Kayla Corbitt describes what "the mission comes first" means for the spouse at home. Military life is unpredictable and families move often. That leaves many spouses parenting alone even though they're married, and doing it without the grandparents, friends or neighbors that civilian parents can usually lean on.

Kayla explains how the pressures stack up. There are few programs and little support, and childcare often costs more than a job would pay. Both help push spouse unemployment high. Over time, many spouses withdraw, stop talking about it and stop asking for help.

She calls the military spouse the "default caregiver," a role that is unpaid, unsupported and universally accepted. She ends with the question she most wants answered: how much is the military spouse community holding up the country's mission readiness?