Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Diagnositc Essay: The military can keep their Deployments

September 1, 2009

Even though the military has provided me with excellent benefits and life skills that will help me succeed in almost any situation I pursue or encounter, due to the instability of being on active duty, I will not be re-enlisting for another term.


Throughout my career in the United States Navy for the past eight years, there have been several instances that I have not had to worry. For starters, worrying about medical care for my husband and daughter have not been and issue. Also, the military has always provided adequate allowance for food and housing so my family is well provided for.

On the other hand, being active duty has taken a toll on my family as well as me. My military service requires me to spend several nights a month away from family and home. In addition to these twenty-four hour duties, I have spent any where from weeks to months preparing for and then leaving on long deployments. My travels have taken me from the bone-chilling winds of Chicago to the beautiful Mediterranean atmosphere of Marmaris, Turkey then onto the dry and windy deserts of Kuwait where, unfortunately, it feels like the oxygen is being ripped from your lungs by the 140 degree heat. As a result, my marriage was unable to stand the high pressures and demands of the military. Therefore, my eighteen-month-old daughter will be among the ever rising and high statistics of having divorced parents.

In two more years, I will be able to say “been there, done that”. As well, I will also be able to say that I will be able to enjoy tucking my daughter in and reading her stories every night. Furthermore, I will be able to see my daughter grow up without missing a year of her life at a time. In the end, being able to spend my life with my daughter, the love of my life, will greatly out weight all the military “bullshit”, and I will not regret my decision.

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1 comment:

  1. It does sound like there is a book started here, waiting to be expanded upon.

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