Article

2018-07-05 Government

Pentagon: High military spouse unemployment rate threatens force readiness, national security

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Posted by Besoeker 2018-07-05 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 I can't tell you how many times I've heard this phrase and watched good men, excellent men, leave the service:

"My wife is fed up, I'm getting out to keep the family together."

A year or two later (sometime even less), they are divorced anyway.

Posted by Besoeker 2018-07-05 07:24|| 2018-07-05 07:24|| Front Page Top

#2 Momma is the number one retention officer. Period.

On a side note - join the reserve or national guard upon separation if she wants you out. That way if thing don't work out, you can go back to active duty with the rank you departed at.

Posted by Procopius2k 2018-07-05 08:30|| 2018-07-05 08:30|| Front Page Top

#3 Wait a minute, I thought there was a spousal preference for hiring. I find it hard to believe. In addition, I do not feel sorry for them spouses/spices, either.

Posted by DooDahMan 2018-07-05 18:21|| 2018-07-05 18:21|| Front Page Top

#4 Being a trailing spouse,whether military or civilian, is a great deal harder than it looks, and not everyone who started out willing is able to handle it long term. Similarly, however willing the military spouse might be to get out in order to keep the family together, there will be inevitable resentment by both parties: he that he had to give up the critical job of protecting the country before he was ready, and she that however tactful he might be she feels guilty about putting her needs first and dragging him away.

Shoot, I feel guilty that Mr. Wife chose to give up doing the things that would have led to at least one more promotion after it became clear my illness was not going to be fixed any time soon; I didn’t ask him to and he didn’t mention that he’d done so until recently, but I was physically and mentally no longer capable of holding up my end. It would have been devastating for me to be the reason he stepped back from saving the world.

Posted by trailing wife 2018-07-05 18:23|| 2018-07-05 18:23|| Front Page Top

#5 DooDahMan, you are not in touch with the reality for military spouses. "Spousal preference" only helps if t here is an opening for which the person is otherwise totally qualified - and even then s/he is up against a lot of other military spouses for that job.

Then the member gets moved, and you do it all over again - if you're lucky.

The fact that you find that hard to believe and have no sympathy for the spouse, well ....

that just means you're right there with all the other assholes the military sacrifice to defend despite them not deserving it.

Posted by Snoluting Phomoth8901 2018-07-05 19:10|| 2018-07-05 19:10|| Front Page Top

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