Any Army husband and wives out there?

[JennNJ83]

I'm going to finish my BSN program in December, I've been thinking about joining the Army to do nursing there. My husband is Active duty Army also, anyone in this particular situation? I'm wondering how that works with stationing and also wondering if we'd have the chance of being deployed at the same time, for child raising purposes down the road? I wanted to get some info before I attempt to contact a recruiter. Any input would be appreciated!

[just_cause, BSN, RN]

You have a spouse preference so they army / service works to place you at a post together... things that make it hard are when you have TDY schooling and then you would probably be apart for that time.

Yes you could be deployed at the same time - you'd have to create a 'care plan' so if / when you do that your children have caretakers.

My spouse and I were deployed during overlapping deployments - it happens.

[DaleenMarine]

My husband and I were a dual active couple in the Marines. We were already co-located (within 50 miles) when we married but my understanding was that if either of us had received orders the Marine Corps would have up to 12 months to station the other within 50 miles. Army policy could be different, but I imagine it would follow the same general guidelines.

As far as having a family, I know that as a dual-active couple with children we were required to file and maintain our family care plan, which explains what your plans are (transportation, financial, etc.) in the event you and your spouse are unavailable to care for your children. Our family care plan was well worn by the time I finished up my contract!

As a current military spouse I'm sure you know that the powers that be don't always "care" that your spouse has plans/responsibilities at home. I remember days where my husband and I were combing through our address books trying to find someone who was able to pick the kids up from day care because both of our days had run late. And I remember days when our commands said "No, you can't take leave today; Your spouse can be the one to take the day off to care for your sick kids," to BOTH of us. Once we even ended up on the same deployment and had to cart the kids off to two different grandma's houses for nearly a year.

I'm not sure how it works in the Army (and I bet it has a lot to do with individual units), but I do remember knowing other dual active couples who were able to work with their commands to coordinate their own deployments around their spouse's deployments.

Please don't feel I'm being a negative nelly! There were some challenges to having a family while being a dual active couple, but it was also very rewarding and I'm actually considering re-joining into the Navy as a Nurse when I get done with my schooling. (Still finishing up my pre-req's.)

[lifeafter40]

Glad to see your input on this. Most people have an idea of deployments and what that might mean to a family, but many do not understand the many other demands of military life that can keep one or both spouses (dual military) away from home... working late, training exercises, even the middle-of-the-night call for an early unit urinalysis test... these things can all throw a wrench in family schedules. There are lots of benefits to military life, but everyone should have as clear a picture as possible of the flip side of those benefits before committing themselves and their family to them.

LA40

[just_cause, BSN, RN]

Personally to the OP I would recommend looking at working as a nurse in the fed arena as an option. There is a hiring preference for military spouse and perhaps it enables a way to avoid dual deployments yet still have fed related jobs.

Best of luck!~