Krista Simpson Anderson’s life was forever changed on April 27, 2013. 

This was the day she received the news that her husband, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Harrison Simpson was severely injured in an IED attack in Eastern Afghanistan.

Just days later, on May 1, 2013, Simpson, who was deployed with the 1st Special Forces Group, died from his injuries at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He was 30 years old.

“Mike was a good and godly man, and service was just a part of him,” Anderson told IW Features, describing her husband as “courageous.” 

Their two sons, Michael and Gabriel, were just three and one years old at the time, respectively. And although they were very young when their father died, today they “still hold a lot of him,” Anderson said. 

“When we talk about nature versus nurture, they definitely act like him, look like him very much so, even some little traits. It’s so funny—they would never even remember or know that it came from their father,” Anderson said. 

Raised in “a true military family,” Michael Simpson joined the U.S. Army in April 2003 as an infantryman. His grandparents, father, and siblings all served in the armed forces as well. 

Simpson and Anderson met a few years later in 2006 at her cousin’s deployment party in Massachusetts. The couple married in December 2008. 

Just like his father and brother, Michael Simpson became a Green Beret in 2011 after completing the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. 

Green Berets “all have [to learn] a language,” Anderson explained, noting that Simpson’s was Tagalog, “which is what they speak in the Philippines.” He was also proficient in nearly 90% of the world’s weapons, she said. 

Simpson, who was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 2013, “loved what he did and he loved his team and the people that he worked with, and he loved what he was doing,” Anderson said. 

“I think if he had a choice to sacrifice any other way, he still would’ve chosen this,” she added. 

After her husband’s passing, Anderson explained that she “was so filled with gratitude” for the outpouring of support she and her family received, but didn’t feel that a “thank you” note in return was enough. 

So, “out of grief and gratitude,” Anderson and her friend, Andrea Rinaldi, founded the nonprofit, the Unquiet Professional, which, according to its website, is “committed to recognizing and honoring our nation’s Gold Star & Surviving Families, Veterans, and military families by providing rewarding and purposeful opportunities to heal from the wounds of war.”

“When we created the Unquiet Professional, originally it was to raise funds for the organizations, the nonprofit organizations that had supported us,” Anderson said. 

Some of those organizations include the Green Beret Foundation, wear blue: run to remember, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. 

Additionally, Anderson founded Brave Group, LLC, “to help educate the community on the importance of preparing for the unexpected,” according to the Unquiet Professional’s website. 

Eventually, the Unquiet Professional evolved and began its own programs. One of the programs Anderson teaches is “Planning for the Unexpected,” which she said is about helping families understand “your benefits and your resources that would be available to you before you need them and to protect your legacy,” she said. 

“What I’ve noticed is nearly 60% of the individuals that I’ve taught over the years do not have wills or powers of attorney, so legally they’re not protecting their legacy,” she added. 

While Anderson herself isn’t a financial advisor or an attorney, she said “one of the gifts” of working with the military is that it provides servicemembers with both. 

A Judge Advocate General, for example, can speak to “the different types of wills and why a medical directive would be needed, and why guardianship would be helpful to identify,” she said. In addition, chaplains can also discuss why it’s important to communicate last wishes. 

During the “Planning for the Unexpected” program, participants create a LIFE Binder™ to organize all their crucial information – health insurance, prescriptions, bank accounts, car registration, and much more – in one place. That way, should it be needed, the binder can serve as an all-encompassing resource. The program is sponsored by the USAA Educational Foundation and Newrez. 

In addition to this class, the Unquiet Professional offers family and casualty support, and partners with numerous military-focused organizations—all in an effort to help families. 

In addition to her work with the Unquiet Professional and Brave Group, LLC, Anderson has given back to the military community in many other ways, including serving as a board member for Newrez’s Military Family Advisory Council and the Grateful Nation Project. She was previously a Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation Gold Star Fellow, an organization she still advises, and a USAA Advisory Panel board member. 

Anderson is also an advisor and ambassador for Legacies Alive, an organization she has been involved with since it was created over a decade ago in 2014. 

In 2017, Anderson married retired Master Sgt. Gus Anderson, a Green Beret who served with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). 

Reflecting on what it’s been like to be a military spouse, Anderson said that while it is “easy to get in the trenches,” “it’s not an easy life.”

“You’re separated from your spouse a lot. As the military spouse, you’re raising your family on your own for a lot of the time, and I think that it’s easy to kind of create this narrative that it’s too hard, but I promise you, it is all worth it,” Anderson said.

“Because I think the feeling that you get when you look back over the years on what was accomplished – and I say that obviously being the wife and widow of a soldier, and now the wife of a retired soldier – when I look back at our life and … both of them were given the opportunity to serve this nation, and the pride that they got from that, and the purpose that they had, I think as military spouses, we need to allow that to overflow into us, and to know that we’re very much a part of that service and sacrifice, we’re very much an extension of that,” Anderson added. 

Anderson’s impact on the military community has certainly not gone unnoticed. In 2018, she was named the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. The following year, Anderson was named the 2019 Green Beret Foundation Keeper of the Brave. 

And earlier this year, actress Gretchen Mol shared Anderson’s story and honored her during the National Memorial Day Concert in May in Washington, D.C. Simpson was also honored in a two-part series during the concert. 

“Grief isn’t linear, but you choose how you’re going to respond to things. And we can be victims, and frankly, that’s super easy to do, right? Or we could choose to honor them in a way that we know would make them proud,” Anderson said.

As evident through her numerous accomplishments, resilience, and steadfast commitment to helping military families, it’s undeniable that Anderson is a true “Champion Woman,” which to her means “really championing other women.” 

Anderson is, in fact, doing just that by supporting the Inspire Up Foundation’s launch of Inspire Up Wellness, a program led by military spouse Samantha Gomolka, PA-C, Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. The program “combines science and compassion to treat hormone imbalances and help women feel like themselves again,” Anderson said. 

For future service members and their families, Anderson said, “Look at it as a true opportunity to serve your country, to serve your community, and try not to listen to the noise.” 

Because serving in this capacity, she said, not only gives you the opportunity to serve your country, but also the “life wisdom that you gain from doing something greater than yourself.”