Emily Cormier says she’ll never forget the moment she got the termination notice. It was Feb. 13, and she was relaxing with her family in their Virginia home when she received a frantic call from her supervisor, telling her to check her email.
After scrambling to her laptop, she saw a message sent at 7:11 p.m. stating that she had lost her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs as a program assistant.
The email, reviewed by Stars and Stripes, cited her performance as a factor in the firing, though she had only been there for four months and hadn’t yet had a review.
Cormier said she went numb. Her husband, an active-duty service member, was awaiting permanent change of station orders. They were months away from moving their family, including two young children, to a new town.
Cormier is among an unknown number of military spouses who have lost their jobs as part of reductions in the federal workforce. The cuts have dealt financial blows to the affected military spouses and their families, who often struggle to find the work they say is necessary to supplement service members’ income.
It’s unclear exactly how many military spouses have lost their jobs in the last month following several executive orders and actions by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. In 2021, the Defense Department alone employed about 46,000 military spouses, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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After scrambling to her laptop, she saw a message sent at 7:11 p.m. stating that she had lost her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs as a program assistant.
The email, reviewed by Stars and Stripes, cited her performance as a factor in the firing, though she had only been there for four months and hadn’t yet had a review.
Cormier said she went numb. Her husband, an active-duty service member, was awaiting permanent change of station orders. They were months away from moving their family, including two young children, to a new town.
Cormier is among an unknown number of military spouses who have lost their jobs as part of reductions in the federal workforce. The cuts have dealt financial blows to the affected military spouses and their families, who often struggle to find the work they say is necessary to supplement service members’ income.
It’s unclear exactly how many military spouses have lost their jobs in the last month following several executive orders and actions by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. In 2021, the Defense Department alone employed about 46,000 military spouses, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Complete Article

Military spouses are being fired from federal jobs, raising concerns about force retention and readiness
An unknown number of military spouses have lost their jobs as part of reductions in the federal workforce. The loss is likely to cause stress and hardship on members of the military, experts and advocates say, impacting readiness and, potentially, hurting retention numbers.