Back in the Dark Ages when I had inexplicably
promised my life and limb to the US military and was a mother at the
same time, I didn't think too much about the possibility of actually
having to go to war and leave my child behind. But that was the Dark
Ages (and I was younger and more naive), and things have changed
drastically since then. In fact, there are an estimated 7,243 moms
presently deployed right now out of a total of 121,701 military moms, and none of them are having an easy time of it.
Even
without considering the heartbreaking possibility of saying goodbye to
your kid to go off and serve your country and then maybe never coming
back, moms in the military are "stressed, underpaid and having a hard
time getting help with childcare". Yeah, like all moms are, but
wouldn't you think that the military would be more supportive somehow?
Don't get me wrong. I am totally against the current military
involvement in Iraq, but at the same time I'm 100% supportive of those
who made their respective choices to involve themselves with it on an
individual basis. If people, especially parents, are going to choose
the military, then the military should be more supportive of their
needs as parents. In fact, the military (in my idealistic Bubble World,
that is) could lead the way in showing the corporate world how to be
more supportive of parents.
Not holding my breath on that one. Let's just hope that the moms, dads, and everyone else who's over there all come home safely.
