military wife.
I have come to the conclusion that I am not a very good military wife. No, it has not taken me almost 11 years to figure it out, but I started thinking about it again today. I have never and will probably never understand how an entity as big as the United States military can’t have one ounce of common sense and often find myself quite frustrated (for lack of a better word) about it.
So, we all know Bryan is in San Antonio for his last two retraining classes before we PCS. These two classes were only supposed to be a Saturday and a Sunday apart, thus he would be there non-stop for both, equaling 9 weeks. Jacey and I were going to fly over for his graduation when he gets his wings (after 11 years of this mess, we both agree I get to pin his wings on:). We didn’t know beforehand it this would be the first class or the second class. If it was the second, we’d just buy one way tickets and ride back with him. If it was the first, we’d be there for his birthday weekend. Cool either way.
Well, we found out that he gets his wings at the end of this first class. Okay, cool, we can celebrate his birthday with him. Wrong. Come to find out, his RIP is wrong and they are graduating a week earlier. Fine, whatever. But, because the start date of the second class hasn’t changed, he *may* have to come home in between classes. AFPC has a policy that if there is more than 7 days between classes, they have to send you back home. Why? I mean really. Why pay him almost $900 in travel money twice over per diem costs for 7 days that would no way equal $900?! So, the instructor is trying to find out what they plan to do, send them home or possibly move up the start date of the second class by a week. At this point, I don’t care, just figure something out. I can’t buy plane tickets until they do. If Bryan has to come home, we’ll just buy one way and ride home with him (and save $380). If not, we’ll buy round trip, but I need to know. Not to mention, if I decide to use my frequent flyer miles, my booking/usage fee doubles if I book less than 21 days out. Grrr.
Am I really going to make it through 9+ more years of this?!
I certainly know how you feel. At 16 1/2 years I think we’ve had our fair share of the military way of life! Even though you are fed up and never really thought you were a military spouse, the military for all intense and purpose has been good and is good for people. Even though all the red tape and stuff, and as much as I hate parts of the military I can honestly say I appreciate it. It has made a way for D&I to live and for that I am thankful.