First husband named Military Spouse of the Year

WASHINGTON – For the first time in its five-year history, the Military Spouse of the Year is a man. Jeremy Hilton was nominated by his wife, Lt. Col. Renae Hilton.

Hilton was chosen for his extensive advocacy work with special-needs families and for his dedication to caring for his daughter, Kate, who was born with severe medical challenges, and son, Jack.

Jeremy Hilton is an Air Force Academy graduate and former Navy officer himself, and lives with his family at Joint Base Andrews in Washington. He was chosen from hundreds of nominees.

Hilton plans to use his new title as Spouse of the Year to better the lives of military families dealing with medical challenges, caring for wounded warriors and those involved in the military’s Exceptional Family Member Program. Hilton was presented the award by Gen. Martin E. Dempsey of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“With our nation at war during 11 of the first 12 years of the 21st century, the modern-day military spouse has been an unsung hero who has endured countless deployments while often still maintaining a full-time job, raising children as an occupational-imposed single parent and offering moral support to their deployed spouse,” Parks said.

WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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