Sunday, July 25, 2010

Thank you Army

Every once in a while I am thankful for things that the Army does.  Not too often, but they can surprise you.

Gunner got his flight delayed three days because of the move.  Every little bit counts.

The Army is letting them off about thirty minutes early every day to have more family time.  Not a whole lot of time, but I'm not going to complain.  This past week they had half days, 4 day, then half days this week.  

Paternity leave.  While we are done, done, done, having babies, I like that they give paternity leave to the Soldiers.  If you have a child due during the deployment, your Soldier will get paternity leave when they return.  Funny thing is that Gunner had a great chain of command when Em and Abs arrived and he got paternity leave.  With Junior, not so much, but that's okay.


I love, love, love, love that the Army moves you.  They are not moving us from where we live now to where we are going, because it is a local move.  This boxing up crap, renting a truck, and paying for everything with blood, sweat, tears, and a ton of money is not my idea of fun.  I'll leave it to the Army from now on.


I love that they don't charge leave for R&R.  They did during the first deployment, and there were guys who weren't able to go home because you had to have more than 15 days saved up.  Glad they are with the times now.


I love that housing means I don't have to worry about a mortgage and all that goes along with it.


I love homecomings, and the anticipation of a homecoming.  There's nothing like it.  (the 12 months leading up to the homecoming is for the birds!)


Is there anything that you love about the Army?



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am in love with the paternity leave!! Finally. Hopefully we will be able to have another child and we can look forward to this.

I am so glad he no longer loses days over R and R. Took them long enough to get with that.

Can we just skip to homecoming already?!

I have to say I love not paying for medical. I am not in love with some of the doctors and such but not having to pay from open heart surgery is wonderful!!

Anonymous said...

As much as I might (sometimes) complain about the Army, I do think they do a wonderful job of taking care of soldiers and their families.

Right now, I'm loving half-days and four day weekends following deployment. It means I have an extra helper around the house! =)

Julie Danielle said...

I love that Ben won't come home one day and say he is being laid off.

I love that we do not have to pay a dime for healthcare. I had my oldest before Army and we paid $1000K for his birth and with my 2nd we only had to pay because I wanted a single room vs a double when I gave birth. This baby will be free too.

I love that the Army does move you. I couldn't have done the moves if they didn't.

It's Something Beautiful said...

I'm a Marines girlfriend, but I figured I would comment anyways since my answer works for all branches. I like the security. Once I become a Marine wife, I won't have to worry about insurance not being there or not having a paycheck next week. Not everyone has that luxury. Mister plans on getting out of the service once his contract is up, which does really freak me out. I pray that he will be able to get a steady job and that we'll be able to find a way to take care of each other.

www.life-itssomethingbeautiful.blogspot.com

Megan said...

I love that essentially the military is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter where you are from or what walk of life you came from,everyone has a change to create a better life for themselves.

I love the experiences and opportunities this life gives us.

I love being able to meet new people and make the friendships that I have (both in real life and the blogging community!)

Deployments are a downside to this life, but overall I would have to say that I've been very happy with the military life!

Marilyn Litt said...

I am NOT military, nor is anyone in my family. I love that the military always has my back anyway! I love that in America we don't worry if there will be riots on election day and whoever is President is Commander-in-Chief, no questions asked by those who serve. I love that lots of people don't agree with my politics and I don't agree with theirs, but we all love our military. I hate the deployments and I hate my soldiers going into harm's way, but I love having a military that makes me proud every day to be an American.

Kara said...

I agree that the paternity leave is great. We weren't married when our daughter was born, so he was told he couldn't have it, just because we weren't married. It's nice not to have to worry about his job. I got laid off last fall, so that is a big thing. The military definetly has it perks though!

d.a.r. said...

We def. got charged leave last year for R&R! So messed up, especially since they also didn't get max leave when they got home from the deployment and got 6 days of "block leave" before this one. Ugh!

Jocelyn said...

I'm not an Army wife, just a girlfriend. My boyfriend and I met in Colorado 6 months ago. Though we were both only on vacation, we were having a good time. But, we live in 2 different states. When our vacation was over we had to go our separate ways, and it was hard. We've kept in contact since, decided that it'd be a good idea to visit each other. He's in the National Guard, so he only has monthly drills unless deployed. He was going to get a state transfer to here, and we only had a week left to wait for him to talk to his chain of command. Then he went to drill and got put on standby. It crushed me, but I'm assuming that I'm only beginning to learn how deployments work, right? I'd rather spend every minute I could with him because it all counts, right?

Unknown said...

All fabulous, positive things!

Margaret said...

I am retired Army.

I love that when I had cancer in the Army, there was never a question about whether I was going to get treatment or pain meds or time off work or time with family or, or, or. It was all there for me, and my doctors ensured that I had everything I needed.

Now that I am out, I have healthcare with the VA. Free for me, except for a co-pay for meds. I've had two pregnancies/births since retiring, free for me. If I ever get cancer again, I don't have to worry about whether I am going to get treatment, or pain meds.

Joining the Army was the best decision I ever made. Hands down.

peace...

UrkaLynne said...

I came across your blog, randomly, and have absolutely fallen in love with it :)

I am no longer a military better half, due to unforeseen circumstances, but as much as people DON'T like it.. I loved the uncertainty of the Army. We had accepted deployments as part of our relationship, whether we liked them or not. The uncertainty kind of made it like a "new" relationship, day after day. I loved the days I sent him to work and he would get an unknown half day. Positive connotation uncertainty, of course :)

McMGrad89 said...

I like all of those things, but I especially loved not having to pay for my first child's birth, especially after getting the bill for the second one.