Behind the Scenes

In my six years as a military wife, I can honestly say that the communication and guidance that the military provides to the spouses has improved...drastically!!! There is more of a interest in caring for the families. Long gone are the days of the Key Wives (the KV), which consisted entirely of volunteers some who helped out from the goodness of their hearts and others who helped out for the gossip be it about the Marines themselves or the families that remained behind. Husband decribed the KV as the Key Wives Mafia. I cannot state that this is true or not because I kept to myself during that time, but I certainly heard stories from someone that knew someone that knew someone...judge for yourself!

The Marine Corps then transitioned to the Family Readiness Officer (the FRO). This is a payed position, generally a retired Marine or military spouse. They are basically there to answer any questions that arises, plan events while the Unit is gone, act as the liaison to the family while the guys (Husband is a grunt so he works only with guys!) are out doing their jobs. Essentially both the KV and the FRO do the same thing with 2 major differences - 1. The FRO gets paid and hopefully recognition for the job they do. The KV just got a bad rep. 2. The FRO is not directly affiliated with a the Unit, i.e. her hubby cannot work in the unit that she works for

Regardless of what the job is, be it a volunteer or a paid position I think that during the deployments it is essential that we look outside our own situations and think of all parties involved and thank them - even if you think you have the hardest job...because we all do at certain times!

Happy Readings!