Females and Combat Arms

Women have been fighting in the armed forces for quite some time now; however, recently discussions have been popping up and opinions are being asked about women finally joining the combat arms ranks. According to an article I ran across online four female Marines have successfully passed and completed USMC infantry school and more are said to follow. Is this good idea, the United States allowing females to serve combat arms? Other countries do it, does that mean it’s time for the US to follow?

I don’t know if I have fully picked a side as to whether I am for or against this notion. I think that anything a male can do a female can do it just as well because of our mind telling us that we can not fail or seem weaker than our male counterpart. But let’s be honest, females can’t do everything a male can do. Our bodies physically, mentally and emotionally will not let us… or perhaps it’s just me. I’ve thought about this topic, Females in the Infantry, for some time now. I haven’t developed a pros/cons list because I haven’t been able to come up with any “pros” as to why females should be combat arms. Does not having any pros mean that I am against it? No it doesn’t, just means means that I haven’t thought of anything that screams – YES FEMALES SHOULD BE COMBAT ARMS!

There are the obvious reasons that go into the “cons” side of the list when developing this argument:

• Hygiene. Females bodies are delicate, regardless of the hell we put them through, they are delicate. There is a pH level that needs to be maintained and can’t be left uncleaned for more than 3 days at a time. It’s even less than 3 days if it’s your time of the month. We are high maintenance when it comes to our hygiene.
• Physical Strength. Yes, there are females that are stronger than males… I understand this, I have seen the crossfit games. However; males bodies are developed to be physically strong. They’re meant to bare the physical load of things. Gear is not light, especially humping it on your back for a long while.
• Emotionally/Mentally men are more capable of not getting attached. For instance, if there is a small child chances are women are going to think twice before men for the shear fact it’s in our nature. Does that make men heartless, cold blooded, or not fatherly? No it does not. Females are just more nurturing and maternal by nature.
• Damsel in distress. Growing up we’ve read the stories; Prince Charming saves the Princess and lives happily ever after. Just like it’s in women’s nature to be maternal and nurturing it is in men’s nature to be protective of their female counterpart. How can a male service member focus on the mission if a female service member is on the same potentially dangerous mission. His focus ends up making sure that we are safe, instead of the task ahead.

The list can probably go on, but I am going to leave it there for fear of boring you [or getting angry because an argument I read dealt with the rape issue of females in combat MOS. I didn’t realize you couldn’t be raped in a support MOS but hey, not my opinion and no where in my contract did it say “Job Hazard: you might get raped”. See now I’m angry about it].  My counter argument for the few things listed above:

We can’t knock it out/rule it out until it has been tried and failed or tried and succeeded. 

Perhaps females can be infantry, field artillery and tankers… and I mean real infantry-women, field artillery, and tankers not being an Officer attached to the battalion or battery, the medic, supply, or any other support MOS. I mean actually hold the MOS of an 11 series or 19 series and fully complete their training programs [to male standards].

Eventually we will find out if females can be successful outside of the support MOS; but we won’t know until we try and it’s coming up on that time that the United States is ready to try it.

What’s your opinion on the subject matter? Do you feel that the United States should attempt to integrate females into the combat arms MOS or do you believe there is no reason to fix something that isn’t broken?

Thankful.

It’s Thanksgiving and all over social media we are publishing what we are thankful for but don’t always get time to recognize throughout our busy schedules. I, like everyone else, have much to be thankful for and plan to take the time to share what I am thankful for with you.

First and foremost my husband, for loving me through all my flaws, faults, stubbornness, good times and mood swings. It takes a special kind of man to put up with that each and every day, I am lucky to have him by my side and through everything life has to throw at us.

For my best friend of ten years, we’ve been there for each other since day one, through all the ridiculous outfits, heartbreaks, fights, and milestones in our lives we have been there for each other.

My family; adopted, biological, and married, they’ve taught me to love and to do it unconditionally, that’s the greatest lesson a person can learn. They’ve supported me, challenged me, and pushed my buttons but it’s helped me become who I am today. 

My closest friends in college, honestly I would have never survived college without them. They were my biggest supporters in my decision to join the military and there through all the Physics/ROTC/dancing meltdowns when the stress became to much to handle.

For everyone who has come into my life, even if they’re not a part of it anymore. You were there for me in that part of my life when I needed you most; our time may have been short but it was needed to get to the points in our life that we are at now.

I have eyes that can see the beauty of the world [although corrected with glasses], ears that can hear the music playing, nose to smell delicious food and unpleasant scents, working hands to type my thoughts, a brain that functions to read and interpret all the words I want, a voice to share my [sometimes unwanted] opinion, legs that allow me to run and dance, arms to hold the one I care about, and a heart to love more deeply than I ever thought possible.

My time in the military, teaching my discipline and leadership. For bringing me my “battle buddies”, regardless of where they may be in life or globe they are no more than a message away.

Technology, for allowing me to talk to loved ones whether down the street or half way around the globe. You make long distance easy.

There’s a slew of things to be thankful for and only so much time one can take to write about it. This is only a fraction of what I am thankful for; so what are you thankful for not only today but each and everyday of the year?

 

Confessions of the Military Significant Other

Time. 

As a “normal couple” in a “normal relationship” [whatever that means] you don’t have to worry about time. You talk to your significant other whenever you want, see them every chance you can, have dinner/movie dates, and enjoy the random trips you get to take to Walmart for things for the house. As a military significant other we worry about time …. every other chance we get. You never know when you’re going to be apart or for how long you will go without seeing each other or talking. You learn the value of a day, a minute, and even a second. Your time together becomes Facebook messaging and random phone calls, if you’re really lucky you get the chance and the internet connection for a Skype date when you get to actually see them. The time that you get to see them will turn even the worst day into a really good day.

As a military significant other being apart is extremely difficult, no matter the duration of time, you’re missing a piece of you. However, than you get a phone call that says that they might be coming home a week earlier than they originally said and you’re ecstatic! Seven days is seven more days you had between this time apart and the next time apart.  As a dual military significant other I have learned that time is everything, and that it can not be taken for granted. If we have five weeks before the husband leaves for months and I have to spend three weeks in another state… our time spent together is cut short. I don’t know about my other significant others, but for us if he’s playing video games and I’m reading a book on the couch next to him, we are happy as clams spending time together. Not every second needs to be spent doing anything… we can just be quiet, watching a movie, enjoying the company of one another.

Time has always been a funny thing, if you ask me. It goes slow some days and others it’s going by so fast you can hardy believe the clock. But TIME I have found is a countdown, and one day we won’t have anymore countdowns. One day military significant others can stop counting down the weeks until Basic training is over, the minutes until they deploy, the days until they return home. One day the final countdown will be until you can spend all the time together that you want.

Enjoy the time you have together, and if you’re not a military significant other don’t take the time you have with your other half for granted, be thankful that you have that time together.

Confessions of the Military Significant Other.

Introduction

I came up with the idea that I wanted to write about being a military significant other and the challenges that come with “being married to the military”. The idea has blossomed  and flourished in more ways than I thought it was going to. Since my experience as a military significant other is different than others, I recruited the help of different military significant others everywhere. I am a reserve soldier married to active duty, both Army. I asked Army Girlfriends, Army Wives, Future Air Force Wives, Navy Wives, and everyone else between. All of our experiences have been different; they have been positive, negative, rewarding, and challenging. They have been everything we expected and everything we haven’t. They allowed us to see what truly matters and brush off the little things.

This idea to write about it has, like I said, grown. I will be making it a series of posts over the next few months with something different written every couple of weeks. They will be a collaboration of all our experiences. Through the deployments, the late work nights, the weeks in the field, the homecoming, the leaving, and the having them home. It will be the drama, the moving, relocating and starting over. It will be the raising the children.

My hope is to share with you the experiences we go through and how each one is different than the next.

Loving a military man is not hard. The distance is hard, the worry is hard, the sacrifices are hard. But loving him? That’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done

Just a Dream

This is a song performed by Carrie Underwood. Every time I hear it and watch the video I literally cry.

I have been having bad dreams lately, and this song really allows me to separate bad dreams, nightmares, from the life dreamed for myself and my husband.

Calling all military significant others… send me your thoughts!

I want to know what you’ve been through.

I want to know your positive and negatives.

I want to know your pet peeves, I want to know your experiences.

I want to know what you want to tell me….

 

Everything will be completely anonymous, I am using it as a research method for gathering thoughts/opinions for a writing piece I am working on and your input will be greatly appreciated!!

 

Tell me anything about it!

I am a military wife. I don’t want my input to be the only side on life as a military significant other in this piece. I thank you in advance!!

Email me: lifeaswethinkweknowit@gmail.com

 

 

Loving a milita…

Loving a military man is not hard. The distance is hard, the worry is hard, the sacrifices are hard. But loving him? That’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done

For all the military couples out there.

Constantly searching for time…

I am not sure about you, but I certainly feel like I am always searching for more time. I always have something that needs to get done or something that I want to get done. There is only so many hours in a day and I understand that notion. However, why do some days seem to go by faster than others?

Time is neither our friend nor is it our enemy. I am constantly hearing from students that they ran out of time on their ACT/SAT tests or that because of practice, school, and socializing they didn’t have the time to sit and do their homework. 

Whilst I type this, I think of all the things that I need/want to have accomplished and what the deadline is that I want them to be done by. I am headed to Idaho first thing Monday morning. I am not packed, haven’t started packing or getting what I need to go. There are dishes to be finished, laundry to be washed, and I would really like to wash the kitchen floor [okay, maybe not so much that last one], but you get my point. I then think about all the time I “wasted” today. I did have 7 hours of work at the office today. Aside from that I went to the oral surgeon [that I couldn’t avoid], I spent at least an hour driving there and back. I spent Andrew’s lunch hour at his company with him, than came home before work and sat on the computer. I took a shorter shower than usual this morning, and I didn’t take the extra time to straighten my hair. So, why didn’t I have time to pack at least a pair of boots today?

Because I am stalling, I am putting off doing the thing I don’t want to because I don’t want to leave. I don’t really want to go to Idaho for three weeks, I have to go. It’s the same thing with the student and the homework. They don’t necessarily WANT to sit and do their Mathematics homework, so they don’t.

I don’t think we’re searching for time… in my opinion we’re wasting the time we have so we have less time to do the things we don’t want to do. We find things that are more meaningful and enjoyable to do with that time. No one really wants to be miserable, bored, or “stuck” but that’s not the way it goes. 

Time is always a funny thing. How time flies is dependent on the person you ask, it may be slow for you but zooming by for another. 

Make the most of your time, you truly never know how fast it’s going to go by or how much of it is going to be left. Do what you need to do, spend time with those whom you cherish, always say I love you, and try not to hate. A deployment might come up, unexpected training, a conference in another city you have to attend, or an opportunity to study abroad. 

 

Cherish time, it’s precious. 

Memorial Day 2013

Memorial Day: the unofficial kickoff to summertime. A day when you’re surrounded by friends & family, it’s almost certain that today the grill would be fired up and drinks will be poured whilst sharing anecdotes all around.

My hope is that in some part during your busy day off from work among all your socialising that you paused. That you took just a moment to remember why exactly you had today off from work. My hope is that you remembered the service men and women that have fought for this country and the ones that are still fighting today. My hope is you remembered the fallen members of the armed forces that have the ultimate sacrifice for your freedom by giving up their life. My hope is that you thanked a service man or woman today. My hope is that you thought about the military members abroad that can’t be near their families today.

I remember the first time I put my uniform on, August 2008, I was a cadet. I was young, my name tapes were backwards, my bun a disaster, and my boot stings untucked. I later left cadet life to be enlisted and I went to basic training. That young teen that put on the uniform grew into a soldier who wanted nothing more than to make her drill sergeants and senior NCOs proud. I am a soldier, yes a reserve soldier, but a soldier nonetheless and I am thankful for the service men and women that came before me and for the ones that serve with me now. I am thankful for my husband and the work he does as a soldier in the US Army. I am thankful for the soldiers that have given their lives to protect all of us stateside. I am thankful for the wonderful battle buddies I have met being apart of something as outstanding as the US Military.

So this Memorial Day, I hope you thought and gave thanks for all the men and women serving in the military, I hope you remembered the fallen and thanked the veterans; without them you would not have enjoyed that BBQ on your Monday off from work today.