Fort Hood Spouse of the Year credits mother with instilling selfless values

In a release to announce her selection, Armed Forces Insurance stated:

“Like all military spouses, Moser has her own unique story, bringing hope from tragedy. Being the first in her family to have any type of cancer, let alone at the young age of 39, she found herself navigating through multiple appointments and surgeries, and not being able to work. Once her husband was able to return from deployment to be with her, the family found themselves in financial strain despite having health insurance. Losing the family’s second income, they faced the uncertainty of how to put food on the table, gas for the many appointments, and even keep continuity for their two girls. Moser founded Pink Warrior Angels to help those facing financial toxicity during treatments so they can focus on fighting and staying healthy. Moser has a giving heart and is found throughout her community volunteering with other organizations and accepting calls from strangers to having someone to talk to that has been through the same.”

It was nearly 10 years ago as she prepared to send her husband, Bob, a sergeant first class stationed at Fort Hood, off to the Middle East that Julie noticed a suspicious-looking mark on the skin below her left breast. An examination led to the awful diagnosis – breast cancer.

Two years later, after a double mastectomy, followed by a long, difficult recovery, a series of post-surgery complications, and an unexpected set of financial problems when she had to leave her job after 14 years working civil service, Pink Warrior Angels was born.

“We had just moved into a brand-new home, and I ran out of leave (from work) and we couldn’t figure out how we were going to pay our bills,” Julie said. “That’s when I learned there are not a lot of programs out there with the big national organizations we know to date. They don’t support in that way. The one organization we did find, you basically had to be bankrupt to get any kind of assistance. You can’t have assets and all this stuff. I was like, ‘Why do I have to be practically homeless to get help? Why can’t they help me with the continuity of what I have?’ So my parents stepped up and paid a lot of our bills, and that’s how — after my treatments and all — Pink Warrior Angels evolved.”

The nonprofit group Moser created raises money through donations and fundraising events to help people going through cancer treatment.

“Anybody who is in active cancer treatment of any kind, once they’re validated, our board of directors gets together, and we figure out the best use of our money,” Moser said. “We use the funds we raise to give to those who are going through treatment, to help pay mortgage, rent, car notes, medical bills, anything like that. Everyone needs help, whether they have insurance or not.”

As Fort Hood’s 2023 AIF Spouse of the Year, Moser heads to Washington, D.C., in May for an invitation-only VIP event attended by base-level and service branch-level award winners, senior military leaders, elected officials, and community partners.

She will be representing the Central Texas post but is not one of the finalists for the overall 2023 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year award, and that is perfectly all right with the mother of two who graduated from Killeen High School in 1993.

“I did not advance to the next level, but I’m OK with that,” Moser said. “Fort Hood is the largest installation, so it’s a pretty big deal. And eventually it’s going to change its name, so I guess this is probably the last title of Fort Hood (Spouse of the Year). I think by the time this happens next year, Fort Hood’s name will be changing.

“I’ve been nominated several times by different people, including Marily Considine, who was 2013 Fort Hood Spouse of the Year. She’s the one who helped me at the beginning of my journey with breast cancer.

“Being (recognized) at the Fort Hood level makes perfect sense. It’s an honor. Marily nominated me several years ago, before she passed away (in 2019) — while in hospice, even — and she misspelled my email a couple of different times. So the nomination never went through, because I never accepted it, if you will … because I never got it.

“Since then, I’ve been given her nominations, and I’ve been able to read what she wrote about me. So that was very special to me, because during the time I was supporting her through her lowest points of life … now, 10 years later, I get to be the same person that she was. She inspired me to be a better military spouse, and helped me learn how to better help others.”

For more information about Pink Warrior Angels, go to: https://pinkwarriorangels.org/.