Have you ever wondered why military spouses are constantly grouped into social settings based upon their servicemember’s rank?
It’s because Rank Matters.
Yes, we’ve all heard from that spouse, who says, “Rank does not matter to us as spouses. We have all struggled through deployments, have had childcare issues, finance problems, and blah, blah, blah.” Honestly, I stopped listening to this spiel years ago. The lives of the spouses are all different and yes, but with rank comes certain privileges, not just for the servicemember, but for their spouse as well.
Got Housing Issues?
I once had a refrigerator that shook so bad, we had to push it back into place every morning. I called housing and told them, every night our fridge was running, they said, that’s a good thing. Everyone has issues with military housing, that’s no secret. Accommodations across military posts can be scarce for all ranks. However, seeing the vast differences between housing for lower ranking servicemembers versus their higher-ranking counterparts, can sometimes be infuriating. Now, I know what you’re thinking, it shouldn’t be equal. A servicemember who is higher ranking, deserves a nicer home than someone who isn’t. Fair enough, but just because someone hasn’t been in the military long, doesn’t mean their family should be subjected to unsafe living conditions such as lead poisoning, mold, or faulty infrastructure. All our children’s well-being is important and should be treated as such.
Childcare Anyone?
A common practice throughout military life is a pay your rank structure. This is also common in childcare. The higher the servicemember’s rank, the more they pay for the same childcare services of the junior servicemember. Which kind of doesn’t seem fair, because they aren’t receiving better or more services than their junior counterpart. They don’t have more exclusive care, meals, or better recess. So why is that? Why are servicemembers with a higher rank charged more for childcare? Furthermore, is this money helping advance the childcare system, helping meet academic goals, building larger facilities, or hiring an adequate number of childcare workers. I’ll take, what is one of the biggest causes of military spouse unemployment, for $500, Alex.
