Divided By Duty
In a military relationship, service always comes first; what is it like to share your spouse, partner or significant other with the armed forces?
Things You’ll Only Understand If You’re Dating an Army Officer
If there's one thing that most people will never understand, or really even experience, it's what life is like when you're dating someone in the military. Whether you end up living military wife life or part ways, the truth is that military love isn't really like any other kind of dating you can ever try.
Sasha KonikovoPublished 6 years ago in Serve
So I Married a Soldier
My name is Ryan, and I married a soldier in the U.S. Army. Perhaps this isn't particularly uncommon, but there are a few things about being the civilian husband that may not be known.
Ryan BalserPublished 6 years ago in Serve
Memes That Perfectly Explain Being a Military Spouse
If you think dating a typical civilian is hard, don't even think of being a military spouse. It's one of the hardest kinds of relationships out there, and often ends up being a very lonely, rough way to live life.
Rowan MarleyPublished 6 years ago in Serve- Top Story - January 2018
Military Wife Life
The morning of my husband's deployment wasn't like any other morning. The house was filled with sadness as we prepared for that night where we would say see you later and give our last kiss for nine months. As the time approached, our emotions only grew stronger. My husband, being the strong gentleman he is, showed no sadness and shed no tears cause he knew he would see me again sometime soon. I, on the other hand, was a mess. At the age of 19, I had no idea I would be married to a soldier and preparing to face my first deployment. I had no idea what was in store for the next nine months. Fear raced over my body as my husband left my arms to go to the buses. Tears streamed down my face as I watched him wave goodbye and blow me a kiss. I watched the buses roll away and my friend and I hugged each other and walked to our cars.
Brooke ClarkePublished 6 years ago in Serve 
Losing Yourself
The most important person in your life has seemingly and suddenly vanished. You said goodbye to him, you gave him a kiss and a hug and left with ten long weeks of waiting stretched between your next meeting. Even if you’ve tried to prepare yourself mentally for the upcoming challenges, nothing truly prepared you for what you’re going through. You find your mind drifting to dark places—the what-ifs, the worries, the fears. You hate him one minute and miss the hell out of him the next. You’re proud that he’s taking his future into his own hands and starting a new and exciting part of his life, but you’re worried that you and your relationship will fade away in his mind in favor of that new future. When you write him letters, you’ll try to be positive, even though you might want to break down more than anything, knowing that he won’t be there to pick up the pieces. When you tell him how much you love and miss him, those sentiments might seem unrequited because he won’t write it nearly as much as you will. It’s easy to lose yourself in the worry, fear and doubt, and to obsess over all of it. It’s easy to question if anything will be the same when he returns to you, if he’ll love you or treat you the same as he did before, and let the brick in your chest drag you down further, and further, until you can’t even see the light any more. You’ll feel like you’re losing him, and then you’ll feel like you’re losing yourself. It’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do.
Lindsey AllenPublished 6 years ago in Serve
What's It Like to Have a Significant Other in the Air Force?
“What’s it like to have a significant other in the Air Force?” is a common question people ask me. I go through a series of answers in my head that sounds a lot like this:
A Christmas Surprise
I'm a Canadian Military Navy spouse. My hubby-to-be has been away training for the past five months, and in that time I've seen him less than 13 days total (a day and a half at a time). Talk about a lonely life.
Stephanie RobicheauPublished 6 years ago in Serve
Military and Marriage
The military can be a wonderful thing to be part of even though I’m not in the military I am married to it. My husband and I met before he joined, we both worked at Walmart overnight and the more we got to know each other the more we both starting to fall in love with each other. Working overnight wasn’t a career either one of us, I needed to support kids because my soon to be ex and I were separated and my now husband was working in order to help pay his parents bills. It wasn’t till my divorce was finalized that we went on our first date, there he told me that he has always wanted to be a pilot for the Air Force. His eyes aren’t the greatest so being a pilot is out but he was really passionate about being in the military. Ultimately after quite a few discussions he finally talked to a recruiter and got signed up.
Jen CarmonaPublished 6 years ago in Serve
Life as a Navy Wife
So I’ve been with my husband for a total of 9 years. We met during my sophomore year, his junior year, of high school and after he graduated he joined the military. Then I graduated and a year after that we were married. And here we are now still going strong married for 5years, have a 3 1/2 year old little boy, and a dog. Now that probably sounds like it’s all been rainbows and sunshine, maybe even a fairy tale right? Well I hate to burst your bubble but it hasn’t been...
Carly SpauldingPublished 6 years ago in Serve
Things You Only Understand If Your Spouse Is Deployed
No deployment is the same, but some of the struggles that military families go through are universal. Though it's challenging to go through this time period, it is nice to know that you are not alone in your feelings. There are obvious ups and downs of being a military family member, and knowing that many people are on a similar path to yours makes it that much more bareable. These are some of the things you only understand if your spouse is deployed.
Sherry CampbellPublished 6 years ago in Serve
A Service of Love
Dating has always been a wonderfully complicated experience people experience in their lives. New relationships make your heart race with anticipation and wonder, and those of us who've experienced a long-term relationship learn to appreciate the little things we've gained from each other along the way. It goes without saying that no two relationships will ever be alike. So in light of Veteran's day, let me share my experience in a relationship with someone in the military.
Lauren GonzalezPublished 6 years ago in Serve
Open Letter to the Military Girlfriend… Who’s Still a Girlfriend
He leaves for boot camp (you join a girlfriend support page), he goes to more training after that (you start seeing people get married, aww), he gets stationed... now what? Now you get flooded with cute posts of court house weddings and you naturally get jealous because why not you? Right? Wroooong.
Thrifty, Curvy, & ThrivingPublished 6 years ago in Serve
