Deployment Stories: The Peaks and Valleys

When I married my husband, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Long work hours, frequent deployments and the Communication is not only long-distance, it is often less intimate and unreliable, especially with today’s technology, communication is not constant. All this, can add stress to our marriages and the family, but most damaging is the emotional distance that results from living separate lives at times.

Creating a community of spouses, that are welling to share their stories, from all over the world, who have experienced deployments or being away from their spouses for long periods of time, can read these stories and gain encouragement at the same time and feel inspired to tackle this ugly monster called, Deployment, together.

Here’s her story…

My husband was on a WESTPAC deployment as Corpsman for our first deployment as a couple. This was my first deployment as a military wife and I was unsure of what to do, didn’t know where he was going, and our child was just 1-year-old. I was scared, unsure of what was going to happen, and even though I grew up in the Camp Pendleton area where he was stationed, my best friend was gone and I felt alone.

As soon as the ship left San Diego, well before they got to Hawaii, I got sick, nauseous, and tired. Went to the doctor and, you guessed it! Pregnant! He called me from the payphones at the Pearl Harbor and I was able to tell to tell him the great news. He was ecstatic and I was glad to finally be able my family now that my husband knew.

Unfortunately, 5 months into the deployment, his dad had a stroke. He was in Miami, Florida and was unable to speak for the first few days. His dad’s friends barely spoke English so communication was an issue between me and the hospital, and for privacy reasons, I had a hard time getting any information from the nurses and doctors. To make things even worse, the ship was in River City, which is a term they use for when they limit communications in and out to maximize secrecy. By the time my husband got the message, nearly a week had passed. He had a very understanding chain of command and as soon as the ship pulled in to port a few days later he was on a commercial flight to Miami. The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society loaned us money for him to fly one-way from Bahrain to Miami, plus a round trip ticket for my son and I to join him there.

It was the oddest deployment; all deployments start of with deep sadness, but then we found out about our daughter. When the ship was on its way back and we were celebrating the turn around point, tragedy struck. But then the Relief Society helped us out with an unexpected loan, at least giving us financial peace. This is how military life is – peaks and valleys. I’ve been a military wife for almost twelve years now and wouldn’t change it for the world!

Christy

San Diego Military Wife

www.SDMilitarywife.com

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