What did your husband do in the military?

This question makes the one asking sound so ridiculously ignorant, sexist, unaware that women have been serving in the military for centuries! Just as I have, just as my female family members have.

Yes, I served my country in what's known as Security Forces. Shocked? There are some out there who are. Ignorance is bliss. :)

Then, there's the Neanderthal mentality of guys (sometimes girls) who have various disrespectful acronyms, also non-word descriptions for those who were or are married to a military guy.

These women stayed at home, holding down the forte while their husbands were away, while their heroes were putting their lives on the line for our country. The ones back at home, waiting for his return, mostly, are just as deserving of respect, courtesy.
Granted, there are some military wives who do less than honorable deeds while he's away.
The military husbands also sometimes conduct themselves dishonorably.
It goes both ways. Damaging themselves, their spouses, their families. People have no clue how damaging adultery is to their children until it surfaces many years later. The forms it takes are HEART BREAKING!
Drug abuse, low self esteem, alcoholism, anger issues, depression, criminal acts, failure to maintain healthy relationships.
Children may seem to be unaware, believe it, they know. Even when they can't quite put their finger on why they have such disturbances, as adults, their subconscious minds suffer from the turbulence of their parents' relationship. Adultery hurts everyone.

I have met both varieties of AD military people as well as their spouses. The difference is quite clear to one with discernment.
It's a wonderful thing, when I meet a military person or a military spouse who honors their marriage vows. They are the ones who persevere through the loneliness, the sacrifices, the aching for someone who most likely will return, yet, sometimes does not. The guys go out, trusting & hoping their loved ones remain faithful.

When I have occasion to use my current valid military ID Card, I get the question, a lot. What did your husband do in the military?

Then, they look at my ID, light dawns on them. At 5'3, light green eyes, long blonde hair, toned body, people don't think,
"Hey, she looks like she served on active duty in the USAF." Nope.
Usually, they don't think that.

Although there were some very disturbing, damaging events which befell me while I served on active duty, there were also some very exciting, enriching events. These events gave me better self discipline, a more developed thought process, a wider view of life.

The USAF training took me in as a scrawny, painfully shy, small town girl, trained me, taught me, dragged me out of that thick shell
I had built around me. The training gave me confidence, self awareness, courage to go places, to do things I never thought possible.

At times, it seems as if, I have almost progressed full circle. I spend a lot of time alone, these days, during my personal time.
I deal with depression a lot, so, refraining from exposing others to that side of me is a self protective measure, I suppose.
When I'm home, I'm online, selling off whatever people will buy. It's a process, this purging of "stuff".

Check online trends to see what's hot right now, find those items among my remaining possessions. Photograph it. Post it where it can be most easily seen. Wait for a buyers message. Message them back in a timely manner. Receive payment. Record the buyers information in my log, just in case the computer "loses" it. I have backup in hard copy. Package the item securely, attractively, cleanly. I like to make it look pretty so that when the item arrives, it will be a sweet experience.
Address the package. Repeat for each purchase.

In this way, I am slowly getting rid of all of the things that take up too much space. Those things I don't want or need. It's a process.

Having seen all of the "stuff" people leave behind when they die, I don't want people to have to deal with a house full of my stuff when I die.
There is a woman, Marie Kondo, who is sweeping the world with her methods of paring down un-needed stuff.
HAH!
I started doing this in 2007!

I digress.

Being a Veteran of the USAF, there are many benefits that most people don't think of or don't know about. Even many of the Veterans, themselves. Yes, I am a Veteran, who was married to a Veteran, yet, I out-ranked him, so, this crappy attitude toward stereo typing of dependent wives as non-persons, sucking up benefits along with whatever they can eat, is just as insidious as bigotry, racial discrimination, age discrimination, etc.

It's on par with labeling all people of any group as all being one way. It's ignorant, unjust, immature, a sign of a diseased mind.

When someone asks me that annoying question, it lets me know that it's still a man's world. A world of attitudes of double standard, sexism and the good old boy network is still alive and well.

This sounds like a feminazi attitude.
Au contraire.
I love men, most aspects of what it is that makes him a guy. It's a personal hope for me, that more guys would expand their thinking a bit more to think of women as people more often.
People who have feeling hearts, intelligent quick minds, hopes, dreams, desires, not just a vag with a pulse. Yes, I said vag.

When she is treated as & thought of, as a person before being thought of as boobs, butt & a purty mouth ~

She just might be a woman of courage, strength, smarts, yes, even sweetness, femininity, who served her country in the military on active duty, as well.