It can be said that all relationships are work, but being involved in a military relationship adds another level of difficulty to the mix. The military has its own lifestyle, language, expectations and complications. Being with a military man is not always easy but it can be worth it. The key to a successful military relationship is to cope with the ups and downs of military life.
1. Decide if military life is for you. Before you run headlong into love, determine if you are up to the challenge. Being a military girlfriend means dealing with deployments, his buddies, military formalities, military acronyms and sometimes coming second to the military. If you are not ready for that and more, move on to another man.
2. Learn to be independent. Be aware that your boyfriend can be swept away by his service at any time. Although you can depend on him, you have to depend on yourself more. Learn to do things on your own. Be brave and try new things. Find hobbies to mask your waiting time.
3. Build a trusting and communicative relationship. Talk with each other about everything. Be completely honest with one another. Be patient with your military boyfriend when he can't always talk to you. Know that he does care about you, even when he can't always show it. Trust his decision.
4. Join an online military girlfriend support group or forum. Many of the military wife forums also welcome girlfriends. Shop around before picking one that suits you. Each forum and group has its own personality. You want to meet people who match your needs. The women in the groups can answer your questions, lend a listening ear and understand your situation when no one else can.
5. Learn the basics of military acronyms. Every branch of the military has its own language and acronyms.
6. Know his MOS, what he actually DOES, where he's stationed, his unit and rank. Otherwise you'll look stupid when someone asks you any of these and you don't know.
7. Meet other people in your military man's unit. I would suggest going with him and meet the guys he works with as well as their wives and girlfriends. When you are a military girlfriend, you are often left out of the loop when it comes to the dissemination of unit information. The unit tells things to the wives, but not to the girlfriends.
8. Get used to military time. It's not 6 p.m., it's 1800 hours. Also get used to them arriving at functions at least 15 minutes early. Military men are punished when they are late, so being early becomes a habit that bleeds into their everyday life.
9. Prepare yourself for a deployment. Whether for a few months or a couple of years, deployments are a reality. Although he may not be deploying today, it doesn't mean he can't be tomorrow. Prepare for the worst. Just in case.
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