Home Front Heroes — Profile, Dee

I met Dee through the connections my husband and youngest son have down at the local recruiting station. Her Husband is a 1st Sergeant and has worked with both of my guys at one point or another. I wanted to interview a Recruiter’s wife because I know that too often people, in general, don’t realize how many hours Recruiters put in at work. Recruiters’ families also face the strain of possible deployment and changing stations. In this day and age, they may even face some public harassment over their job (Berkeley, Code Pink, etc.)

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Her name is Dee, and her husband serves our Country in the US Army. His ranks is Sergeant First Class, and he serves as a Recruiter. Dee is an Army wife and a mother.

This is her story:

Tell us a little bit about how you stay connected to the Military community while you are not living near a military base… and what are the benefits and drawbacks to Recruiting duty?

Honestly, I only really communicate with other wives in the recruiting office. I am not an active participant in spousal support groups or anything. It’s not that I don’t support my husband, but it’s just that I have so much other stuff going on. If I need support, I just reach out to my friends and family.

The benefits of recruiting duty are that he is able to come to Drs. appointments with me and our daughter whenever we need him to. He is also able to watch her often while I am at work outside of the home. With recruiting, he is allowed more flexibility than I would think he would have with any other job. For example, if I need him to come home early one night during the week unexpectedly, then he is usually able to do that. Where as, if he were at another job, I would think that he would have to stay there until the work was complete.

There are more drawbacks than benefits. The list would begin with the long hours that recruiters work, typically from 9a to 9p. However, there are nights when he gets home earlier, given that the office is producing enough contracts for the month. There are many Saturdays that there is a community event that they are required to work.

What state/base are you living in/on right now? Ever lived overseas? We do not currently live on a base, but we live in Tn. We have never lived OCONUS.

Have you ever served in the armed forces?

No

What degrees, hobbies, interests do you have?

I actually have my degree in Elementary Education, but I do not currently teach. I love to scrapbook and keep in touch with friends and family through Myspace.

What do you like most about being a military spouse?

My husband has a job that is recognized with honor. He works long hours for the sake of our Country and our family, and not many people are willing to do that. Aside from the pride associated with being a spouse, we have wonderful medical benefits, and great pay. Although my husband has his masters, I doubt he would make the money he makes at any other job.

What do you like least (other than the obvious deployment)?

Mainly, just the long hours.

Has there been a time when you were faced with something very stressful related to military life (like deployment, pending deployment, injury, et?) How did you cope?

When we first started dating, his unit was mobilized to Ft. Campbell. Everyone kept thinking that they were going to have to go to Iraq, but they ended up staying at Ft. Campbell. Still yet, I was scared, this was all new to me. I asked his Captain a lot of questions, and he assured me that he would do his best to keep him safe. Honestly, the faith that I had in God and his Captain helped me cope with the thought of him going overseas. Fortunately, he never had to go to Iraq that time!!

Do you have any advice for other military spouses who are just starting out?

Learn as much as you can about the military, ask questions, write things down. Talk to a military chaplain if you are scared, unsure, or concerned.

If you had to list the top three most vital characteristics that a spouse needs to possess to be a successful and well adjusted military spouse, what would those be?

Don’t be selfish, because chances are, your spouse is going to be away from you a good majority of the time. Be understanding, your spouse has a stressful job, they are putting the lives of others before their own. Be organized, if you face a deployment, or even if you don’t, there are many things that you need to have in order should you be in charge of your finances, health care, wills, and etc.