My little sister has been in the military for 19 years, serving in Germany, U.S. territories, South Carolina, and elsewhere. Since February, she’s called a base in the Middle East home. I’ve known her location and her proximity to danger for months, but it had felt like she wasn’t really there. Iran seemed intent on […]
Military Family
Posted inReflections
Military Spouse Life Prepared Me for Almost Anything. Then Came Retirement
This spring, my family ended up living in two hotel rooms in Helena, Montana. Within weeks, we had lost both our home and my husband’s civilian job. After nearly 30 years of military life, my husband and I had imagined a stable retirement. Instead, we were suddenly living out of suitcases and trying to figure […]
Posted inReflections
My Father Was a Decorated Black Soldier With a Secret: Me
There was no celebration when my mother learned she was pregnant—only a conversation. Three married adults sat in a room weighing what my existence might cost them: a rising soldier in the United States Army with a reputation to protect, a mother facing the weight of shame, and a husband willing to raise a child […]
Posted inReflections
The Vietnam War Killed My Father Decades After His Tour. Am I a Middle-Aged Gold Star Child?
I stood in a Brooklyn post office renewing my teenage son’s passport, hoping to board a plane by summertime. When I paid with a USAA check, the postal worker thanked me for my service. I deflected as usual: “Oh no, I didn’t serve, my father served.” I have USAA imposter syndrome; I know I didn’t […]
Posted inReflections
My Grandpa Was Killed in World War II. I Met Him Through His Letters Home
I grew up in the house my great-grandparents built, a home where four generations shared laughter, loss, and celebrations. These same walls that once harbored the joy of my grandfather’s courtship were the ones that eventually held the pain of the day my grandmother learned he had been killed in action during World War II. […]
Posted inReflections
I Love My Air Force Husband. My Feelings About the Government He Serves Are More Complicated
I had just put my car in reverse when a license plate frame caught my attention. It was covered in the American flag and read “God Bless America.” The image forced my car back into park. I sat in the lot trying to understand the power those three words held over me. I’ve always had […]
Posted inReflections
A Transient Life and Hard Goodbyes: The Realities of My Lonely Military Childhood
When my military family received orders to transfer to another duty station, my dad would organize our packing effort, chart a course, and drive us there. He preferred to start as the twilight faded, continuing through the night while the rest of us slept in our station wagon. This time, Dad was being transferred to […]
Posted inNewsroom
Inside the Wait for War: Military Families Brace for What Comes Next
Caryl Banks dragged a kitchen chair beneath the overhead light and climbed onto it with a bucket of warm, soapy water balanced on the countertop. She wrung out a sponge, lifted it toward the ceiling, and began working it in slow, deliberate circles. Water slid down her forearm and dripped onto the kitchen floor. It […]
Posted inNewsroom
Mental Health Issues Plague New Moms in the Military. The Pentagon Is Supposed to Help
Shawna Bush had been blissfully ignorant during her pregnancy: happy, excited, and expecting the best out of motherhood. It took just two days for the wrecking ball of postpartum depression to demolish her joy and leave her sobbing on the couch. “It hit me like a train,” Bush said. “I was not expecting any of […]
Posted inReflections
A Marine Father, an Air Force Son, and the Distance Between Them
My father has been running longer than I’ve been alive. As his son, without understanding or explanation, he expected me to run with him. He was a Marine, but he’d been running long before he enlisted. He escaped from an abusive, alcoholic home in North Carolina at age 16. He eventually found safety and structure […]
Posted inNewsroom
These Military Moms Turned Their Homes Into Day Cares. Then DOD’s Inspectors Came Knocking
Military spouses say defense department regulations hamper family child care centers, even as the military faces child care shortage.
Posted inNewsroom
‘I Don’t Want To Be Stuck.’ Meet the Military Families Who Love To Move
As the Pentagon aims to save money and reduce family stress by cutting back on the military rite known as PCS, not everyone is happy.
