When I was 14 and met my hubby I knew he was in the National Guard, but I had NO idea what the NG even did. I had NEVER met anyone in the NG. I NEVER dreamed that he would get deployed, when he called me in 07 and said he was deploying for a year I almost had a heart attack right there in the middle of Walmart. Would I have changed my mind about being with him if I knew the possibilities? NO, but for some women to only go after military men is just so ignorant to me. Yeah, I understand that the benefits can be great, many military wives get the opportunity to stay at home.{This would surprise me after the grocery and gas increase} Maybe "outsiders" see the life as glamorous, can this be because of how military life is portrayed on TV? Military life is not all that glamorous, I am not even a full time military wife, hell I am used to one weekend a month, two weeks a year literally. This is our second deployment. I know women that are on deployment number 8! Yes, I said 8! I have the upmost respect for these families. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
I guess this post is really pointless but my main thoughts are...
TV aka Army Wives is very misleading in my opinion. It gives "us outsiders" a different look on the military that rarely exist. This in turn is making girls go NUTS over military men. Tag Chasing should be frowned upon. The military life is not so glamorous, but when you love a military man you have no choice other than to support him in ANYTHING he does. It is simply a job, but it is one they love, and it's one to be proud of.
I hope I didn't offend anyone by this post in any way, I didn't really think about the wording. This post was typed up last minute.
There have always been tag chasers out there. Women who only date military men in hopes of marrying them. I've met a few, but never come across one who will admit it. It's kind of hard not to figure it out when the girl is on man numner 5, 6, 7, 8 that is in the military.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they do it because they think it's a great life; but because they think it's a ticket to benefits. Let's face it, discounted shopping, free medical for the entire family and the opportunity to live in a nice house without having to worry about rent or utilities? It's a moochers dream.
Perfect insight Sarah, it is completely true! Free everything nearly, plus deployments are probably like a vacation to them.
ReplyDeleteIt just gets under my skin.
It is anything BUT glamorous. They want the uniform and the attention, but let's see them be put through a deployment and see how they handle it. We do this for love, not the title :)
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand tag chasers :(
ReplyDeleteWhen I met my husband, he was in ROTC so I knew he was going to be in the Army for awhile, but that didn't influence my decision - I didn't ONLY love him because he was a military man. I honestly never imagined myself dating and eventually marrying a military man. You can't help who you fall in love with, though :)
I'm a National Guard wife too, and I agree with you. I fell in love with my husband after he was already a soldier, but I don't think I would ever specifically want a military guy- it's a rough life!
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