Military spouses: Doing more than standing by

  • Published
  • By Sarina Houston
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  If you've been in the military for any length of time, then you know that military spouses tend to have a lot in common.

We support our active duty spouses, of course. Many of us are also full-time moms or dads, and many of us have careers. Some of us are neither full-time mothers nor career-women; instead, we've put all of that aside because we believe in our spouse's duty and we're enthusiastic about supporting his or her career path.

Among our own military peers, we tend to be around the same life stages, close in age and going through all of life's trials and tribulations together.

What some may not realize is that these spouses are also very different. We come from all walks of life. We have different stories to tell and different views on the world.

While we may have a lot in common, we tend to have different perspectives of how we want our military lives to work. And it turns out that we all have pretty spectacular things going on.

In the seven years of "our" Air Force career, I've befriended spouses who are nothing short of amazing. I've met doctors, nurses, paralegals, nonprofit group leaders, volunteers, moms, dads, administrative professionals, teachers, social workers, forensic interviewers, small business owners, bloggers, craft-makers, graduate students and Ph.D. candidates.

I've spoken to veterinarians, photographers, and wives who excel at holding down the fort. On top of successful careers, spouses are often volunteers on base and off, gardeners, caretakers for children, pets and neighbors, active participants in the spouse groups, church groups and playgroups, and of course, husbands and wives to our active duty members.

I've even come across a few spouses who are active duty themselves, and I always admire them. I admire all of these women and men.

What's most remarkable to me is a military spouse's ability to conform and adjust to any situation. They move in, move out, leave old jobs to start new ones, and leave old friends to make new friends. They see their spouses deploy, return and deploy again, year after year. And usually, they still have a smile on their face at the end of each day.

This article, and those that follow, are dedicated to the military spouse. Spouses not only play an important role in the active duty member's career, but they have careers and lives of their own.

They often go unnoticed and many times aren't recognized at all for their endeavors. But time after time, I'm impressed at the accomplishments of military spouses that I live and work beside.

I wanted to share some of those accomplishments with you, as well as highlight the lives, trials and celebrations of these spouses. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

(Editor's note: Sarina is married to Capt. Jacob Houston in the 3rd Flying Training Squadron at Vance AFB.)