I remember one time, sitting outside, having my weekly wine with my neighbor, when we started a discussion about her new-found “job” as a battalion commander’s spouse. She was sharing how she felt blessed that she had such great friends and neighbors (battle buddies) because she is feeling a bit “lost in the sauce” when it comes to meeting all of the expectations and answering all of the questions that have come along with her role in her husband’s new position.
“I don’t need any of those books, all I need is the number to Army Community Service and Tara Crooks.” she said.
I laughed. “My number? Why would you need my number?” I asked in half panic mode, because Lord knows I don’t need my number being given to all of the members of her Battalion FRG.
“Because you’re an expert,” she replied.
We eventually went on to other more interesting topics. I mean, really, we couldn’t spend an entire evening on Army stuff, could we? Never mind. I answered my own question, but what she said did get me thinking.
An expert? I never really considered myself an expert. Mostly because, as with anything Army (and, really, the entire military), as soon as you figure it out, they change it.
If you’ve hung around AWN long enough, you may have heard me tell you about when I “checked in” to this military life. It wasn’t until after I interviewed quite a few people on Army Wife Talk Radio that I realized I better figure some things out in order to survive this journey. If you want the accelerated learning course, just have your service member leave on deployment.
The bottom line, and point to this story, is that though these situations all happened in my past, and despite the military changes on a daily basis, after almost 10 years of running Army Wife Network, I guess she was right—I am an expert.
It just depends on how you look at it.
If you asked me the wording to the Army Family Covenant, I couldn’t tell you—well, without Googling first.
If you asked me what basic training was like, I’d have no idea.
If you asked me to explain why finance shorted your pay, I wouldn’t know, but I would know where to send you to find the answer. I am a jack-of-all-Army-related-trades. In my experiences of learning about what others have done, sharing stories and resources, I have filled my little grab bag of resources and experiences pretty full.
I guess on this Army journey, I would be a good friend to have, especially for her.
Having many friends, of many personalities, friends who like all sorts of different things, friends from all over the world, and friends with varying experiences and perspectives is a blessing. Think of it as a way to “well-round” yourself without all of the rounding!
So, what type of battle buddy are Y-O-U?
Are you an expert? What are you good at? What do you like to do? Do you like:
- Scrapbooking
- Networking
- Volunteering
- Exercising
- Photography
- Painting
- Writing
- Laughing
- Relaxing
- Cleaning
- Organizing
- Parenting
- Cooking
- Decorating
- Financial Stuff
When you’re going through this journey, you begin learning that it’s important to have battle buddies (or friends and neighbors, as she called them) lined up. That way, when it’s time to call them to duty, you know exactly who to call.
When it’s time for a workout, call your fitness friend who can show you the ropes at the gym, go to a class, or drill sergeant your butt out of bed in the morning.
When it’s time to cook dinner for your family, grab your girlfriend who cooks and ask her to bring her recipes along.
When it’s time to relax and unwind, see if the neighbor next door has made her weekly Class VI run and look at her—and her wine glass—longingly with a touch of pathetic and hope she invites you for wine and some great conversation!
Share with us what kind of battle buddy you are!
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