marriage and deployment concern

caliotter3 · May 17, 2008

My husband and I were both military. During our service they came up with a Married Couples program. You designated on your paperwork for your personnel file that you were married to So and So, servicemember and your spouse did likewise. The service did a good job of trying to keep you together. One of the factors involved had to do with each of your specialities. If one person had a very limited specialty, then it helped if the other person had a more open specialty, that could be used just about anywhere. For example, if one you you worked in a high security clearance special ops job with only a few areas of the world you could be deployed to, it would help if your spouse were, say, a cook or admin specialist. Things got a little tougher at the higher ranks also. That is where you are being assigned for career progression. There are, understandably, less available positions. In this case, one of the servicemembers may be assigned to a lower available position, but they most likely wouldn't be doing their own career any favors. I doubt that very much has changed, and would think that there are differences across the services. HTH

DanznRN, RN · May 18, 2008

Heavenly-

My wife and I are both active duty Navy and we are both nurses. So for the Navy to keep us together at duty stations is not very difficult. We just have to pick hospitals where they have both our specialties, I'm ER/ Trauma, she's L&D. Currently, I outrank her so that also makes it easier. As we continue to pick up rank it will get more difficult, however, she is going the APN clinical route and I'm going the APN nursing adm route. This is by design on our part so that it makes it easier for them to find us duty stations. So they need to find one adm and one clinical, vs. 2 adm or 2 clincal, see? Now yes, the Navy does identify that we are are dual military and married. There are no guarantees that you will be stationed together always. Although the try, the Navy also has a policy that they can station you separate for up to 1 year before they need to co-locate you. Additionally, if the Navy can find duty stations for both of you within 50 miles of each other, they consider that co-located and you guys have to commute. Now your title says "deployment," what we've talked about so far is just everyday duty stations, the normal stuff. Deployments are another thing all together, understand from the outset, deployments are part of Navy/ military life and they happen on a regular basis. Navy deployments are 6, 9, 12 months depending on what you ar assigned too. If you never want to be apart, DO NOT join the military right now. Not wanting to be harsh, just being real. Currently, my wife is one the first part of a 6-month deployment. She's gone for 2 months, home for 1 month, gone for 4 months. We have 3 boys, so it's no picnic. Also after she gets back DEC 1 then I leave APR 1, so this year is a complete wreck for us. Is it worth it? For what the Navy gives us in return, we think so, depends on your perspective. The Navy has moved us all over the world, exposing us to stuff we might never have seen. They paid for my Master's degree and paid off some of my wife's loans. So it's all a t matter of perspective and what you 2 think you can handle. If you have more questions, please let me know. One last thing, you might like all my answers and I'm not trying to be rude or harsh, it's just reality of Navy life. Do not want you to join and then be unhappy, happens sometimes.

LCDR Dan