The Hardest Job in the Military

If I hear one more wife say that being a military wife is the “hardest job in the military”, I will possibly fire off a round or two at her, just to help make her statement true.

I will never disagree with the amount of sacrifice a military wife makes; we go days, weeks, and months without seeing, or even talking to the men we married, we sometimes must assume the roles of mother and father to our children, we leave our family, friends, jobs and our old lives in short notice to try to start a new routine of stability and normalcy somewhere new. We develop a fear of answering the door in the chance of seeing a green jacket on the other side to deliver a casualty notice. Military wives do make sacrifices, and that should never go unnoticed. However, stating that you have the hardest job in the military is not only untrue, but makes it appear that what you are sacrificing and handling is harder than that of your husband.

Before you make that statement, think about the sacrifices your soldier has made; missing the births of their children, or their first birthdays, missing their normalcy and the simple luxuries that you are taking for granted. They no longer have home cooked meals, or an air conditioner, they no longer have their family and friends, their own bed or the ability to go have a drink if they want to. They are being fired at by the enemy and watching their friends die, or become mentally unstable, on top of the stresses of their duties and worrying about what is happening on the home front.

You haven’t talked to your husband in two weeks? Have you talked to your family? Your kids? Your friends from back home? He hasn’t talked to anyone but his command and battle buddies for at least that long. You are able to come and go as you please, talk to anyone, watch television, eat what you want, wake up and go to sleep on your time, he cant.

If you want to have the hardest job in the military, enlist. Go through the training, make the ultimate sacrifices, deploy and be shot at, and then you can make that claim. Until then, be proud of your soldier, handle your duties back home with all of the strength you can and be loving, faithful and supportive. If you view being married as the “hardest job,” maybe you should re-evaluate your marriage. Being married isn’t a job, it’s a privilege.