My husband is in a squadron and the whole purpose is to train to deploy with the Army. Yup, he’s Air Force Weather and he plays in the same sandbox with the Army. I would say that he might be an Army Dabbler. He’ll go to jump school eventually, and complete whatever training that is required by both branches. I see NCO Academy, some training at Fairchild AFB, another at Ft. Carson, and weapons, etc. I don’t think this is such a big deal. I personally feel that he needs to be prepared for his job. An ill prepared service member means that the mission is at stake. What is this mission you ask? I can tell you. Our mission is to crush and destroy the enemy. Who is this enemy? I can tell you that too. Our enemy is a group of terrorists that live halfway across the world (not in caves), who hatch up ways to kill all Americans. I feel that I have summed up what the purpose is of Jeremy’s job. I might be oversimplifying this, but I don’t think so.
So here’s something that’s been bugging me since we moved to Ft. Bragg. How can people who are non-deployable be assigned to a “train to deploy” squadron? I have to ask this question because this happens. I’m going to present a series of scenarios for you dear reader that might provide some insight that I am actually thinking about as I am typing.
- 1. A person is on a medical profile. Profiles come because the service member has been injured or suffered an accident, etc and needs time to recover and become healthy again. Also included in medical profiles are mental health illnesses. In this day, PTSD is something that cannot be overlooked which is why I am including mental health in with all medical profiles.
- 2. Family problems can prevent a person from deploying. Well, I have seen this happen in the Air Force. I know of people that were tasked for their seventh deployment and because of a serious family issue, they were able to stay home and take care of their family. I think it’s impressive that the AF would do that. I also think it can be frustrating because someone has to go in their place. This topic breaks down into two subcategories: Those that disclose information about family issues and those that don’t.
a. Full Disclosure: Those service members that make their command aware of family issues (whatever they are), to me are people who are taking responsibility for their family. They want to get the help that is needed and know that resources exist to help. Yes, they may not be able to deploy at that moment, but you need to make sure your family is okay.
b. Non Disclosure: Then you have those that don’t tell anyone that they have family members that are having problems. I have come across this recently too. This is actually the reason that Jeremy is deployed. Without breaking confidence, this is not an ideal situation. When a person is tasked to deploy, in my mind, it would be best to bring up all situations that could arise. In our case, Jeremy brought up that we have no house, and I have a hernia, and I can’t stand living with my mother. But the reason why he is in Afghanistan caught people unaware and it has been a determent to the mission. Needless to say it’s been a determent to my family too. The moral of this subcategory is to make people aware of your family and any issues that could arise. The squadron wants to help. It’s their job and they would like to be effective at that job. Oh, when you get home early and someone has to go in your place, don’t go around telling everyone you work with that your family problems have happened before. That means to me that you knew problems would arise, told no one and did nothing.
- 3. Lastly, people really don’t think they will have to deploy. Seriously? We've been at war for ten years. How on earth would you think that? I know recruiters can be a little shady, I've heard stories, but come on! Have you been living under a rock?
So these are the reasons that I see why people can’t deploy. I think some of these stink, but that can’t be helped. I think some are preventable, but again can’t be helped if people aren’t aware. So, what can be done about non-deployers? Well, I’ve been thinking about that. As a bleeding heart liberal, I want to help people. I want to show them the resources available and get them the help they need. However, I live in the real world (not the MTV show) and know that I can’t make people accept assistance or get it. If it’s medical, that’s different because the military person can be ordered to get help. If it’s the family member, it’s up to the active duty person to tell people, work with the base, take care of their family, and do what’s best.
Don’t be that person that people are constantly having to deploy for. I know this is the military and nothing can be right or fair, but you non-deployer that’s not interested in helping yourself, families have to separate because of you. So fix yourself, and if you don’t want to, then maybe you should re-think your chosen career.
This now brings me to the “other things” part of the title. Military families are forced to move to locations that people don’t like. For example, I know plenty of people that liked being at Offutt and living outside Omaha. I was not one of those people. I didn’t like Offutt. I thought the base was sorely lacking in the deployed family support that we have here. Not only that, but it seemed to me that it was a 9-5 base. Once offices closed and people went home, they weren’t really in the military that was just their daytime gig. I also thought that the zoo in Omaha was boring. Sorry for you that love that zoo; I was unimpressed. I could have complained a lot more than I did. But I tried to do my best. I started a spouses group, I found a college full of people that I love, and I made good friends there. I miss them so much. But I don’t miss the weather and I don’t miss living there. I got involved and some great things happened to us there.
We are people that actually like Ft. Bragg. I know…crazy, but we do. We are East Coast people. Though it’s not close enough to ocean, we have enough random bodies of water that make it nice. This squadron is unlike any Jeremy has ever been assigned to. It’s all about the mission, and the mission must be accomplished. Our commander is one that sees that people must be trained and their families must be provided for and he ensures that his mentality is conveyed in his every action. I’m not saying that it’s not like this in other places, but it was different. The mission is in your face here.
The point that I’m trying to make is that you need to shut up. Stop complaining and if you’re going to then please make sure it’s about something that warrants complaining. Hating a place because it’s around the Army and the town has crime isn’t much to complain about. Last I checked you still have a roof over your head and family that loves you. You could come and live with my mother, and then you would really have something complain about.
We have to make the best of what we’ve been given. I have forgotten this lately. It’s been that hard for me. I struggle every day to keep my head up because of everything going on. I can’t let life get to me the way it is, or I will lose my mind. So maybe, through cooperation, support, and friendship we can make it through the hard times and rejoice in the good.
No comments:
Post a Comment