September 10, 2013

Military Monday (a day late!)

Wow, I'm practically MIA then TWO posts in one day! Oh just wait, I even have one for tomorrow and the next day!

Speaking of.. I will be out of town all next week and while this is definitely last minute notice, I would LOVE to have some guest posters! Let me know if you would be interested. I would need the post by the end of this week :)


Military Monday completely slipped my mind yesterday, but I want to make up for it today. Ashley from Eights on the Move presented the topic of:

Enlisted vs. Officer


What are your experiences with each side of the military and their spouses/significant others?

What are your opinions on the benefits and drawbacks? 

Or - is there really no big line drawn in the sand from your experiences?
Does your significant other's command blend the two seamlessly? Do you participate in the events together? Wives clubs? Treated differently for various aspects of military life?
I need you guys on this one. I have VERY LITTLE experience & knowledge about this so please give me all you have. Good, bad, ugly. Stereo-typed. Naive. I'll take anything I can get...

S is enlisted so I don't have a ton of experience with the officer side.

Earlier this year, S put in to be considered for OCS (Officer Candidate School), the same school that Ashley's hubby is going to be attending. He didn't get picked up for the program, probably based on a couple missing college courses and the fact that his degree isn't really related to the Nuclear Engineering. We found out later though, that everyone (ranks aside) that put in for OCS at S's command was denied. Apparently they are so short-staffed right now, they just weren't willing to let any of them go. I think that made us both feel a little better.

When S enlisted in the Navy, it was actually while he was in college and he didn't go to basic until after he graduated. He chose to go in as enlisted because he preferred the jobs that were available to enlisted members over those of an officer. He has gained a TON of hands-on experience and knowledge through being enlisted. He also scored a 97 out of a possible 99 on the ASVAB so don't let the fact that he is enlisted fool you, he is one super-smart cookie!

I am confident that S will work his way into the officer ranks in the next couple years; just because he didn't make it this time around doesn't mean that there won't be other opportunities.

As far as interacting with wives, I can't say that I know many or any Navy officer wives (outside of blogging, that is!) I have met many of S's enlisted friends' wives and some of them have become very good friends and some of my favorite people :)

One of the things that S told me when we started to get really serious was that he wasn't really sure if he wanted to introduce me to any of the wives because they can be really catty and dramatic. I guess he's kind of screened who he's introduced me to so I don't know how true that is because everyone I know (mostly) has been great.

He also told me that he didn't want me to get treated badly because I am the wife of an enlisted member and many wives feel that they have the same "rank" as their husbands and act accordingly. I have only really seen a little bit of that, but again, mostly everyone has been awesome :)

I guess once we actually get married and as I become more involved in the military community, we will find out exactly how it is. I'm hoping to find great friends though no matter where we move.


What are your experiences? Enlisted vs. Officer?

9 comments:

Eights on the Move said...

Thanks for linking up, girl! I know we've had a ton of correspondence about this - I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for S :)

Jen said...

There is nothing that drives me crazier than wives who wear their soldiers rank.

Stephanie said...

Haha Tom has screened the wives I have met too. That must be a common thing. Tom is on the waiting list too for a board. So I know how the waiting game goes!

Katie said...

So cute that he "screens" them for you before you meet them. :)

Mrs. Wookie said...

Hello, hello from the bloghop from EOTM! I just wanted to pop in and agree that women who rock pink rank on their collars/sleeves drives me up the wall. My first few months into this station had me almost crying leaving the first meeting. So yes, there are those bitchy Officer wives still existing. And then there's awesome accepting people like myself. :)

smug princess said...

=] I have so many things to say about this, but I'll save it for later. lol

Jamie said...

I've literally never had any bad experiences regarding spouses pulling rank. Never. Maybe I'm just good at only hanging out w decent people ;)

Janna Renee said...

I hung out with Kaitlyn from Wifesessionals even though her hubby is an Officer and mine isn't. Normally her hubby doesn't encourage it based on fraternization policies and caddy Enlisted wives, but since we are blog friends, he allowed it and it was totally cool. I also once worked an Officer's charity event, and it was so fun! Way better than silly enlisted events. I told Will that I want to be a part of that ;) Yes, there are some awesome enlisted wives, but not as many as the educated, established Officer's wives {not to say there can't be annoying/awful Officer's wives, though}.
Will tried to go Warrant Officer two years ago, and we were turned down based on lack of experience/connections having only been in for one year at that point, but now we are trying again, and I'm pretty sure we have a GREAT chance! Hopefully we get it, so that it shows you guys that if you keep trying, S will be able to accomplish his goals ;)

NShea said...

I never even knew what the difference was until I married a Marine!! And honestly, I get so annoyed when women act better then each other because of their husband's rank. I am friends with people in the 'real world' regardless of whether or not they have a college degree, so why should it matter in the military world?! I understand it for the servicemembers, but for the spouses I really don't!

 
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