This past weekend my family and I celebrated Veterans Day with a very enjoyable, long overdue, four day weekend together. This past year has been somewhat of a revolving door for us with my husband having to come and go so much, but much to our surprise the phone didn’t ring one time this weekend! As I reflected on this year’s Veterans Day, my mind was drawn to several people close to us who are currently deployed. For a few of them, it is their first deployment and it hasn’t been a smooth ride. For many of the friends deployed, this isn’t their first tour, or second, or even third, yet this time seems like it is has brought more challenges.
Besides the current service members, my mind was also drawn to those who have served in the past (our church is having a banquet for some of those this week to honor the Korean and Vietnam veterans). As my mind was trying to process all the emotions of this holiday I found myself reminded of the homecomings these soldiers will experience or did experience. I thought this might be a good time to bring to light something most people may not realize. For most soldiers, in conventional units (i.e. 101st, 82nd, etc.), there is quite a bit of pomp and circumstance to homecomings. I can recall my husband’s first homecoming when we were with the 101st (based out of Ft. Campbell, KY); there were hundreds of people waiting by the runway to see the plane land. Signs and balloons were everywhere! As the plane landed there was cheering and clapping the whole time until every last soldier had walked off the plane and entered their formation in the hanger. All the friends and family were packed in shoulder to shoulder on bleachers as we waited, very impatiently, for them to complete their formation and ceremony. Afterwards it was each man for themselves as everyone ran to find their loved one and hug their neck; mass chaos yet a good chaos, if there ever was one!
But these aren’t the kinds of homecomings the Special Operations soldiers receive; that is what I want to give you a rare, inside look at today. For many soldiers and families in or attached to Special Operations (Special Forces for instance), there is no pomp and circumstance what so ever. The “quiet professional” does not just describe the soldier if you ask me. For the families of these soldiers there are no flags hanging from the ceiling, there are no balloons and rarely are there signs. No one is to know when they arrive, there is no drawn out ceremony (sometimes not a bad thing!), there is no formation, only 12 guys. Our men just walk off a plane and straight to us. At first glance this may seem like a good thing and I won’t lie, it is nice to not waste an hour after they deplane till we get to hug their neck, but part of me wishes there was some sort of ceremony. For these men, no one comes to welcome them but their families and maybe their commander, if he isn’t still down range. As a wife, I’d like others to acknowledge my husband’s hard work and the family’s sacrifice. But we do it, over and over again, and the process makes me think of the soldiers of past wars who were not welcomed home either.
So even though Veterans Day has already passed, I hope you’ll be reminded in the future to make a special effort to welcome home a soldier; you never know what kind of homecoming they received!
Whether you have been in the military for years or only a hot second, you’ve heard the term “battle buddies”. To the service men and women of our military it is their partner; the person who relies on them and who they rely on. They watch out for each other’s safety, help each other in tasks, and are accountable to each other. As we have been in the Special Forces world I’ve seen how ODA’s (a.k.a. “teams”) are constant battle buddies ; in and out of combat, they are always there for one another, a tight-knit group of 12 men and their wives.
As a military wife, I understand the need for my own “battle buddies” especially during deployments. Someone who will walk the walk with me, help me out while I am a “single mom” and encourage me along the way.
As I think about our ten years in the military, it occurred to me that married life is supposed to be the same way. Gary Smalley talks in his book, “Four Seasons of Marriage” about how God created man and woman to be helpmates. We weren’t put here to just procreate; we were designed by the Creator to need each other, to help each other, and yes, even be accountable to each other.
As a Christian, it is important to recognize that our ultimate “battle buddy” is God. Yes, it’s harder to be his “battle buddy” at times; we can’t physically see Him and often times have a hard time hearing Him. But for both those who have accepted His gracious gift and those who have not yet, the truth is that He created the “battle buddy” system.
All these types of “battle buddies” are important in their own unique way and we will explore those on this site. I’ll post on subjects like motherhood, being married to the military and my spiritual walk. My husband will post to the male audience on his own thoughts and experiences and we’ll even get parent’s views on various subjects whose children are serving in our military.
Get ready my new “Battle Buddy”!!
Battle Buddies 