And the answer is Yes, it was. But when I was in the Army was a little different.
Deployments had just started and the Army wasn't quite as understanding of married couples as they are now.
For us it was hard having to be separated for deployments and having to miss each other every year because we didn't have joint assignments. But the Army today will even take your marriage in consideration a LITTLE bit more by trying to assign you to the same units with similar assignments so that your deployments or training assignments keep you guys together as much as possible. BUT REMEMBER to the Army or the Military MISSION comes first and they don't really care when it comes to getting the job done.
And at the end of the day you did sign a contract so you should go in with that mind set and things would be a lot easier to deal with as they come.
If you are thinking about joining to help your income and you have a degree. I would highly encourage you to look into going in as an officer. The pay is better and you have a little bit more leverage and say so on what happens to your military career than if you go in as enlisted and as a educated middle age private. It will drive you nuts!
If your husband is active duty I would also look into any available scholarships available to help pay for student loans prior to joining if this is your main reason for joining.
But the military is not a bad place to be. I loved it! I loved doing my job and if I could go back I would go back in a heart beat! But is not for everyone, and you should know that times are different and a lot more should go into the Tought of joining the military.
Joining the military today should include an acceptance of going to war. Not of MAYBE going, but GOING to war. Because it will be a matter of time and you have to be ready for that.
Are your student loans high enough for you to put your life on the line to pay them?
When I joined, I joined for the money for college. My family didn't have enough money for me to go to college and I wasn't smart enough to know how to get a loan and probably wouldn't have qualified.
So I joined for college money. But there wasn't a war going on. So no one told me I would be going to war. They said I would be driving Generals around.
Instead, I never got to go to college while on active duty. I never drove a General.
I was the lead vehicle into Iraq during the Invasion in 2003. And in 2005 I was the lead gunner for hundreds of patrols and escorts missions in Iraq.
I got out in 2006 and I just finished my BA in Psychology in 2013.
All of this happened while my husband and I were married and missing eachother on deployments. But the Military since then has realized that they can't do that. So they are trying to station married couples together and even schedule deployments where they are not separated for that long.
I know a few couples who are making it work and they have a successful marriage. Most of them met while on active duty. Some of them didn't and one of them joined the other half way they their marriage to increase their income and their careers. And it works. But just like everything. It takes work and understanding from both parties.
There is going to be things neither of you can control and that's is just how the military works.
I hope someone finds this helpful when making a decision of joining the military in today's age and turning a family into a dual military family.
Thank you for your service!
Dee
No comments:
Post a Comment