Dual-Military Families Need Help From The Service. They're Not Getting It

Thanks for sharing PO1 Tony Holland the Task and Purpose article.
It is sad that "In practice, co-located service members often still have to live apart or face a time-consuming commute. And good soldiers are expected to figure out home life for themselves."
When I was in the US Army, I knew a number of married soldiers who served at the same base. Up until LTC is seemed that many couples were able to be based together. Of course that was the 1980s and 1990s.

"When Renee Swift, an Air Force officer, married an active-duty Navy pilot, the couple added to their already-challenging careers a third, seemingly full-time job: coordinating their advancements and deployments around the life and the home they shared. “In our marriage, we have lived apart longer than we have together, because of our military careers’ demands,” Swift says. The near-inevitability of physical separations in the military, through deployments or separate assignments, is so common that those who undertake it are called “geographic bachelors.” For all intents and purposes, they live as though they are unmarried and childless.

Even having children (or conceiving them) becomes a complicated logistical exercise when you and your spouse are both in the service. “I know many couples that planned having children around deployment windows or shore or school tours,” Swift says. She eventually transitioned from active duty to the Air Force Reserve, hoping the one-weekend-a-month, two-weeks-a-year obligation would simplify family life — and it has, but only up to a point.

“Now that I’m a reservist, it’s easier, yes,” she says. “But I still missed two out of three [of my husband’s] deployment returns due to military obligations.”

Many two-income families across America struggle to balance their work and family lives. But that struggle can be especially challenging for dual-military marriages: marriages in which both partners serve at the same time. In 2015, there were over 105,000 active-duty and reserve personnel in such relationships. They’ve become increasingly commonplace, reflecting a consistent trend of service coming from a smaller and smaller community of American families.

These dual-military marriages put in stark relief the personal and professional sacrifices often asked of America’s service members, and highlight the demands we make on military families. Many of the traditional support systems available to families are anathema to a military lifestyle. The military directly dictates where its members live, something most Americans would find hard to cope with in other careers. While the services make an effort to “co-locate” spouses, this often translates not to being stationed at the same military base, or anywhere near extended family and friends who can help, but to living on the same coast of the United States. In practice, co-located service members often still have to live apart or face a time-consuming commute. And good soldiers are expected to figure out home life for themselves."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SSgt (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert George SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright SPC Margaret Higgins Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM SGT Gregory Lawritson

PO1 Tony Holland thanks for the read/share.

I will spend Thanksgiving with just such a couple separated by assignments. One is in CA and one is here is SA. Thing is there are plenty of jobs here for both of them. His decision was made on promotion, she is not happy. Should make for an interesting day tomorrow.