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| posted: 5/8/2009 |
by: Allison Perkins |
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On Military Spouse Appreciation Day last year, Army wife Kathryn Webb wasn’t given flowers. Instead, she shot at snipers, did PT and jumped off a 34-foot tower.
At the end of the day, she was covered in mud. She was tired. But she was proud, and after the daylong spouse “boot camp,” she felt a stronger connection with her soldier husband.
“Doing something is always more fun that just getting a small gift. When you get the gift of experience, you have memories to hold on to,” Webb said. “This was our way of connecting with our husbands and understanding more of what they go through.”
Not to mention, Webb and the other participants ended the day with some pretty substantial bragging rights.
“We could come back and say, ‘Look what I can do, not only can I hold the fort down while you’re gone, but I could hold the fort down if I were you, too,’ ” she said.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the Friday before Mother’s Day as Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Now, bases and cities around the world hold their own celebrations to honor these men and women.
At Fort Bragg, N.C., that means two days of spouse celebrations. On Thursday, the spouses attend seminars on gardening, yoga and jewelry making. On Friday, they become a soldier for the day.
The group is divided into platoons, completes PT, trains on video-game simulators to fire on snipers, drives HUMVEES on more simulators, learns basic airborne techniques and works as a team to complete an obstacle course.
Webb’s proudest moment that day came when she climbed to the top of the 34-foot jump tower used to train airborne soldiers and leaped off. Trainees strapped into a parachute and zip line and are taught the fundamentals of parachute landing as they glide to the ground.
The jump was especially heart-pounding for Webb, who is terrified of heights.
“The scariest thing is actually getting the nerve to jump off,” she said. “It was a nice ride down.”
At Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, the spouses actually do get flowers. The first sergeants gather and present a carnation to every spouse on base at a small reception.
Organizers said it’s important to recognize the sacrifices spouses make to support the military.
“We want the spouses to feel appreciated,” said Andy Posey, chief of Family Readiness. “We want to recognize all the things the spouses do with the moves and deployments. It’s a lot.”
Editor's note: Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day! To show our appreciation for you, we have books to give away -- three copies of "Faith Under Fire," the memoir of a military chaplain and his wife chronicling their struggles with his PTSD. We've also got five copies of "Luck By Design," a guide to success through trusting your intuition, living with integrity and making your own luck.
Congratulations to our winners: mommyto2girls, Bailey's Mom, Tom's bunny, taylacy504, plushiesunrise, kombatkween and binafan.
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What I appreciate most is being able to move all over and making new friends. I wouldn't have ever met some of my closest friends if my husband hadn't joined the Army.
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posted by: mommyto2girls
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5/8/2009 10:36:47 AM
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I appreciate the benefits because we are offered a lot as dependents. I also appreciate the support and prayers I receive from those who are non-military, especially during deployments,
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posted by: Bailey's Mom
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5/8/2009 10:37:35 AM
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I appreciate being able to give back to the community that is so supportive of me. When I volunteer, the faces behind the ""thank you"" give me such a rewarding feeling.
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posted by: Tom's bunny
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5/8/2009 10:53:03 AM
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I appreciate the sense of pride and contentment that I have for my husband. Knowing that he is one of the many supporting and fighting for our us makes me very proud of him and very appreciative of being a military wife.
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posted by: taylacy504
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5/8/2009 11:32:28 AM
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I appreciate the opportunities for personal growth. I know that every bit of information I learn will be useful to someone else later on. When I help out others in a similar situation, I feel I am truly helping out our country.
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posted by: plushiesunrise
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5/8/2009 12:37:56 PM
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I appreciate the opportunity for my husband and I to build a stronger marriage. I think it's true what they say, that deployments can make or break a marriage, and I'm grateful that the absence makes our hearts grow fonder and encourages us to find new ways to communicate and show we love each other. It's a lot harder to take your spouse for granted when, every so often, you have to live without them for months at a time.
Oh, and the opportunity to live someplace new every two years is pretty cool, too!
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posted by: kombatkween
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5/8/2009 11:44:56 PM
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As an Army Spouse I appreciate the immediate sense of family and neighborhood. It is amazing the way we spouses bond and support each other in good times and in bad. I know I can pick up the phone any hour of the day and call a spouse if I'm in need and she'll be there, with a listening ear, a hearty meal or my favorite beverage and a pint of ben and jerry's!
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posted by: binafan
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5/9/2009 10:14:59 AM
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