Modern Military Spouse

Let's take the guesswork out of military life! Join me, along with hundreds of other military spouses, and grab your copy of Modern Military Spouse today. It has everything you need to survive the ups and downs of military life! After reading this book, you will be able to... - Prepare and navigate PCS moves, military homecomings and military deployments easier. - Understand terms, acronyms and abbreviations all in one convenient location. - Gain instant access to over 22+ printable checklists. - Learn how to navigate getting an education and managing your career as a military spouse. - Build a budget that will work for your military family, using our step-by-step guide for finances and a downloadable spreadsheet. - Learn the keys to nurturing a military marriage that will survive the challenges of military life. - Help your child through military life using key resources and best tips for parenting military kids. Here's what's included: 14 comprehensive chapters 20+ printable documents and checklists (Including deployment, PCS, marriage, and resume). Receive a link in the book to download the printables. 3 bonus sections (Including acronyms, abbreviations, and terms) What you'll learn: When You Don't Have a Ring What to Do When Your Service Member's Gone Preparing for a Successful Military Marriage Creating a Budget That Works Hitting the Books Military-Style Military Proofing Your Career Building a Strong Support Network Becoming a Good Military Spouse Navigating Military Life with Kids Step-by-Step to PCS Moving and Living Overseas Using Social Media Safely Complete List of Resources for Spouses Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Terms Defined And more! "Jo, JD, and Lauren did the hard work for all of us! They took an overwhelming amount of confusing and out-of-date information for military spouses and turned it into a fun, modern book. This guide helps you understand military life and find the resources you are looking for." - Jen Pilcher, Founder, MilitaryOneClick.com "Finally! A military spouse handbook that I can recommend to new spouses! This book is the friend I wish I had when I was a young Navy wife. I wouldn't have felt so alone, so unusual and so un-military if someone would have given me Modern Military Spouse along with my dependent ID. Modern Military Spouse is a mentor, a drinking buddy, and a confidant for today's military spouse." - Michelle Volkmann, managing editor, NextGen MilSpouse

The Unofficial Scoop on Military Life Whether you're dating, engaged, or married to an active military servicemember or reservist -- or you've just signed up yourself -- you may feel as if you've somehow married the United States military! While there are plenty of orientation books for him, there are almost no handy, user-friendly resources for you. Meredith Leyva, a military wife and founder of CinCHouse.com, the Internet's largest community for military wives, girlfriends, and women in uniform, details everything you need to know to manage day-to-day issues and get on with the adventure of military life. From relocation to deployment, protocol to finances, and career to kids, Leyva offers time-tested advice about: ? Keeping your love life together during deployments ? Relocating yourself and your family around the world ? Maintaining your own career when you're expected to move every three years ? Understanding what pay and benefits you're entitled to -- and how to maximize them ? Translating those odd acronyms and jargon Written by a seasoned military wife, this smart and savvy guide will help you take control at every point of your servicemember's career -- from filing marriage papers as newlyweds to choosing prenatal and child care when you start a family to figuring out his pension when he's ready to retire.

A colorful collection of tips and tricks for getting the most out of the nomadic military lifestyle. Told through humorous anecdotes by those with years of unique experiences, these life hacks reveal a special culture with expectations and numerous obstacles to be faced along the way. Military life boasts of travel to exotic places, immersion in the worldly cultures, and cuisine that most Americans can only dream about . . . and on the government’s dime, to boot! At least, that’s what the common perception is. But those who have served know that while the above may be true, military life comes with its own set of challenges and can be a hardship as much as it is rewarding. Here to help is the advice, guidance, and personal stories of spouses from all walks of life, in stages from the newlywed to the retired and properly salty. They share tips on overcoming the numerous obstacles, and navigating the special culture, traditions, and the one-of-a-kind lingo of military service. Gathered mostly from those who are affiliated with the military, but also from those with similar diplomatic lifestyles, the anecdotes reveal the special bond they share with their fellow spouses, and the wisdom gained to pass to the next generation. The very special illustrations were created by a talented Air Force wife, and reflect both the strong beauty and earnestness of those who are engaged in our nation’s most serious business, and yet, have learned not take themselves too seriously.

This volume presents a fresh look at the military spouses in Shakespeare’s Othello, 1 Henry IV, Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Macbeth, and Coriolanus, vital to understanding the plays themselves. By analysing the characters as military spouses, we can better understand current dynamics in modern American civilian and military culture as modern American military spouses live through the War on Terror. Shakespeare's Military Spouses and Twenty-First-Century Warfare explains what these plays have to say about the role of military families and cultural constructions of masculinity both in the texts themselves and in modern America. Concerns relevant to today’s military families – domestic violence, PTSD, infertility, the treatment of queer servicemembers, war crimes, and the growing civil-military divide – pervade Shakespeare’s works. These parallels to the contemporary lived experience are brought out through reference to memoirs written by modern-day military spouses, sociological studies of the American armed forces, and reports issued by the Department of Defence. Shakespeare’s military spouses create a discourse that recognizes the role of the military in national defence but criticizes risky or damaging behaviours and norms, promoting the idea of a martial identity that permits military defence without the dangers of toxic masculinity. Meeting at the intersection of Shakespeare Studies, trauma studies, and military studies, this focus on military spouses is a unique and unprecedented resource for academics in these fields, as well as for groups interested in Shakespeare and theatre as a way of thinking through and responding to psychiatric issues and traumatic experiences.

Based on personal interviews with military spouses, as well as current articles and statistics and studies from the Department of Defense and Rand National Defense Research Institute, this book provides an objective look at America's military family in the 21st century, and explains how the military is attempting to improve family life. Following the Flag discusses both the problems and perks of today's armed forces families. It particularly looks at the military family since America has become involved in peace-keeping missions in Africa and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Studies on family stress connected with deployment (depression, divorce, domestic violence) are presented. A special focus is the families of the National Guard and Reserves who are often unprepared, emotionally and financially, for family members to be called to duty. In addition, the book provides current information on nontraditional military families. These include female military personnel married to civilian males, who many times must place their careers second and follow their wives to new assignments, and families where both spouses are military personnel who can be deployed at any time. Many changes have occurred in the American armed forces over the past three decades. An all-volunteer military came into being after the end of conscription in 1973; women have joined the force in ever increasing numbers; service personnel today are again involved in combat situations around the world; reserve and guard units have been called to active duty. With these developments, the role of military families has changed as well. This book explains what the those changes have been, and what they have meant to the families involved.

The trouble with most etiquette manuals is they're too long. Now there's a shortcut. 64 EASY ANSWERS ABOUT ETIQUETTE FOR THE MODERN MILITARY SPOUSE provides a quick and convenient guide at your fingertips. The Frequently-Asked-Question format allows you to glance at the table of contents and consult the section you need, or read the book in one sitting if that's your style. This modern manual covers social etiquette, as well as customs specific to military culture, such as what to do during reveille, retreat, and national anthems of foreign countries. Arm yourself with knowledge and step into military life with confidence.

A searing debut novel from the award-winning author of You Know When the Men are Gone, about jealousy, the unpredictable path of friendship, and the secrets kept in marriage, all set within the U.S. expat community of the Middle East during the rise of the Arab Spring. Both Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw dutifully followed their soldier husbands to the U.S. embassy in Jordan, but that’s about all the women have in common. After two years, Cassie’s become an expert on the rules, but newly arrived Margaret sees only her chance to explore. So when a fender-bender sends Margaret to the local police station, Cassie reluctantly agrees to watch Margaret’s toddler son. But as the hours pass, Cassie’s boredom and frustration turn to fear: Why isn’t Margaret answering her phone, and why is it taking so long to sort out a routine accident? Snooping around Margaret’s apartment, Cassie begins to question not only her friend’s whereabouts but also her own role in Margaret’s disappearance. With achingly honest prose and riveting characters, The Confusion of Languages plunges readers into a shattering collision between two women and two worlds, affirming Siobhan Fallon as a powerful voice in American fiction and a storyteller not to be missed. “A gripping, cleverly plotted novel with surprising bite.”—Phil Klay “Mesmerizing and devastating....Two military wives must explore a modern-day, cultural labyrinth in this insatiable read.”—Sarah McCoy

“This book will have you laughing so hard you cry . . . As Confessions aptly demonstrates, military spouses lead interesting lives.” —Tara E. Crooks, cofounder of Army Wife Network As the wife of a Marine Corps officer, Mollie Gross learned the hard way to laugh instead of cry at what she could not control—and as she quickly discovered, nearly everything was out of her control. A standup comedienne, Mollie explores everything about the “issued” spouse, from deployment and the stress of having a husband in a combat zone, to the realization that marriage changes when your husband returns home from war. Nothing is taboo or out-of-bounds in this funny, poignant memoir, including the “parties” military wives throw for themselves before hubby returns. (You’ll have to read the book to find out about those.) “Mollie Gross is the Chelsea Handler of the milspouse community. She’s unfiltered, honest, and hilarious, with an underlying message to stop whining and be proud. Think of it as heartfelt humor for the home front.” — Military Spouse magazine “Mollie’s no-holds-barred account of what it was like during her first four years of being married to a Marine, dealing with the moves, wartime deployments, and life on the home front, will leave you laughing, crying, and shaking your head in disbelief asking, ‘Did she really just say that!?’” — Kristine Schellhaas, founder of USMC Life