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WASHINGTON - During a special ceremony honoring military spouses, five women - representing each branch of the armed services, were recognized in Washington.

Marching in line, flag bearers paid tribute to the U.S. armed services, its fighting soldiers and the military spouses who help make it all happen.

A few of those spouses received special recognition at the Ronald Reagan building. Out of 700 nominations for Military Spouse of the Year, five were chosen to represent each of the branches.

All of the women met one important criteria. "altruism - someone that's giving back to the community and have done extraordinary things," said Babette Maxwell, Military Spouse Magazine editor.

National security adviser Gen. Jim Jones paid tribute to all the military wives, including his own. "The heroic sacrifice that is made is not only made by the service member, it's also made by the family members that put up with long absence, especially in the last decade."

This year, Tanya Queiro won the Military Spouse of the Year award. For 13 years, she served as an active duty Marine.

Now, the mother of three has a different call of duty. "As the saying goes, once a Marine always a Marine, so I'm proud now just to be the title of military spouse."

It's a service that hasn't gone unnoticed by her husband, who just returned home from Iraq (web | news) .

"I could leave at any time and go to war and do the mission and come back and my house is still in order. There's nothing else I could ask for. I'm blessed," said Sgt. Jose Queiro, U.S. Marines.

Tanya's next duty is running a monthly column for Military Spouse Magazine.

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