The Little Perks of Military Life

As military spouses, of course we know the big perks of military life—highly discounted medical care, free housing, travel opportunities—but sometimes we miss the little perks of military life that make it so worth living.

When asked about military life, many times we tout the tough stuff like moving, and…moving again, our service member’s work schedule, or long times apart. But if we dig a little deeper, we might find a few nuggets of greatness we often overlook:

Perk 1: Volunteer Recognition

It comes around most military installations: awards week. At most places, a dedicated month is selected for volunteer recognition. Within the next seven days, I will have gone to three awards ceremonies, all celebrating spouses who volunteer. Spouses who jump in and find something they like and dedicate a little or maybe a lot of time to throughout the year.

Today, all the hours of installation volunteering were tallied up, equating to more than a million dollars of services provided to the military and its communities in volunteer work. People from religious groups, volunteers in the library, FRG leaders, and people who help with the designated driver program. Wherever you find your joy, you can plug into your community through volunteering, and you’ll be recognized for pitching in.

I think back to civilian life workplaces and what recognitions were given for work things, and I realize it doesn’t happen often. In civilian life, you may not be celebrated quite as much. Oh, sure, your birthday and holidays, but do people rent banquet halls and have a band playing at these events? If you’re lucky, I suppose. Do very powerful people (two-star generals) shake your hand and tell you, “job well done?”

If you don’t volunteer, I highly recommend it. Although you never really volunteer for the recognition, it’s a wonderful perk for the military to give you a pat on the back every now and then.

Perk 2: College Money

Another perk is money for college. If your service member is a certain rank, you can receive money toward your college education that doesn’t come from their GI Bill, but comes directly to you because you’re a military spouse. Again, not many companies that my service member worked for ever gave me money for school.

Perk 3: Free Stuff and Discounts

The USO, as a whole, is a great gift, but free concerts, and, ah… That fantastic oasis in the airports, the, “Hello, let me give you a tour of our facility. Would you like a sandwich [free], snack [free], or drink [free]?” It is so wonderful when you hear, “Please rest in one of our really comfy recliners away from the hustle and bustle of an airport before your next flight.” Ah, what a dream the USO can be.

How about those great housing community centers who delight in entertaining us: Movies in the park, craft fairs, events to highlight in-home businesses, and usually a free gym. Oh dear, let’s not even get me started on the free gyms! That is a great perk of just being us!

How about discounts on movies or restaurants? Hey, 10% is 10%. I’m thankful that many businesses in many areas recognize the military with a nice little perk.

And Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, renting all the sporting equipment at discounted rates. In Hawaii, we can rent a paddleboard on the beaches for around $30 per hour. Through MWR, we can rent a paddleboard for about $30 for the entire weekend! Bowling (on most posts) is a few dollars per game, and FRGs sometimes pay for a night of bowling! Eek! It is so exciting to think of all the little perks.

Perk 4: Strong Bonds

While this one could fall under the “free stuff and discounts” column, I think it deserves it’s own discussion. Holy moly, if you can get into a Strong Bonds Retreat, you’ll be blessed beyond compare. A three day-ish, two night stay, at a wonderful resort where you attend classes to strengthen communication and family through workshops and events, free child care, hotel, most food, and on one night, they provide child care for you and your spouse to have a date night! So wonderful.

My husband and I attended two: one in a beautiful ski resort in Breckenridge, Colorado, and just recently in Waikiki, Hawaii (you have to be stationed near the location of the event—travel is not paid for). Both were fantastic and what a perk they are!

 

Sometimes it’s easy to think of the less-than-perfect things about military life, but hopefully you can find the light in the little things in life. When you think military life is less than perfect, just think of the perks and be sure you’re taking advantage of them!

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Retired Blogger

Retired Blogger

Army Wife Network is blessed with many military spouses who share their journey through writing in our Experience blog category. As we PCS in our military journey, bloggers too sometimes move on. Their content and contributions are still valued and resourceful. Those posts are reassigned under "Retired Bloggers" in order to allow them to remain available as content for our AWN fans.

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