Military Power

There are many ways in which we can do support during their deployment. However, I want to remind everyone one of the easiest yet most important ways to show our support. Let me share this personal experience.

In 1991 I was assigned to a Readiness Group at Ft. Lewis, WA. There were two of us SFC (E-7) in my MOS (73C - Finance). Of course we became close friends and our daughters were inseprable. During the early stages of Operation Desert Shield our unit was tasked to provide one SFC 73C to the 24th Inf Div at Ft. Stewart, GA. Due to the nature of our experience and points in our career the decision was made to send Paul (the other guy).

Paul left on Thursday for GA and my parents arrived for a visit. The next morning I received a call @ 5:00 a.m. (0500 hr if you prefer) from Judy. She was balling and having car trouble. I altered our plans and we drove out to Judy to see what was wrong and to offer assistance. She was still in tears and explained that she couldn't get her keys out of the ignition.

I'm no mechanic by any means but I wanted to help. As I checked out the situation, I found a release button on the steering column. The keys came right out. To me it wasn't a big deal but to Judy I had saved the day. During Paul's deployment I made sure she was taken care of; my wife call reguarly, the girls spent many nights with each other I made myself available for anything she needed no matter how trivial or how major it was.

One thing our troops don't need when facing danger is the worry of their loved one back home. We can do much to show our support for our heroes by doing what we can to help the family they left behind to fight for our freedom. To me this is easy, but to them it means the world.

Most of my experiences go back to Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I don't think the military spouse has changed much over the years. Most are stubborn and independant. When I would ask if there would be anything I could do to help most of the time they would say "No". So we would sometimes take action without asking. Simple things such as:

1. Mow the yard
2. Wash the car.
3. Bring over supper.

We would also babysit so the spouse could have time to herself. Or my wife would organize a girls day/night out. It helped.

This is very true. I know a few military spouses and they are stubborn, but that is ok! It is nice for anyone in a community to help out a soldiers wife or husband when they are not home.