It's something that you'll most likely experience at least once during a deployment: a communications blackout.When John was deployed to Afghanistan, we experienced a few comms blackouts. No matter the reason for them, they were always sudden and unnerving, at least for me-- a fiance who didn't know a thing about deployment to begin with. I was learning everything for the first time. And honestly, everything felt kind of scary. Including comms blackouts. Especially comms blackouts.We were lucky: John usually had readily available access to the internet. He had his laptop (but not a Keep Reading...
Rapid, Unexpected Deployments: 8 Military Spouses Share What to Do Next
Something happens.It might be a foreign policy issue. A hurricane at home. A disaster somewhere else.But something happens.And suddenly, your spouse comes home with orders for a rapid deployment.You weren't expecting this. There are birthdays to celebrate and home improvement projects to do. Vacations to go on. There are plans for next week. There are movies and TV shows to be watched together, date nights to be planned, kids' sports events to attend.And suddenly, you have whiplash. Without warning, you're planning for a deployment. And fast. What do you do? How do you make Keep Reading...
9 Surprising Ways You Might Be Violating OPSEC and PERSEC
I'm going to be honest: as a new military girlfriend, I was absolutely terrible at OPSEC and PERSEC. I was so new to the whole military thing that I didn't really grasp what it was, what information was important to protect, or why it was even a thing I should worry about. After all, I was a girlfriend with limited knowledge of anything.Except, even as a military girlfriend, I knew things. I knew when John was on leave. I knew where his trainings leading up to deployment were held and when they were. I had been on base and an aircraft carrier.It doesn't sound like a lot. But that Keep Reading...
For the Milspouse Experiencing a No-Notice Deployment
Today, I read a beautiful Facebook post by my friend and fellow MFAN Advisory Board Member, Kellie Artis. Kellie is an amazing woman who is a creative, an advocate, a mom, and a military spouse, among many, many other things. This post stopped me in my tracks and I asked her if I could share it as a guest post on Jo, My Gosh! She graciously allowed me to reprint her words for you. Thank you, Kellie, for an amazing piece and perspective on the human cost of global conflict.I took the kids to a chain restaurant tonight and sat across from a table of ~10 women, each with at least one, some Keep Reading...
83 Power Words for Military Spouses in the New Year
An entire new year. What possibilities will the next 365 days bring? The next 10 years?The new year always fills me with possibility... and a little bit of dread and pragmatism. After all, I'm not new to this rodeo. There's the initial excitement of planning all of the new things that I'll do and be in the new year. I've made resolutions. Chosen words that are supposed to define and center my year. But I rarely follow through with them after a few days or a few weeks. Life gets in the way and I end up being the same person with the same habits and flaws in the new year that I was in the Keep Reading...
5 Things Military Spouses Are Not Doing This Year
If you're thinking about a new resolution or goal for this year, you're not alone. I've been trying to think of what I want the next year to look like for myself. Inevitably, I think of the same old things: lose that elusive ten pounds, elevate myself professionally, be kinder, be more loving, work harder. You know, probably the exact same things that are on your list of resolutions.But this year, I couldn't help thinking about the military community, too, when it comes to resolutions. I started this year exceptionally discouraged. When I say that I cried every day, I mean it. I literally Keep Reading...
Watch These Brilliant Military Spouses in 2020
I love looking forward into the new year and thinking about all of the exciting possibilities that are to come. For the past few years, I've loved shining a light on amazing military spouses and significant others who are coming up with neat ideas, writing cool stuff, and generally just being awesome.Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list! I wouldn't be able to write a complete list of all of the phenomenal things going on in the military community. The amount of talent and diversity in the military spouse and significant other community is absolutely astounding.... and honestly, pretty Keep Reading...
5 Ways to Make Your Military Life Better In the New Year
2020. A new year. A new decade.It's exciting, isn't it?What possibilities will the next 365 days bring? The next 10 years?The new year always fills me with possibility... and a little bit of dread and pragmatism. After all, I'm not new to this rodeo. There's the initial excitement of planning all of the new things that I'll do and be in the new year. I've made resolutions. Chosen words that are supposed to define and center my year. But I rarely follow through with them after a few days or a few weeks. Life gets in the way and I end up being the same person with the same habits and Keep Reading...
For the Military Spouse Celebrating a Difficult Christmas
No two military Christmases are the same. For that matter, no two holidays in military life are the same. But somehow, around the holidays, the differences, uncertainties, and distance from family are more pronounced. Maybe there's a deployment in your family. Or a TAD. Or a PCS that just happened or is looming.Maybe you want to be close to family but can't be.Maybe the ornaments were smashed during a move and you've just discovered their broken remains.Maybe someone close to you has passed away this year and it's the first holiday season without them.Maybe you look at the Keep Reading...
46 Deployment Bucket List Goals for the New Year
You're ringing in the new year with your loved one deployed and (what feels like) a million miles away. Feeling down? A little blue? Maybe you're excited for a clean slate, a new start. After all, the new year is the year your spouse or child or significant other or friend comes home. (Yay! Let's pop some bubbly!)So let's start this year in style, by creating--or adding to-- your bucket list. After all, the best thing about the beginning of a new year is dreaming of all the adventures you'll have. And you can still have those adventures while your loved one is deployed.But first, let's Keep Reading...
