Promotion in Petawawa.
Denver met her partner before he joined the military...

As many of you know April is month of the Military Child. It is an opportunity for our community to recognize the sacrifices and contributions made by the children Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans.

So this month we wanted to hear from some military kids about their experiences and lessons learned.

Our Guests

Kim Mills has been a military spouse for more than 20 years.

She is the author of the military romance series The Way Home – She is public speaker who has ta...

This month we are speaking with Trisha MacLeod, the Commanding Officer at 2 Field Ambulance in Petawawa and Champion for the Petawawa Defence Visible Minority Awareness Group. 

Trisha is a lifelong learner whose current pursuits are centred around understanding, acknowledging and deconstructing systemic racism within healthcare settings and CAF overall. 

Driven to serve, she has over 20 years of military service.  She has experience building partner capacities among domestic and international partners, 

She is enjoying her current military assignment - which she sees as an opportunity to expand her perspec...

This month we are talking with Crystal Donak about:

About Crystal:

Crystal has been a military partner for 12 years. 

In that time, she was the Vice Chair of the PMFRC Board of Directors for several years - and completed original research on how military families and MFRCs engage and communicate with each other. This original re...

This month we are chatting with Laura Frey.

Over the years Laura has worn a number of hats including: Military Spouse, Mom, CAF Member, Fitness Competitor and Grandma.

Laura is currently posted to Halifax and is serving on the HMCS Charlottetown.

As Army Spouses – living on a Garrison that is mostly Army – our hosts had plenty of questions about life on board a ship.

In this conversation we talk about Laura’s career in the military, the ins and outs of life at sea and her physical transformation as she...

This month we are speaking with another couple – Norma and Tom Cartwright - about their lives as a Canadian Military family.  Having weathered eight postings and numerous deployments, our guests have some great stories and important lessons to share. 

About our Guests 

Norma Cartwright has been a military spouse for almost 35 years. She grew up on a farm in Southern Manitoba, and met Tom while he was posted to Shilo in 1986. They married in 1988 and were posted to CFB Lahr Germany in 1989, then to Chatham in 1992. Norma was a stay at home mom until...

As military families, we have the opportunity - and the challenge - of moving from community to community. In the process we can make friends with people from across the country.  Sometimes when you move somewhere new, you have the good fortune of reconnecting with an old friend - someone you knew years ago in another time in another place - and to rekindle your friendship.  

Catherine Grant met our co-host Claudia Beswick when they were both posted to Wainwright early in their journeys as military spouses. Recently, they had the opportunity to reconnect when Catherine and he...

About our guest:

Tamara Kleinschmidt is the Executive Director of the Trenton Military Family Resource Centre. 

As a military spouse Tamara experienced the privilege of living across our country and beyond. Over a twenty-six-year span Tamara experienced 11 postings, the final one to Trenton in 2005. 

During this period, she completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Political Science, from the Royal Military College of Canada and she and her husband adopted their 3 children, one in New Brunswick and 2 in Ontario.

In this episode we talk to Tamara about:

Since the launch of our podcast, we have been talking to members of Military families about some of the unique challenges they have face living with a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

But what happens when there are two people in the family that are members of the Canadian Armed Forces? In this episode we are talking to a service couple about how they have managed to overcome some of those challenges - and some of the solutions that have helped them.   

In our discussion we talk about: the challenges of juggling two Military car...

This month we are chatting with Christina McFadden.

Christina was born and raised in Germany and was living there when she met her husband, a Canadian Military member. She came to Canada to start a new life with her husband. 

In this conversation Christina tells us  some of the challenges she faced, and what surprised her about living in Canada and living on a military base. We also talk about:

April is Month of the Military Child.

 This month we speak with Tammy Barclay – mother of 6 military children – about how her children have dealt with challenges such as postings, deployments and the transition to civilian life.

In our conversation we talk about how:

·      to help children stay connected with a deployed parent (00:08:45);

·      living in an RHU helped Tammy – and Claudia – to connect with their Military community (00:10:00);

·      Tammy and her family faced some of the challenges related to their transition from Military to Veteran family (00:19:10);

·      homeschooling helped Tammy and her family to adjust...

In this month’s episode we speak with Dr. Heidi Cramm about the research that she - and her team at the Families Matter Research Group - are doing about the impact of Military life on the family.

Trigger warning:  In this discussion we do talk about suicide and suicide ideation as it pertains to CAF Members and their families.  This discussion begins at the 20:00 mark.  Please listen with caution.

In our discussion we talk about:

·       How the definition of family is changing;

·       What it means to be resilient;<...

Welcome to Military Family Life

This month we are speaking with Ariel from PMQ for two.

Ariel is the voice behind the blog PMQ for two, where she creates bright, bold, creative interiors, DIY and lifestyle content.  Ariel is also the first Home and DIY creator in Pinterest Canada's creator class of 2021-2022, and her work has been featured online and in print just about everywhere. 

In this episode:

·      Ariel talks about her connection to the Military and why she started her blog

·      Claudia te...

Welcome back to Military Family Life. 

In this episode, Julie and Claudia discuss:

·      the inspiration to start a podcast for Military family members (0:01:15)

·      our hopes for this podcast; 

·      the conversations we would like to have in the coming months (0:18:00); and 

·      our go-to advice for new Military family members (0:09:47)

If you have a story or experience that you would like to share with our community of Military family members, please contact us.  

 Is there a guest that you would like us interview – or a topic that you would like us to ta...

Welcome to Military Family Life!  

Since this podcast is about Military family members sharing their experiences and advice, hosts Claudia Beswick and Julie Hollinger kick off this podcast by sharing their own stories.

Claudia Beswick is a Military Spouse and Military Child!  In this episode she talks about her many postings, her childhood memories and her love/hate relationship with snow.  

Julie Hollinger is also a Military Spouse.  She talks about her experiences dealing with the deployments and how they affected her as a wife and mother.

Claudia and Julie both work...

Military Family Life does not come with an instruction manual!

Each month we will bring you the stories of people who have ‘been there’ – and they are here to share the lessons they have learned along the way … to help you live your BEST military family life.