Invisible Women: Junior Enlisted Army Wives

Rating:
Summary: Helpful for Leadership
Review: Although the other women above may disagree with me, as someone who will commission as a "despised" 2LT in 10 months, I found the book helpful. No matter how uncommon these women may actually be, the fact of the matter is that the public is aware of the plight of junior enlisteds and this gives some explanation to all the bad press about food stamps and uneducated wives. The author states in her introduction that the book was written to shed light on the situation so that policymakers, officers and others with power can be informed to make decisions. I bought the book because I refuse to be the LT in the book screaming at E-2s on a 100 degree day. It is extremely helpful for understanding the culture I am about to enter. I bought the book so that I could be the officer who understood and worked to help the problem. For that purpose, it is excellent. I hope I never encounter families like the case studies, but if I do, I feel that I am now better prepared to help them. I have passed the book around the ROTC battalion with the hope of producing officers who have insight into the lives of the soldiers they lead.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful for Leadership
Review: Although the other women above may disagree with me, as someone who will commission as a "despised" 2LT in 10 months, I found the book helpful. No matter how uncommon these women may actually be, the fact of the matter is that the public is aware of the plight of junior enlisteds and this gives some explanation to all the bad press about food stamps and uneducated wives. The author states in her introduction that the book was written to shed light on the situation so that policymakers, officers and others with power can be informed to make decisions. I bought the book because I refuse to be the LT in the book screaming at E-2s on a 100 degree day. It is extremely helpful for understanding the culture I am about to enter. I bought the book so that I could be the officer who understood and worked to help the problem. For that purpose, it is excellent. I hope I never encounter families like the case studies, but if I do, I feel that I am now better prepared to help them. I have passed the book around the ROTC battalion with the hope of producing officers who have insight into the lives of the soldiers they lead.

Rating:
Summary: Not typical of army life - but it does happen
Review: As a wife of a new recruit, the book scared me to death.....what had we gotten ourselves in to??? Then in talking with other Army families, active, retired, or just no longer in...these stories are isolated. Yes, bad things happen...civilian or military...that's life. I could write 10 books on how bad our 14 married years of civilian life were! You can take this book and read it, to help you see some of the pitfalls that can occur and hopefully prepare yourself better, or learn from mistakes made in the book. I learned more about Army life by talking to actual people than I did from reading this book. It is extreme!

Rating:
Summary: Not typical of army life - but it does happen
Review: As a wife of a new recruit, the book scared me to death.....what had we gotten ourselves in to??? Then in talking with other Army families, active, retired, or just no longer in...these stories are isolated. Yes, bad things happen...civilian or military...that's life. I could write 10 books on how bad our 14 married years of civilian life were! You can take this book and read it, to help you see some of the pitfalls that can occur and hopefully prepare yourself better, or learn from mistakes made in the book. I learned more about Army life by talking to actual people than I did from reading this book. It is extreme!

Rating:
Summary: Very Small Population Indeed
Review: As the wife of an enlisted man, I must disagree with the sterotype that this book reflects. Most men are going into the military well educated, with wives that are independant minded, and a life of their own. I support my husbands military career, but I am also a working professional in the civilian world, and with both incomes we lead a better life then most senior officers. These people who sterotype seem to place all enlisted personell into this mold. To me, this thinking is extremely naive, and very uneducated.

Rating:
Summary: Very Small Population Indeed
Review: As the wife of an enlisted man, I must disagree with the sterotype that this book reflects. Most men are going into the military well educated, with wives that are independant minded, and a life of their own. I support my husbands military career, but I am also a working professional in the civilian world, and with both incomes we lead a better life then most senior officers. These people who sterotype seem to place all enlisted personell into this mold. To me, this thinking is extremely naive, and very uneducated.

Rating:
Summary: Offensive
Review: Does the author actually think that others in the same socio-economic situation fare better? Let's take a look at others the same age,non college grads, married with kids, and see if their struggles aren't the same or even worse.(Be sure to add in 500-600 a month for healthcare to the civilian budget) Except for the #2 interview, the examples offend me. How does a teenager cope with motherhood, separations and support in the best of situations? How does an older spouse without kids expect to make ends meet while abandoning her career?(I am thinking #3 could have done better than working at a washroom, what about the PX or shoppette? Or the post bank? If she liked Wendy's so much, why not there?) and spending 160 dollars a month on cigarettes?
Furthermore, there is plenty of support in place. It is unfortunate that some junior enlisted wives perpetuate bad rumors about FRG's and the officers wives that run them. They can't and won't be helped until they are willing to help themselves.
For the record, there are plenty of strong, smart,educated and self sufficient spouses out there. This is a slap in the face to those women and the women to follow in the ranks behind them!

Rating:
Summary: Common ground
Review: I found this book enlightening. I understand what the author's purpose was: not to show an "average" junior enlisted spouse, but a broad range of experiences by these women. It was not to disparage, but to inform military, community and political leaders about some of the hardships these families often face. As the daughter of one Army officer, the wife of another, involved as I am in the Army community, I find this book helpful in giving me ideas on how to approach the junior enlisted spouses. Also, I found a lot of common ground with these women, although my Army and life experiences have been very different. Even though I don't have financial difficulties, I have a Masters degree and have actively sought out classes and help when needed, I too have felt vastly overwhelmed by the Army lifestyle, the experiences of being a new mom, dealing with separations from my husband, and running up against the bureaucracy. I believe this book can allow the leadership to understand the issues better and call attention to similarities between all Army spouses.

Rating:
Summary: Invisible Women
Review: I found this book to be quite an eye opener. The author interviewed hundreds of military wives and chose to share three stories of women who were married to junior enlisted men. It seems so many young couples find marriage as the only answer to the seperation that comes with being in a Military relationship. The inteviews show the womens struggles with money due to the fact that the Military pays lower ranks very little. They found it hard being young, with children, away from family and friends, and many times away from their husbands. This book made me shed a few tears, it made me laugh, and it also opened my eyes as to how little junior enlisted families mean to the Military. I really suggest this book to young junior enlisted Military couples who want to get married as a solution for the seperation that comes with a Military relationship. This book will open you eyes to what is the "military life" for many junior enlisted couples. I also recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about real, true life stories. If you want happy, sugar coated, examples of junior enlisted married life, this isn't the book for you. But if you're looking for an honest, real look then this is the book you want to read.

Rating:
Summary: It's all true
Review: I just finished reading this book and it was exactly right on the mark for the experiences and obstacles that military wives encounter. I don't know why so many in the military community are saying that this isn't so.There is a high concentration of young,naive people, both the husbands and their wives, in the service and the fact that the service moves these mainly young couples so far away from any support structures that may have existed for them, and then doesn't pay them enough to live, has more to do with their struggles than just being young and inexperienced. It is easier to be a young couple attempting to raise a family when grandma,grandpa and extended family members are there to help with the grandchildren. It is a much more difficult thing to be your own and only asset when times are hard. The military establishment should be the group that is trying to make this book out to be false, not the wives. But then, many of the wives are young and don't fully realize the degree to which their choices and opportunities are restricted by their husbands'job. I would embrace this book and say thank you for noticing!