A Little Rant

How many times have I mentioned to someone that my husband is overseas only to get a look of fear and pity, and a comment along the lines of "I don't know how you do it," or "he isn't in Iraq is he?" One too many.

Today I wrote a nice letter to a visiting author explaining that a military family is not something that should be pitied, nor should it be implied that a military life is something that should be abandoned as soon as humanly possible. It's unfortunate that civilians who have no connections to the military are forced to form all of their opinions of the military from what they see on the news. It's becoming a pet peeve of mine how people imply that a deployment in Iraq is the worst possible thing that could happen to a military member, and also the implication that everyone deployed to Iraq is committing a war crime or has been handed an automatic death sentence. What makes it on the news is such a small select portion of what really goes on. People in the military really do try their hardest to make whatever place they are at as safe as possible. Being in the military is not a bad life. It is a unique community of very diverse people. Some of the most open-minded people I know can be found there. They work hard, they love their families and their friends very strongly, they want to live life to the fullest. People in the military understand how precious life really is, I think.

So, those of you that don't know anyone in the military, drop your pre-conceived notions, the ones formed from news reports of Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, the situation there may be less than ideal, and that may be an understatement, but the men and women over there are doing their jobs to the best of thier ability and deserve appriciation and graditude from the Americans they are working for. And they should also be able to feel however they want to about thier time over there without being judged, whether it is pride, sorrow, fear, or a new determination to do more.