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14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • May 2016 Douquet didn't think that Blue Star Families would grow to touch 1.5 million military family members. The organization now boasts a network that includes over 35 communities and chapters across the world. Since April 2009, Blue Star Families has aimed at integrating military families with the civilian population. Founded by military spouses at a kitchen table seeking ways to create community for others like them- selves, the organization has been instrumental in helping families. "When my husband went to war in 2003 as part of the invasion in Iraq, it was extraordinary to me how I had to figure out how to deal with this very scary thing," says Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth Douquet. "Then asked my husband when he came home how did you do it. He said, 'In the Marine Corps we have very good training.' It made me realize that we military family members, we could use some- thing like training, too. Anything that comes in life can be handled if you have community to handle it with and if you're prepared." One of the initial challenges the group faced was to figure out how to help service men and women and their families feel at home in their new cities and towns. Many military families still struggle with feel- ing like outsiders when they relocate, something Blue Star Families acknowledges and wants to change. Organization bridges gap between military families and the general public WRITTEN BY CHRIS JONES A Gold Star for Blue Star Families Blue Star Families has Facebook groups for Virginia Blue Star Families and D.C. Blue Star Families. Jenny Campbell is the community outreach coordinator for the Washington, D.C. Chapter. She can be reached at jcampbell@bluestarfam.org Our cover family, the Criders, serve in the USMC and live in Fredericksburg.