When anyone asks me about my husband’s service in the Ohio Army National Guard, I always respond, “It’s a great second job as long as he’s not deployed.”
I say it tongue-in-cheek, but it’s true. I don’t know of many part-time jobs that can match the benefits of being in the military.
It’s not always easy, of course. Our family has made significant sacrifices for Mike to remain enlisted for more than 23 years. We’ve been through four overseas deployments and multiple stateside activations.
Still, the positives outweigh the negatives, which is why he chooses to stay in the Guard. Here are the top four reasons I enjoy being a Guard spouse.
Benefits. The health care, retirement and education benefits are excellent. As long as my husband is in the Guard, we’re eligible for health care coverage through TRICARE. In my experience, TRICARE Reserve Select, the option available to drilling Guard members, is better than many civilian employers’ health care plans.
Having health care insurance outside of a typical employer-provided plan has allowed me the flexibility to pursue self-employment, which has been a great move for our family.
When it comes to retirement, our ability to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan on a pre-tax basis, is a huge benefit on top of the retirement pay my husband will collect starting in his late 50s. Plus, our daughters will be able to take advantage of my husband’s unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits — a savings of tens of thousands of dollars.
Perks. It may sound trivial, there are a lot of little perks and discounts for military families that add up financially and make us feel appreciated. We’ve received the military discount at hotels, amusement parks, shops and restaurants. We’ve used the free annual pass offered by the National Parks Service.
Thanks to Ohio Military Kids, our daughters have attended a weeklong summer camp designed just for kids like them. The USO frequently offers tickets and experiences to families like ours, and we’ve attended sporting events and concerts (Taylor Swift in 2017!), courtesy of VetTix. And when my husband was deployed, our daughters were eligible for activity grants and sporting equipment from nonprofits like Our Military Kids and United Heroes League.
Pride. I’m proud of my husband for serving our country for more than two decades. I’m grateful for the example he is setting for our daughters in terms of service, hard work and leadership, and I know they’re gaining resilience from our experiences as a Guard family. They are learning they can endure less-than-ideal circumstances — like being away from your dad for a year — and they will be OK. I also hope they’re seeing how lucky we are to have friends and family to lean on when things are difficult and, in turn, how to support others going through a tough time.
Home. Aside from college, my husband and I have lived in Cleveland, Ohio, all our lives. I rely on my parents, my mother-in-law, my friends and our extended family so much. While I know many active-duty spouses find ways to support one another and manage the stress of their challenging lifestyles, I’m thankful that’s not me. I’ve never had to PCS. I’ve never lived on post, and my daughters have never had to change schools. Although the Guard has taken my husband away from home for weeks, months and years, I feel fortunate to be a military spouse who’s never had to leave home.