One of the most amusing things I’ve witnessed as a military spouse is the continuous competition between branches of the military. My very proud Army infantry soldier of a husband certainly is no different than the rest when it comes to taking little jabs at other branches. His best friend just happens to have served in the Air Force, along with many members of his family, so he’s always picking fun at airmen.
In times such as these, when he likes to believe the Army is the superior military branch, I like to remember back a few years. It was his senior year of high school, we’d been dating for just shy of a year and he was meeting with a Navy recruiter, very seriously considering joining.
Now he likes to make fun of their uniforms — which, for the record, I find to be absolutely fantastic — and laugh at his previous ignorance.
No, truly my husband has great respect for all members of the military, regardless of branch. He, like many others, just enjoys a little friendly competition.
But perhaps worse than soldiers themselves are their dependents. We as spouses or even children develop a deep sense of pride for our soldiers, as we should. But sometimes I’ve seen that pride cloud judgment and ruin relationships.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being a proud Army wife, Navy wife, Air Force daughter or Marine dad. I’m just saying that our biases often keep us from realizing that we’re all in this together. Each branch of the military plays a very important role in protecting our nation, and dependents are important for doing their part to support their little piece of what makes our nation great.
It’s nice to think that we’re all in this together. It’s good to remember that we all have our own problems and trials; we all do the best we can to manage; and none of us is any better than the next.