Military Spouses and the Challenges of Military Life

Running head: MILITARY SPOUSES AND THE CHALLENGES OF MILITARY 1 Military Spouses and the Challenges of Military Life DANITZA JAMES Saint Leo University MILITARY SPOUSES AND THE CHALLENGES OF MILITARY Abstract Army life is unique to say the least. The subculture, with its own language, rules, acronyms and ways, is foreign to the general population. The Global war on Terrorism has brought more awareness and certainly more curiosity about Army life. (Krajeski, 2006, 2008, p. 5).Today, more than ever, the military spouse is a pioneer who travels to strange lands, rears her 2 family under nomadic conditions, and many times copes with the stress of surviving on his or her own. (Alt Stone, 1991, p. 11) A military spouse must struggle†¦show more content†¦Some couples express that too much time together can also become stressful. (Krajeski, 2006, 2008, p. 55). Some couples describe separation in moderation like â€Å"a pause in a musical composition† it enhances the whole (Krajeski, 2006, 2008, p. 55). There are many things that come into keeping a marriage together such as; love, respect, loyalty, communication, and understanding, but that all is part of being married to the military. MILITARY SPOUSES AND THE CHALLENGES OF MILITARY Military spouses role vary in ranks, from enlisted to officers they are all seen and approached in different ways because of the military rank his or her soldiers rank may be. â€Å"The role of the officer’s spouse encompasses a set of activities that are mostly traditional† (Harrell, 2001, p. 59). Officer’s spouses often are considered to be as elite as their soldier, depending on their rank, â€Å"in fact an officer’s wife becomes an extension of the officer† (Harrell, 2001, p. 61). 5 The differences between officers and enlisted spouses also goes back to the 1700s where officers were although elected by their own man many of the officer ranks were filled by wealthy landowners and the enlisted ranks were filled by the â€Å"serving class†(Alt Stone, 1991, p. 2).Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Military Spouses On Family Dynamics, Lack, And Lack Of Support Systems1232 Words   |  5 Pages Testimonials Supported by Research Through various testimonials, we realized that military spouses were expressing similar concerns about the shift in family dynamics, lack of resources, and lack of support systems. The role reversal was a problem for both female and male military spouses; but especially more so for the male military spouses. 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