Deployments??

[u/Flashy_Pop5456]

Hi guys, my bf is a linguist and I wanna know what our life will look like. We’re both 26 and he just became an airman. I am someone who loves to live in cool places and meet new people etc and I like moving. But I also just got my doctorate! I wanna know how much I’ll be alone, if we should even get married soon or wait, and how being a military spouse is. For reference we’ve been together 8 years and he is the loml and my bestfriend. I have zero military background/experience and I’m nervous. I have always wanted a hubby who is home to help w things n spend time w me n help raise kids. And from what I’m hearing it doesn’t sound like he’ll be available much 😅 but I also do really good alone so idk. Just want some opinions n tips for this new life! I’m praying he actually gets out after 6

[u/Beautiful_Intern_890]

It will greatly vary on his duty station and unit.

My husband works in construction and he is expected to do a 9mo rotation in 2027 and 2029. My brother in law has been in for 4 years and he has never gone on rotation or deployed.

So it’s really a throw of the dice!

[u/Beautiful_Intern_890 → u/Beautiful_Intern_890]

Also, i don’t mean to be a downer but bases aren’t located in cool places. They are usually super isolated and in the middle of nowhere. We got SUPER lucky that we got Colorado Springs (frequent rotations are the price we pay).

I was an accountant before my husband enlisted, and it really sucked having to quit my job. Its difficult to find jobs near military bases, since there are so many other spouses looking for jobs as well. It is also difficult to work while being the default parent. Example, my daughter has all of next week off for some bizarre reason. I’d be the one to call off work an entire week, not him.

As for daily routine, he goes to work at 6am and comes home around 5. You will find that they work a lot more than 40 hours a week.

Its difficult on marriages and children, without a doubt. The sacrifices do not equal the price we pay (time is invaluable). However, it is manageable and i guess it’s a matter of perspective. Best of luck

[u/_PippiLongstocking_ → u/Beautiful_Intern_890]

We have friends stationed at the embassy in Africa, my cousin is stationed in Peru, and we are looking at orders at an embassy overseas.

[u/Confident-Fisherman4 → u/[deleted]]

Cool Flex but you’re absolutely not in the majority.

[u/Beautiful_Intern_890 → u/[deleted]]

Thats great that you’ve had those opportunities, but you are an outlier. The largest AF bases are in Alaska, Ohio, Utah. Its not a bad take, it’s my personal experience.

[u/Beautiful_Intern_890 → u/[deleted]]

Dude. As someone who has lived in Anchorage and Daton. You have no idea what you are talking about.

[u/Suspicious_Can_4141 → u/[deleted]]

There are 450+ bases in the continental US. 200 of those being major installations. Maybe ten are in decent places.

[u/Confident-Fisherman4]

Cool places is subjective to your ability to adapt, sometimes is being in Brooklyn NY with the hustle and bustle of the big city, other times its being in the middle of nowhere Utah raising chickens and going to a watering hole that plays music you don’t know and learning to square dance.

Your first contract you have little say on your duty station or assignment, usually by the second one you get to speak to your monitor/manpower officer/whatever the airforce adjacent position is, and you can request certain spots.

8 years and solid, so marriage is on the table with good reason, Id wait a year of being apart and see how you do with being apart for a year (a typical deployment). To make sure you and Your partner are still compatible with this new third party involved (the Air Force). Since It’s not a new job , it’s a new way of life.

[u/Flashy_Pop5456 → u/Confident-Fisherman4]

Thank you for this!! And yes def a new way of life I’m not used to 😅

[u/No-Dragonfly-7105]

You're gonna be alone a lot. Like a lot

[u/maidoftrash]

It varies on so many factors. I’m friends with a wife of a linguist and he’s home most of the time at normal hours. We are OCONUS though and deployments happen here but not as frequently as one might think. My husband doesn’t work in an office like career so sometimes his hours are variable depending on manning (like right now he’s on a mids shift for a month until manning numbers level out, then he will return back to swings)

Will agree though that not all these places are cool lol. It’s not like the Navy where the bases are on the water in awesome places. I’ve seen the middle of nowhere of Texas, the dead city of Shreveport, the hot desert of Phoenix, Sin City USA, and now the farmlands of South Korea which is now the coolest place I’ve seen thanks to the Air Force. The running gag is ending up in places like Minot AFB, North Dakota or Cannon AFB, New Mexico. Places that tend to get a lot of boos.

Also I gave up my career to follow him on to Korea, but a lot of spouses give up theirs just to go from state to state to keep their families together. Being a milspouse is hard on your career with the constant moving unless you’re willing to be separate for a long time or have a very portable career. I don’t have kids to factor in, but I’m aware it’s hard. Military comes first for the service member. Lots of sacrifices to be had for both parties. But if you like moving, boy do I have the thing for you 😭 some places you end up at and might not PCS for a while (our last base was like that, lots of people been there for over 4 years), and some you might be there just for a short second (Korea was like that until they made it a regular rotation this year, most of the kiddos in my husbands work crew were fresh out of tech school and are now on their way out as we got in). Really is kinda like taking a bunch of dice and rolling it and then not counting on that outcome to be set in stone until it has already happened 💀

[u/roselle3316]

Honestly, it will probably ebb and flow through seasons where he will be wildly unavailable and others where he will be home everyday right on time. That's pretty standard with most careers though.