European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Married to the military continued i of Page 13 or shopping malls in the Stales but they can l seem to find is Many jobs of this Type in Europe. Alves Leller said despite the obstacles Many wives make the Besl of the situation. There Are a lot of frustrated wives who got thai Way because they put themselves on hold said Wendy Dearborne. Whose husband is a technical sergeant at Raf Lakenheath England although her Lite revolves around her husband s Job and where he goes she decided she would not put Hersell on hold. Before she married the 29-year-old native of London worked As a Beauty therapist specializing in facial therapy when her husband got orders to Mather fab calif., from Oesterberg a. Netherlands she made him Promise that once they got to the stateside base she could go to Beauty school. Dearborne became a Hairdresser acquiring a Trade she can practice anywhere. She works As a Hairdresser Al Raf Mildenhall s Beauty Salon a Job she found less than iwo weeks after arriving at Lakenheath in july 1988. As a military spouse you have to have portable skills and be flexible said Brenda Cherry a registered nurse who works As chief of programs for Lakenheath s family support Center the military Calls it lateral movement knowing How to do More than one thing thai s what s worked for me having More than one profession during her 10 years of marriage to tech sgt John Cherry she has worked in several different jobs and usually prepared for future at the same time. While working As a nurse while stationed Al Pope fab. N c. She Learned typing and shorthand. Those skills Are what the North Carolina native needed when she was employed As a Secretary for the department of Delesc dependents schools on the japanese Island of Okinawa whore she earned a master s degree in family education. White at Castle fab calif., she went Back to the health care Field working in administration it s not always that easy however. Michelle Hadley 21, the Wile of a specialist and Mother of iwo children aged 4 years and 17 months wanted to spend More time earning her Bachelor s degree in accounting during her husband s recent Lour of duty in Mainz ii was difficult however because she worked during the Day her husband s duty hours keep him away much of the time. When he was Home he watched the children so that she could attend classes at night. He supports me but his being in the Field is a problem in the Middle of a she said. Enlisted men Are often away forcing their wives to become self sufficient. I be do always been there s a lot of disadvantages Independent you Don make much said Paula Jud Sowash Grimm the wife Mainz West Germany. Of an army staff s&5 0 and Fia i be always been Independent i m Mother father Mechanic Paula Grimm Mainz West Germany. Sergeant who was also recently stationed in Mainz she holds an associate s degree in criminal Justice and plans to begin a Bachelor s program when her youngest child is in school Grimm s husband also is away on duly often. One year it was 265 Days. I m Mother father Mechanic plumber. I know i could make it in anything should happen god forbid she said. Other wives Are just As Independent. Austrian born karm Dewitt the wife of a first sergeant stationed in Mainz has been married twice to american soldiers she has five adult children i can change an electrical outlet hang up lamps put up wallpaper plaster Walls i be even put up ceiling tiles and Pho tiles said Dewitt. Who works at the directorate of engineering and housing office in Mainz. You d be surprised How Many people Call to change a Light while wives Are proud of their abilities to keep the Home running while their husbands Are away they worry about their children who often see Little of their lathers my husband gels up Lor work Al 4 he s Home at 7 . No time for the kids he comes Home eats dinner and goes to bed said one Young wife Grimm feels that her kids Are being robbed of their lather even Young wives without children can find military me difficult. Danielle Hunter 21, and Stephanie Babb 22. Each have been married to a private first class for about a year and a half. Babb. A dental assistant who works Al the military clinic at Wiesbaden a. Said her husband is in the army for iwo years to get the go Bill which will help him finish his education. She and her husband shun Inen ships with most of their Peers this is kind of terrible to say. But when we met people who did t have education we backed away from them and looked for people like Babb said Hunter s husband plans to make the army a career i Don t know How i feel about it she said although she does t have a bad opinion of the military. If you re willing to make sacrifices it s not that bad of a lifestyle she said my lather was an officer in the marines and he tried to prepare me " Pat Byron agrees her husband is stationed in Nurnberg. Military Lile can be rough sometimes said the Mother of iwo. We just had Over a year s separation ii took a year to Lind housing Here and wave been in Temps temporary quarters Lor two months " and yet i really like it because it s secure i be been around the military All my life except Lor the year that my husband was out. That was the scariest year of my we. It s real comforting not to have to worry where the Money is going to come from to pay the doctor s Bills i think it s an elite group. You always have something in common everywhere you go. I lived for a year As a civilian and never got to meet my neighbors " her positive attitude about the military turned things around her husband refined the army he s talking about going to warrant officers school now she said suit want Relt Bontoft and Amy owl of Jon to contributed to on port. For some f isolation Finar by Mary Neth staff writer inny and her husband a Corporal i to face reality there just was t enough Money Lor her and their baby daughter t stay in Europe since the baby came we just can t make it financially Omny said there is nothing Lor to do but she and the baby will go Home to her Mother in the United slates. Ginny had a Job As a typist until she became ill dui her pregnancy and was forced to stay Home. The couple went to an army Community service office seeking help. A Volunteer looked Over their budget there was nothing she could Ginny of we Don t have a lot of Bills. We owe cafes $50 a month for Christmas presents we sent the family that s about ii was the big expense of the overseas move thai them Back. No government quarters were available. They rented a German apartment. We had to pay three months rent to gel in. Then had to pay a Down payment to have a Telephone Ginny said finally we had to buy a secondhand car so my husband could get to work i wish thai someone had warned us of All the expenses. We weren t told what to with the downturn in International value of the u s Dollar Lile overseas for Dollar earning american but especially for the military s Tower enlisted Rar often is More expensive than they had anticipate people should be warned about the expense of Long distance Telephone Calls and automobile insurance said the wife of an army enlisted Nan what Little information we did receive before coi Nii Here such As the Typo of electrical appliances in could be used turned out to be misinformation " Catherine Alves Leller. A consumer affairs and financial assistance program manager with acs in Wiesbaden West Germany counsels Many women who Are married to the lower enlisted. They have a Leeling that everything is out of the control and thai they Are she said. Almost Art want to work. For a lot of the clients i be it s a crisis situation. They have debts to pay and a been relying on two incomes they have to find a /. To pay those Bills. They come expecting to get a to Many of the wives have not finished High school Don t have the skills required for office work j in the United states they were Able to find work fast food outlets or shopping malls a Este Fer a there Aren t As Many jobs of that Type in the United states Many also earned Money b. Sitting. But baby sitting in government quarters requires that they be certified child care providers. And there is a limit on the number of children they take care of in their Don t understand said Alvesteffer the. Say Why should i have to be certified i have been taking care of children for years they see this As another sign of How Little control they have Over the own lives. All these issues add More to those feelings of powerlessness and isolation which in turn add she to the marriage the Leeling of isolation is text especially keenly by Young wives married to lower enlisted men and. Livit outside military housing she some just give up they sit at Home atone for ii Page 14
