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Article courtesy of armytimes.com

Military spouses’ career sacrifices deserve notice by Rebecca Noah Poynter

Recently, I enjoyed a margarita and a good laugh with a longtime college friend, and fellow military spouse, as we recalled a military-life moment. For each of us, there had been a tough move to a new location. With her young children, leaving family saddened her. Losing a good job challenged me. There were protests, then tears and finally, flowers offered awkwardly by each husband to make amends for the military life.

But it takes time to regain both identity and income each time life is repositioned.

In 1984, President Reagan characterized it this way: “As the numbers of our married men and women in uniform have grown and as the military missions have become more complex and dispersed, their spouses have made countless personal sacrifices to support the armed forces.”

His words led to the creation of Military Spouse Day.

Now it is Military Spouse Appreciation Day, on May 11, and it is generally unknown.

The current active-duty military spouse population is about 700,000, and 65 percent of them work.

The 1984 Military Spouse Day proclamation talks about spouses ‘‘subordinating their personal and professional aspirations.” Reagan got it so right. Subordinating personal aspirations means that a military spouse may not like going to the next duty location or saying goodbye to her deploying husband, but she does it.

The invisible sacrifice of military spouses is “subordinating professional aspirations.”

For the military spouse, the ability to work is altered by the mobility of the lifestyle. A job may take longer to find, pay significantly less and not match her education or experience.

Military spouses are at a disadvantage in the labor market, less likely to be employed than civilian spouses and more likely to be unemployed, according to a 2004 Rand study. Military spouses also earn less than civilian spouses.

As for the thousands of active-duty military spouses who are self-employed, establishing and maintaining businesses or professional careers with military moves is uniquely demanding. With each move, they face challenges, including state professional licenses, business registrations and tax complications.

Military spouse employment affects armed forces retention. For example, the Army states, “Spouse employment emerges as a major determining factor in the retention of high-quality military personnel.”

State and federal legislation is needed to address military spouse issues and opportunities.

In 2006, Texas allowed military spouses who move for military-related reasons to collect unemployment compensation.

Only six other states — Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and Washington — have similar laws.

U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, introduced the Military Spouses Employment Act to provide tax incentives to employers who hire military spouses. This bill was voted down in committee and will be reintroduced this year.

While each military spouse quietly serves with personal and professional sacrifices, the collective silence surrounding us is audible. As deployments increase and mobility continues, the military spouse should be viewed realistically and thoughtfully. Now that you recognize her, don’t let her stand alone.