Life on Post

“The stress of combat was indeed a revealer of character, and I had watched him grapple with his doubts, then steel himself and soldier on. He had taken care of his troops and executed his mission, the two essentials of command, while asking no more of subordinates than he asked of himself. If others found him hard to love — his intensity, competitiveness, and serrated intellect made adoration difficult — he was nevertheless broadly respected and instantly obeyed.”

When the Iraq war began in 2003, Rick Atkinson was a journalist embedded with the 101st Airborne Division based out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was assigned to shadow the division’s commanding general, Major General David Petraeus.

This book is an important read, not only because I feel it is critical to have some understanding of just what’s going on in the Middle East, to have some compassion for what our country’s defenders are being asked to do - but also because it gives a candid glance at the man who is now the commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq.

In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat. Atkinson, Rick. March 2004. 336p. Henry Holt and Company, hardcover. ISBN 0-8050-7561-5.

Our family doesn’t get cable, because having access to seventy-odd channels turns out to be a huge time-suck. As a result, I’ve been watching the new Lifetime show “Army Wives” via the internet.

Last Sunday night I watched the entire program at home. The feed was slow, and I’d watch about twenty seconds of program before the feed would pause for another ten or fifteen seconds while the buffer caught up. But this past Sunday night I was at the airport, greeting my husband and his colleagues, so there was no room for television-watching. I decided as I was sitting in my usual coffee haunt yesterday morning that I’d see if I could view the second episode. The buffer and feed were even smoother at Mugsy’s than it had been at home, so I guess I know what I’ll be doing Monday mornings from now on.

I know there has been a lot of ruffled feathers over the fact that the enlisted families that are portrayed in the show aren’t representative of everyone - that there are such thing as highly-educated, professional, faithful enlisted wives. I know that to be true. And yet, I’m cognizant of the fact that happy, calm lives rarely make for critically-acclaimed dramatic television. Case in point: Desperate Housewives.

And yet, I’m finding this show enjoyable to watch. I can find something in most characters that I can identify with.

Click the following link for spoilers for the episode.
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But for wives who marry into the military — “muggles,” as J. K. Rowling might call them — there is a curious round of new protocols and regulations to internalize: Men are no longer referred to by first names or by “Mr.” but must be called “Colonel Weasley” or “Major Granger” …

I picked up this book on my visit to Borders this week. I’d originally gone in to find the book that the new show Army Wives is based on, but discovered that it hadn’t reached my local shop’s shelves yet. I could reserve my copy, or order one of her other books on the subject, but instead I wandered over to the military history section to see what I could find.

I found Home Fires Burning, which tells the stories of a number of “waiting wives” — those of us who are holding up the fort while our spouses are away doing interesting things with interesting people. Ms. Houppert, a journalist and former military brat, profiled a variety of military families, and I found the tales compelling and the author’s writing style very engaging.

And she made an apropos Harry Potter reference, which is worth bonus points in my estimation.

Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military — for Better or Worse. Houppert, Karen. March 2005. 272p. Ballantine, hardcover. ISBN 0-345-46169-X.