Najeeba Gassel
“Home has always been where my family is. Home means family.”
At WeVett, our work centers around helping military families find and finance their homes, but we know that the meaning of home reaches far beyond four walls. It’s shaped by transition, new traditions, and the people who make it all possible.
Few understand this better than the spouses who live it every day.
In honor of the Armed Forces Insurance 2026 Military Spouse of the Year, we’re sharing seven stories, one from each branch’s finalist, offering a deeper look at what “home” really means in the midst of military life.
Their Story
“Home has always been where my family is. Home means family.”
That’s not just a sentiment for Najeeba Gassel, it's an undeniable truth.
During her time as a Coast Guard Spouse, Najeeba has moved three times, navigating the particular chaos of PCS life while staying true to the rhythms that make each new house feel like a home. What’s made that possible, she’ll tell you, isn’t a specific formula or checklist. It’s family.
“The one constant has always been the support of my family and my husband by my side,” she says. “Home doesn’t look that different for me between each move as long as we’re together.”
She and her husband met in the first week of college at George Mason, and have been growing up together ever since. Together, they’ve experienced first jobs, long distance, career milestones, two little boys, and a life that has required packing up and replanting multiple times. She admits that military life has been challenging. But despite those challenges, her familial foundation holds steady.
The care she demonstrates carries naturally into her work. Najeeba has spent nearly seven years at Blood Cancer United, advocating for blood cancer patients and their families. It’s work she came to through passion. However, she also noticed that there was an overlap between the skills she had been building as a military spouse and those she uses with patients and their families.
On the surface, these two worlds don’t have much in common. But as Najeeba notes, “My two areas of passion between military families and cancer advocacy have truly found a way to intertwine. It feels natural to be so committed to both.”