First Army spouse wins prestigious award

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Some call it the toughest job in the military, that of military spouse. Thursday, 10 On Your Side and the Flagship and Military Newspapers of Virginia sponsored the annual Heroes at Home Military Spouse Awards.

Each of the 10 finalists are deserving, but there could only be one winner, and this year's recipient was Sara Jane Arnett.

What makes her so special you might ask? 

"She's just so driven, just has the best heart.. her ability to balance everything when I'm gone and to look at all the accomplishments she's made and all the lives she's touched is humbling for me to come back and see," said her husband Army Captain Sam Arnett of the 221st Military Police Department at joint Langley-Eustis.

Sara Jane's main focus is on military children. She is pregnant and already has two sons, ages 2 and 4.

She told WAVY.com they are what drive her. "We [she and her husband] both come from big families so it's only natural for me, really to be like, come on let's do this special event, let's have this egg hunt, let's get something started."

And she certainly got things started with the 221st Military Police Unit. There, Sara Jane built a family readiness support group from the ground up.

She personally visits every new baby born into the unit, rallies the troops to support Transitions Domestic Violence Shelter and is currently organizing a bike ride.

"All the proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Foundation and suicide prevention," she said.

And if all that's not enough while her husband was in Afghanistan this year, she wrote a book to help children deal with deployments.

Sara Jane is a mom whose mission, to lead by example makes her a true hero at home.

Sara Jane received many wonderful gifts, including a $500 shopping spree to the commissary, a Vera Wang bag, a night's stay and massage at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach and a scholarship to Regent University.