Military spouses from South Carolina National Guard are hosting a new podcast that they want to be a resource for families far beyond the borders of the Palmetto State.
Main hosts Michelle Matheny, Charlotte Stilwell and Cathy Bridgers created the platform, known as Family Guidons, to focus on topics like deployments, state activations, and daily life in the military. The idea was the brainchild of Matheny while her husband, Col. Bill Matheny, commander of the 117th Engineer Brigade, was deployed.
“They [the unit] had just deployed that fall [2025]. We were trying to get the SFRG (Soldier and Family Readiness Group) kind of running and get people pulled in and into events, and we were just having a really hard time getting participation,” Matheny said. “I feel like the National Guard historically struggles a little bit with the SFRG because when they’re not deployed, nobody really needs it, and then when they are, it’s not always a very well-established thing that people feel comfortable in.”
She wanted to find a way to share her own honest thoughts with everybody, to remind others that even after 14 years as a military spouse — including active-duty time — she was struggling too. The goal was to figure out how to connect with spouses virtually.
“Because the Guard is difficult, we have families spread out over like four and a half hours across the state, and then also some out of state,” Matheny, a small business owner and mother of three, added.
The unit’s public affairs officer at the time, Maj. Karla Evans, quickly became an advocate of the idea, suggesting Matheny connect with Stilwell, a South Carolina native married to SCNG’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Robin B. Stilwell.
For her part, Stilwell has experienced military life from many different perspectives: as a Gold Star child of a father who was killed in Vietnam; as a military spouse whose husband’s deployments totaled more than 41 months, as well as numerous additional periods of duty; and now as the mother of a son serving on active duty.
“I was trying to find a voice and a platform to be of assistance, you know, from my position,” Stilwell explained.
However, Bridgers, whose husband, retired Brig. Gen. Scott C. Bridgers, served 30 years in the Air Force (including 22 years with SCNG), was initially surprised by the invitation. It had been five years since the couple transitioned from the military, but she also viewed the opportunity as the answer she had been waiting for.
“I’ve always kind of felt like God had a place for me moving in the future, where I was going to speak to people about a lot of medical issues over my life, plus the military challenges combined,” Bridgers said. “I just knew that someday I would be able to use those to help other people. And I thought, maybe this is the way he [God] wants to do it. I’ve been kind of waiting for him to show me.”
The podcast, which is intended to air every two weeks, will hopefully be driven by topics the group is provided with from listeners, Stilwell said. Initial ideas include handling the ever-changing political climate as it relates to service members’ duties, children’s support programs, activities to do during the summer, and keeping busy while a loved one is deployed.
Matheny added that some “neat ideas” have already poured in like the mental load of being the only adult in a household and falling into the comparison trap as a Guard spouse.
Overall, the trio says that by hosting a wide range of guests, they hope to include “all ages, all ranks, so that everybody does see a familiar face.”
“I do think when you speak honestly and you’re open and very real, somebody can find something to identify in you that resonates with them,” Stilwell said.
Bridgers added that “as those emails come in, and we do read some of them on the podcast, we share other people’s stories, and then we do take time afterwards to kind of relate it to situations that we went through … how we handled them, sometimes successful, sometimes not” will help others see commonalities.
And as Matheny pointed out, during deployments or annual trainings when the car breaks or house leaks or kids get sick, Murphy’s Law doesn’t care “if you’re a general’s wife or a private’s wife, or … father of a sergeant or a captain.”
“The struggles are there, and they feel very similar, regardless of where you fall in that hierarchy of the military. Hopefully the spouses can feel, or the families can feel, that camaraderie, or just that they’re not alone in those struggles, no matter what rank or branch they might be associated with.”
Listeners are encouraged to engage with the hosts by sending in topics, sharing their goals, and talking about their challenges and successes by emailing: familyguidons@gmail.com. Episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and YouTube music. Audiences can also watch a video version on YouTube.
