6. Your house will nearly fall apart during a deployment
Something WILL happen, you can count on it.
A snake will slither up in your air conditioning unit, causing it to clog up and stop working (you don’t even want to know how I know this.).
Your dishwasher will flood your kitchen, causing you to have to replace the flooring.
Your oven will stop working right before your in-laws come to visit.
Why is this a perk, you wonder? It makes us that much more confident and self-sufficient when we solve the problem alone. Granted, we are raving lunatics while it is actually happening, but when we find out way to the solution, we are rock stars.
7. Knowing our civilian community
We rarely have base housing, so we are often the only Coast Guard family on the block. Our kids may be the only military kids in school.
We spend a lot of time explaining our lives to our civilian neighbors. In fact, most every kids’ birthday party I have ever attended has involved me telling someone what our life is like. Weirdly, this doesn’t get old, because it’s nice to know the community is interested in us, supportive of us.
When a helicopter went down in my community a few months after I had moved to a new duty station, my civilian friends and neighbors were the first to reach out to my husband and I to share in our grief.
That community buried the front gate of Coast Guard station in flowers because they saw the lost flight crew as their own. That community surrounded us with love in our darkest hour.
8. The Coast Guard saves people. Every day
On an average day, the Coast Guard goes on more than 100 search missions, helps almost 200 people in distress and saves 10 people.
Watching your husband or wife on the news as they fly the helicopter that hovers over a rescue, or as they dangle from the hoist to collect up a survivor — the heart-pounding depth of pride is unequalled.
Knowing that when they start every day, they will more than likely make a positive difference in someone’s life is a perk LIKE NO OTHER.
9. Our kids take water safety seriously
You haven’t seen safe kids until you see Coastie kids at the community pool. They divvy up buddies, no matter how many kids there are.
They count and recount each other.
They know too much about the perils of the water not to be vigilant. Tell your kids when they are swimming with friends to buddy with the Coast Guard kid.
10. Calling yourself a Coastie
Whether you are the service member or the family member, we are all part of the Coastie life. When we watch the bright orange MH-65 helicopter whir overhead, an HC-144 plane take off for patrol, or a Cutter glide through the water, we know that our own are onboard.
We don’t take the “our own” part of that lightly. We are part of a close-knit family that has to depend on one another, and we do.
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Top 10 Perks of Being a Coast Guard Spouse
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