Marriage and the Military
by Harriet Hairston
There comes a time in everyone’s life when it’s essential to get back to the basics.
In case you hadn’t heard, the U.S. Army just did a complete overhaul of its basic military training practices for the first time in 30 years! Because of the nature of current warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, they thought it necessary to shift their focus from five mile endurance runs and bayonet drills to core strengthening exercises.
It is no longer as necessary for military members to run cross country like they did from WWII to Vietnam. It is essential, however, for members to be able to pull themselves and their comrades out of burning vehicles, to engage in hand-to-hand combat, and to be able to carry themselves and perhaps hundreds of pounds of equipment from point A to point B. That’s just the nature of warfare these days, and the Army, after over seven years in middle eastern combat, finally shook itself to its foundation in order to increase the survival rate and decrease the casualty rate in the combat zone.
…Increase the survival rate and decrease the casualty rate in the combat zone…
Marriage can be its own combat zone, with two warriors (husband and wife) training smaller warriors (children) with the necessary tools and equipment to survive outside the safety of the fort called home. In the Army, the foundation of professionalism is based on order, discipline, respect, strength and fitness. None of those things were replaced in the creation of these new tenets of physical fitness. Within a marriage, a solid foundation of love, respect, loyalty, commitment and responsibility are necessary.
Yet the warfare against marriages and children is much different today than it was 30 years ago. Like the Army, we must recognize that although endurance is necessary, if a couple cannot carry one another through the storms of roadside bombs (debt, sickness, rampant temptation, and an overall disregard for the sanctity of the marital union throughout society), it’s quite possible that endurance will never be attained. Kinda hard to endure when the bullet of divorce goes through the head of a marriage, rendering it both heart and brain dead.
The challenges facing marriages today should make us at least consider an overhaul in our approach. If we get back to the basics and shift certain tools to strengthen the core of our unions, I believe we will actually increase the survival rate and decrease the casualty rate of marriages in the combat zone of society.
…I think the Army is onto something!
God bless!
~ Harriet
Harriet Hairston is a woman who slips and slides in and out of labels (military officer, human resource manager, minister, mentor, spoken word artist and teacher). The only ones that have stuck so far are “wife” and “mother” (the most important in her estimation). The rest have taught her well that only what she does for Christ will last. There is one more permanent label she holds: ”author.” You can purchase her first book, ”Who Are You?“ simply by clicking on the link. You can also contact her at harriet_hairston@yahoo.com.
Add a comment
Comments (7)