The one thing that can’t be bought…
The one thing that money can’t buy is the main thing military families need — time. As I have mentioned here before, my son is preparing for his 2nd tour. It’s coming ahead of schedule and on the heels of a 15-month deployment. He has been in training, and he works so many hours since that we hardly get to talk with him. I won’t even get into how hard this has been on his wife.
I am not complaining. I am seriously wondering out loud if there is anything that can give? I understand the need for training, and I would never want a soldier to forgo something as vital as training for deployment. It seems as if there are expectations that could possibly bend a little in order to allow a soldier at least a couple of weeks of leave before deployment. Not this time.
As it stands now I am going to have fly out there alone. He will probably not get to see his siblings, his grandparents (one of whom has been gravely declining in health). I will not stay long during my visit because I don’t want to impose on the time he has with his wife. I know how it feels to have to prepare yourself as the wife of a soldier when he is getting ready to go away.
I find it disheartening. I know we are not the only family going through back to back deployments, barely anytime off in between, a slap on the back, an “at-a-boy,” and off you go again. My son is headed into a war zone. Is it really asking too much for something to give in order for him to have time off and allow his family to hug his neck?
The military can buy lots of services and favors for military families, and they deserve everything they get and then some. I doubt we would ever have to worry that we are giving too much or lavishing military families with too many benefits. The sacrifice they give on the home front we can not repay.We can’t repay them because you can’t place a dollar value on lost time. It’s simply gone. In the end we all know what the sacrifice was for. We don’t regret the duty, but we do deeply grieve the missed times. We miss the boring daily things. Those are the things we never get back.
The sad part is, a lot of us just need a little time. We are not asking for an all expenses paid vacation to a luxury resort. All we would like is enough time to fly him home where he can see everyone who loves him, and then still have a little time back home to be with his wife alone before he deploys.
I don’t know… the Army has shocked me in the past and miraculously spared a dime’s worth of time when we really needed it. I have learned though to expect the ball to keep rolling and to not get disappointed by the stiff-neck of the rule.
What can be done? Anything? Nothing? Is it even worth bringing up?
CJ
June 9th, 2009 at 11:29 pmThis has always annoyed me. We have learned nothing since 2002. When we were preparing for our deployment to Kuwait in the summer of 2002, we were promised time with our families prior to shipping out if we worked hard to get ready. As the day drew closer, the requirements levied upon us mounted. We saw less and less of our families and worked longer hours.
Now, here we are in 2009 and we’re still doing this to our troops. Haven’t we been at war long enough to find ways to handle these issues and allow our troops a little down time prior to their deployments? I feel your pain and will keep you in my prayers.
Claire
June 20th, 2009 at 3:08 pmThanks CJ! We are still waiting. He’s on yet another long training trip. The third time in his “garrison” time in the past year. I just wish they would give us a little reassurance that they would not send him to Iraq with no sufficient time off to visit family. It’s going to be a loooonnngg summer!
Jodi
August 5th, 2009 at 4:28 amMy boy just finished his AIT training and is being deployed for Iraq. He has been gone since January with no time off. We all miss him soo much and just want to spend some time with him before he is sent off to a foriegn country. He may not get to see any of us before his deployment. Is this what we have to look forward to? I just pray for all our boys and girls to be safe over there and to return to us soon.