European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday april 11, 1986 readers reply to letter on dependent wives this is to the enlisted woman for whom it took months to get her cattle Call Pap smear because of appointment sched Ules being filled with dependent wives. My husband has served the for 18 years and 2 months. I have been his dependent wife for this entire period. First let me say in All the has been Good to me and my family. We have had our hardships like everyone else. This is our second tour in Germany. When stateside i have my own doctor career Etc. While being in Europe for 36 months or longer what Choice do we have go on the Economy being in the United states or in Germany i will gladly give you my appointment. So that s one dependent wife you Don t have to Wail on. I have my own doctor on the Economy for personal reasons. Some cannot afford the personal service. As for your living arrangements with four to a room stacked two deep there arc apartments on the Economy for your privacy. I am sure you know the details. Now for the dependent wife who Felt the policy was unfair and they needed a Nursery service at the of gyn clinic. It sounds to me As if she is a Young wife and still does not know All the loopholes about the military Way of life. If she were Wise she would realize that you never should take a Well child to a Hospital clinic. There Are Nursery services available elsewhere. Here in Germany we Are All just in another country and not on the Moon. As a dependent wife i have Given my All to the military and other dependent wives As Well but mostly to my husband and children. The Long lines the wailing the move every 18 months or i rec years the separations for a year at a time Etc. My husband chose to be a career Soldier and 1 stand by him All the Way. Sometimes the Job can be stressful but in the end rewarding. I Sec proud when he wears his dress Blue or greens. I Bow to the family and also the single Soldier. I Pray that someday you May see the other Side of the dependent wife you could very Well be one yourself one Day. Gwendolyn s. Fryer dependent wife Frankfurt docs she have any idea what some wives give up to follow i hair Soldier overseas i had a wonderful Job in Florida our children went to an excellent school and we gave All of it up to follow my Marine to Spain where the locals have priority in jobs. The crime rate is High but we learn to live with it. Our self esteem goes Down because Here we Are Only a dependent but because we love our husbands we Deal with it. 1 would love to be living in my Home stale but i will follow my husband anywhere. The military should help and appreciate dependent wives because As the saying goes behind every goodsoldier is a Good wife of a gunnery sergeant Rota Spain As far As taking care of single soldiers it seems to me the a military does a great Deal for you plus Many of the families take in singles at holidays wives clubs seem to provide for these people also. In fact Many of the Grams provided by morale welfare and recreation that a lot of families Are not Able to take advantage of either because of the Cost of baby Sitters or too Many scheduling conflicts arc for singles. But just As these things Are offered to you you can Only do for a person what the will allow you to do. In the states when i was expecting and seeing of gyn every three to four weeks with appoint ments made Well in Advance i could still count on at least one to two hours wait As the enlisted women in uniform came into sick Call for Pap smears. Hardly an illness for sick Call would t you say but As dependent wives waiting has become second nature to us we be accepted uniforms going ahead in the commissary and Exchange. We can see the dentist on our birthday. I Only Call in for appointments i feel we really need. Your complaint is not that you had to wait but that you waited As Long As we did. You have now walked a mile in our shoes. We Are All overseas together. If we tried to think of ourselves As the same instead of needing to categorize each other life would be better Here. Sheila m. Mustachia Hahn Germany i be had the experience of being a single Soldier and a dependent wife. As a single Soldier i made the same remarks. Basically i said if the wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one and that the gives More to the dependents and married Soldier than to the single soldiers. Now As a dependent whether i m at the Exchange or Hospital i get the feeling that people Are saying she can wait she s Only a you must realize being a dependent is hard. As civil ians we must live by the rules. I m not saying being a Soldier is easier because i know it just As hard. We re All in the together. And the is taking care of its own the single Soldier the married Soldier and the dependent. Joanne d. Caran Frankfurt i m sorry the writer feels the Way she does but 1 understand exactly where she is coming from because i be been there. When i was in the i Felt the same Way about so called dependent i blamed them for Long lines and months of waiting for clinic appointments. Now i m on the other Side of the Fence. I m married to a service member and i have two children. When i do go to sick Call at 8 a.m., i find that family member sick Call starts at 9, Active duty comes first. When i go to the commissary to get Only a few items at 11 a.m., i find that service members have priority in the express line until 1 . When i go Cash a Check i find that it s not my social Security number they want but my husband s. Twenty years ago the writer would have been right to say the single Soldier is the Backbone of the but in1986 it is the family. Also the term dependent wives is offensive. Those of us who Are mothers and housewives know that raising children running a Home and taking care of our Hus bands could hardly be classified As dependent status. Denise l. Cowan Schweinfurt Germany the lady writing in regard to our dispensary and of gyn clinic could never be As wrong about anything. I arrived in Hanau with five children and it has been a Nightmare since Day one. I had numerous problems with everything including a sixth pregnancy. However a Bright spot was the dispensary s of gyn clinic and its nurse. I understand the writer s being bitter. I can even understand her anger. But she must realize that lashing out pen pals i am interested in having some pen pals. I am 37 years old divorced and have one son aged 15. I enjoy Reading listening to music dancing cooking going to restaurants and swimming. I work As a compute operator for a Large business systems company. Christine Ware 35 Coverack close Hood Avenue Southgate London n14, England i would like to correspond with others from different countries. I am 19 years old. I enjoy dancing and playing sports. I m taking a nursing course. Susan Cencia Davao doctor s College Quirino Street Davao City 9501, Philippines i would like pen pals from All Over the world. I am 25 years old. My hobbies Are collecting Stamps listening to music Reading magazines movies biking gardening and cooking. Nila d. Emanel b-9 Valencia collage Bolton st. Davao City Philippines i would like pen pals from All Over he world. I am 23 years old. My hobbies Are cooking gardening and listening to music. I work As a Sale clerk. Rosario b. Ocampo Block no. 5, Purok barong Kaitlin ban Bata subdivision Bacolod cily Negros Occidental Philippines 6001 please include my name in your pen pal list. I would like pals from All Over the Globe. I am 12 years old. I am an american girl. My hobbies Are drawing stamp collecting Reading and Brooks hic 2 be 3ad/aio . Box 301 Apo ., 09091 i would like pen pals from All Over the world. I am 22 years old. Erlin c. Baldoza 133 or. V. Locsin s. Dumaguet City Philippines 6501 i would like to correspond with others around the world. I am 23 years Rosemina g. Cabildo 133 or. V. Locsin st. Dumaguet City Philippines i would like to write to people overseas. I am 37 years old my interests Are music movies Reading museums travelling and collecting Post cards. Susan Eav . Box 37235 fort Worth Texas 76117 i would like pen pals All Over the world. I am 22 years old Wenefrida trades foundation University Dumaguet City Philippines 6501 i would like pen pals from other countries. I am 20 years old Gina p. Acabal 133 or. V. Locsin st. Dumaguet City Philippines 6501 i be lived and worked in the United states and would like to Corre Spond with americans. My Lai e husband was an american. I am 39 years old and have two children. My interests Are varied from music to history to fashion to sports. I m employed As a hotel receptionist Pamela j. Wilson 51 Lea Road Wallasey Merseyside l44 Odt England i would like Pirn pals from different countries. I am 16 years old Mary Ann p. Blanco Gul Huangan Negros Oriental Philippines 6525 i would like pen pals from All Over the world. I am 20 years Baguio 133 or. V. Locsin st. Dumas Pete City Philippines 6501 at the nurse was not warranted. I have had six children under our military hospitals and my children have never been allowed in one of the clinics. Not even Long enough to make an appointment. I have never been More pleased with the of care i received than that of the 209th dispensary and i am not an easy person to please when it comes to the health care of my children and myself. This nurse has helped me with prob lems throughout my care and did so in a very professional manner. Perhaps i visit this clinic More than most people be cause of the size of my family but even so i have always been treated beyond my expectations. From the doctors and pharmacists to the record clerks they All go out of their Way to be caring. This is not because of my Hus band s rank he s an e-5.first impressions Are lasting ones and hers were bad but i urge her to take another look at our dispensary. It is most deserving of our appreciation. A dependent wife Hanau Germany. I am really sorry that the writer has the opinion of dependent wives that she does. She apparently has not Ever realized How Many services mostly Volunteer of course that we dependent wives provide for the single soldiers. We Are the red Cross volunteers who provide the extra manpower needed to keep the dispensaries running and make sure that you Don t have to be alone in the room with a male doctor when you have your Pap smear. We Are the Community services volunteers that provide a wide variety of services for the entire Community. We Are the Thrift shop volunteers who keep these facilities operating therefore enabling you and your friends to Purchase transformers uniforms Etc. At a discount rate. We Are the wives club members who provide Christmas stockings for the single soldiers extra Home made goodies for the company parties and barbecues and Welcome Home goodies when you the single soldiers have been to the Field. And most of these services go without a thank the list could go on and on uncountable Volunteer hours for the Comfort of the single Soldier. 1 have not had a Christmas or thanksgiving dinner in Germany without several single soldiers in my Home we dependent wives generally take second place toll soldiers As it should be in the military. Many single soldiers Are very glad that we dependent wives Don t take the same attitude toward single sol Diers that this writer has toward us. Cindy Perkins dependent wife and proud of it Katterbach Germany 1 would t complain too much about the time in waiting rooms. My wife has waited up to four hours on sick Call for one of my sons while Active duty sick Call takes precedence. She does t complain too much we Are grateful for the medical support we do get from the . I am sick of the complaining. Soldiers have it pretty Good in Europe with All the programs provided for them if they take advantage of them. The families have i pretty Good too. The is made up of soldiers and families not just single soldiers and it does a Good Job of taking care of both. Let s Stop complaining and get on with our Mission Here in Europe serving in the armed forces of the United states. Maj. John f. Gallen Wuerzburg Germany i can sympathize with the writer regarding the cattle Call Pap smears and waiting endlessly for a clinic appointment. However she made her feelings quite clearly using the word that word makes me feel like dirt. Active duty and support people of All services offered by the armed forces love to use that word in reference to the wives and Chil Dren that Are stuck Here through no fault of our own. My Only crime is wanting to support my husband in his chosen career. The clinic system is overworked and abused by too Many people for illnesses that could be treated at Home simply because they think the care is Well it in t. I pay for it every time my husband walks out the Bartlett Hahn a Germany Well excuse us do you think we enjoy it frankly most of us would rather be sitting in a civilian doctor s Soltice Back in the states but the men we love Are Over Here and so we sacrifice a lot to be Here with them. I am not trying to make it sound like these people Are unimportant because they do a lot and they Are our future leaders but 1 would like to believe that the most experienced members Are the the . So what does that make dependent wives the Back Bone of the Backbone sounds Good to me Deborah l. Frischman Schweinfurt Germany
