Military Families Are Still Facing the Same Issues, Year After Year

I spent 10 years as a college professor, and am amazed at how offended many of my former colleagues are that schools for economic reasons are not automatically giving jobs (including faculty appointments) to spouses as evidently once was the practice. This is an issue in ANY situation where both spouses work - the difference with the military is that you don't have the choice of where you work (which admittedly can be an issue in the private sector unless you are willing to quit over a transfer). It wasn't as much of an issue when I was a kid and the AF was bouncing us around SAC bases, because most spouses did not work at the time. It is a consideration today. It caused me problems when my ex-wife had not seriously accepted that I would probably have to relocate when I finished my PhD (and she was not working at the time and we discussed this before we married and again before she quit her job to be a full-time mom) to find a job.

In the private sector and academia, you have a bit of freedom to consider the trade-offs to both partners in a marriage when one makes a career decision. It is that freedom that causes my scorn for my academic colleagues who complain about the "injustice" of their spouse not being offered a similar position along with them. At least they do not face jail for refusing a job change! On the other hand, couples SHOULD discuss this issue before one enlists or reenlists, and should come to an understanding regarding the almost certainty of encountering it before marriage if one is a service member. It goes along with the job, and whining about it when you should have been aware of the possibility is pointless.

It's not easy getting by on one paycheck for military families, any more than it is for the rest of us. We have a son in the USAF for 28 years and his wife has had a hard time getting jobs while they are in any location.

Were the retired spouses asked for their views?