Military Spouses Speak Out

I hope they know we care.  I have a grandson and a nephew in the military. I cared even when I didn’t as both my brothers, two uncles and many of my ancestors have served in the military starting with the Revolutionary War in which I had 11 ancestors. I am referring here to an article in Foreign Policy Magazine:

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By Thomas E. Ricks
When I ran an item last week that was critical of Michelle Obama, it provoked the most responses of anything I’ve ever posted on this blog. Some of the responses made it clear to me that many people don’t understand what the big deal is. So I asked one Army wife (her husband used to be an Apache pilot in the 82nd Airborne, and is now a major in the medical branch) to explain. Here is her response:
By Rebecca Noah Poynter
Best Defense guest columnist
I’m a military wife. We don’t mind that America doesn’t know the 685,000 of us. We learned during that first deployment years ago that there are times in the middle of the night when there is no one to talk to assuage the loneliness, the frustration and the chilling worry that in fact nobody might really care.
But we really thought Michelle Obama did — because she told us so. She visited our bases during the campaign. Then, in May, she said in an Army press release that, “I promise you that I will use every ounce of my energy to make sure that America always takes care of you.” Then she suggested Americans should take us to lunch for Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
But she wasn’t there for us when the going got serious. In November, new legislation gave spouses a home state, something service members have had since WWII. The new law offers us civil protections for income, voting, property tax. Some 14,000 spouses celebrated our first political victory on Facebook. Not included was Michelle Obama because the First Lady’s office indicated no real interest. The bill was signed into law on Veteran’s Day with only the virtual Facebook party for spouses across the country, the day after the shootings at Fort Hood.
In December the Defense Department said the new law, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, was “confusing,” even though it simply supports the same rights offered to the military by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Where was Michelle? On the same day of that announcement about the MSRRA, a Defense Department press release told us that the “First Lady Delivers Toys For Tots.”
Which do you think matters more to us? “The markers and board games” collected from her staff (the largest of any First Lady’s, yet without anyone dedicated full-time to her declared issue of military families), or acknowledging the MSRRA, which Army Times called “landmark legislation” for equal and civil rights for military spouses. The Pentagon and the First Lady had both missed their first opportunity of the new administration to genuinely support us.
In January there was another scripted moment at the Armed Forces Officers’ Wives Club annual luncheon. With a smile and two thumbs up, Mrs. Obama announced that there would be “$84 million for spousal career development including tuition assistance.” Just weeks later that tuition program, the Career Advancement Account (also known as “MyCAA”) was shut down, without notice to spouses.
Mrs. Obama’s office said nothing about that. Military wives were less shy.
Mrs. Obama’s office said nothing about that. Military wives were less shy. The “Take Action Against MyCAA Shutdown” site was established on Facebook within hours. 

Read the rest to see what many had to say on the facebook page.

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