Military Moms

I am a married, mother of two. I am the military member and my husband stayed with our daughter while I was deployed for a year to Iraq. I am obviously on the other side of things as the active duty member, but I believe I could lend quite a bit of information if you would like. You could send me a personal message if you would like to talk.

I have a daughter in law over in Iraq currently and my son her husband is stationed in Alaska. I have quit watching the news as it just adds stress, next i write to her regularly, I keep a letter in progress all the time. I send goodie boxes to her and call my son often. He will deploy later this year. and above all I keep them in our prayers, Worry is just a waste of time so i try to maintain a positive attitude. I would enjoy meeting you

Hi K.,
I'm a military Aunt of a niece and nephew overseas. Although not a military mom, I too, would like to see a section for military families. My heart goes out to you. Email has kept us all feeling better because we can keep in contact most of the time, although for a while my nephew was on special mission, unknown whereabouts to any of us. Prayer is also what keeps us all going. Your family will be in my prayers. No matter what, keep telling your son how proud you are of his choice to serve his country. Let him know that MANY are proud of him and praying for him. Send goodie boxes as much as possible.

You can ask him (or if he has a wife/girlfriend)to sent you the letter that gets sent out about once a month they let you know what they can, and there is email and phones available. SO he may be able to contact you maybe once month too. My husbands squadran has a group of wives that volunteer called the key volunteers and they try to host an event once a month so those of us at home can vent and talk to others in our situation. But Each Unit is different. and they send emails out to update us on anything new, You just have to ask him to put your name and info on the list. Good luck, It goes fast.. Try not to watch the news and Trust that He's in Gods hands and ask other to pray forhis safe return. I ask for extra angels to be with him on his missions.
A.

My name is K. and I am a military wife. I work full time for a retail compan as their regional HR person. In addition I am the Battalion Family Support Group Leader for the 40th BSB based in CA. My husband has been deployed and could go again at anytime. Everyone deals/handles it differently. Communication is the key. Find out who your sons Family Support person is. Does he have any children. If so their is a company call flat daddy. He take a picture in his uniform and they put it on a life size cut out. There is also Daddy doll. Same idea. If you would like to talk more my home email is ____@____.com the care packages going to him. It is the little thing that will keep him motivated. What is his rank?

God Bless your son.

I'm in the military as well as my husband. When I was seven months pregnant with my first child. My husband went to Iraq. I was an emotional reck. But I talked with people as well as my husband. Plus I kept myself busy with things to do before he was to get home. The key is to talk and keep yourself busy in order not to worry yourself to death. He will be fine and will come home safely.

Hi K.,
I am a military spouse, so I can only speak from that. My husband is preparing for his 3rd deployment in 3 years. We have spent the majority of our marriage apart...it's hard. But there are a variety of support groups out there. You are not alone! Check with your son and they should be able to put you in contact with Family Readiness Groups and other such support networks. Especially now, I feel like our Troops (and their families!) need as much support as they can get! Good luck to you and your family. If I can be of ANY assistance, please - feel free to contact me. God bless you and thank your son for his service to our country. I pray that he stays safe.
Sincerely,
K. C

Hi, I don't know what it's like to have a husband or son go to Iraq but I do know what's it's like when your husband is gone on long deployments. My husband is in the Navy. The go on long deployments for up to a year maybe more sometimes. You always wonder if they are coming back or if when the get back they'll be hurt or disabled for life. It's tough.I don't have any family here to support me. As the matter of fact, I don't really have friends here either(haven't been here long enough I guess). But the friends I do have help and keep me busy. They do have support groups out thre that can also help you. I'm sure if you go online and put a search in for support groups for military familes, you'll be able to find one. I know going on a deployment on a ship isn't the same as going to Iraq, but some naval ships do deploy ther and some naval soldiers have to go on land. I'm just lucky that I have my kids to keep me sane. I have to be strong for them because they re only 2 and 9 weeks old. I hope this helpsw and I hope you can find a group like the ones I was talking about. Good luck to you and just talking to anyone helps too. If you need to vent out your feelings fell free to e-mail me ____@____.com

I also had a child go into the military. My daughter went into the navy in 2000. It was hard to see her leave for bootcamp let alone go over to Iraq. She was stationed at her home base in virginia during the 9/11 attacks. not knowing the outcome of what was going to happen to the military personnel after that time was really hard. Her sister ship the Cole had been bombed at a time that she was deployed to go to Iraq, and because of security reasons there were times that she was unable to call, write or email due to her ship having a direct threat against it. I also have a nephew that is in the army he has had 2 tours in Iraq and getting ready to be deployed for the 3rd time. Our military has access to the internet, phone and mail service usually at all times so there is ways to communicate with them. All we can do is prey that our loved ones are safe while over there. If you go on the internet or on my space there are web pages that you can go onto for support and to chat with military personnel and their families.
Loomis_taz

Hi my only son is currently serving in Afghanistan he has been there since January 2010. He was home for a short two weeks in April and will be gone over the holidays this year back to the states in Jan 2011. I get frustrated that he does not call more or that he isn't on line. I cherish every phone call and message on facebook. I print all the pictures that he uploads. I and his grandparents send a care package every two weeks of food, pictures, colored pages, stories, scripture and whatever else will fit into the flat rate box. lol I miss him terribly and he is in my every thought and prayer. He jokes about not sending stuff all the time, but we do anyway and i tell him that if he doesn't like it give it to another soldier. I am so proud of him and his dedication. I don't watch news usually and when i do hear of something I wait for him to let know that he is ok. He was at Fort Hood during the shootings last year, he lost some of his battle buddies. He called me that day and said that he was not there he had been delayed but would have been there otherwise. Prayer and a good cry every now and then. It is difficult, God bless you and your son.

I don't have any advice, but I want to thank your son for serving our country, and you for supporting him. You have my thanks and appreciation!

Hi K.,
I am a marine wife, my husband just got back from a 6 month deployment to Iraq and all I ccan say is don't watch the news and keep your faith strong! Stay connected and as informed as possible! If you ever need to talk, I'm here! Or if you have any questions.

K.,

I do not have anyone in the military but I did still want to offer you my support.

E.

I have several family members in the military and all have deployed. We all deal with it differently, and the dangers are different based on where they are going and what service they're in (AF, Army, Marines, Navy - they all do different operations). Ask your son for info on wives' groups at his base, contact them and go from there. There are so many things available. Above all, though, my family has put our faith in God. You might even be able to go to your local Guard and ask.