Sometimes I Wish He Was Active Duty

AWC > Military Life > Sometimes I Wish He Was Active Duty

Sometimes I wish he was AD. Seriously. While it’s nice to have my husband home all of the time and not have to deal with the army everyday, the civilian world isn’t all that great. At this point in our lives being AD would make things so much easier.

We’ve been out of school for a year now and neither of us has been able to secure a full time job. Part of it is simply because of the bad economy and unemployment rate. The other is because of the Army. Let me backtrack.

-->

My husband was in ROTC and was assigned to the Reserves upon graduation.* He commissioned in May of 2012. We married in June. In July we moved to VA from MI because that’s where my husbands unit was located. He was scheduled to go to BOLC in December so we thought we had time to find jobs and get on our feet. He ended up being called to AD in August and had to report to Ft. Lee in September for BOLC. We ended up packing up all of our belongings, putting them in storage, and then parting ways. I went back to MI and he went to VA.

He was at Ft. Lee for 4.5 months. During those months he received AD pay and we had benefits. Those 4.5 months were amazing. Although we were apart we were financially stable. We were able to pay all of our bills on time and save money. I went back to VA with him after Christmas exodus and thoroughly enjoyed my time on base.

After he graduated BOLC we went back to reality. We ended up moving back to MI because he was transferring to a NG unit with an EOD component. Before we got back we started applying to jobs. I quickly found one at the mall and he found one working for a security company. We both continued applying for jobs. It has been 4 months now and neither of us has secured a full time job yet. We’re struggling financially and living with his parents. He’s constantly stressed because he feels like he can’t provide. I’m constantly stressed because I don’t know where else to look or what else to do.

For these reasons I sometimes wish he was AD. Don’t get me wrong we love the Reserves. Whether it’s the Reserves, NG, or AD my husband just wants to serve his country. The job market, however, makes the civilian world a scary place.

*Not all cadets get AD. We requested AD but got assigned the Reserves instead. 


CLICK HERE TO FIND MORE POSTS BY RODNEYA 

VISIT/FOLLOW RODNEYA ON THE BELOW SITES