Hurry up and wait! This is something you may have experienced if you have ever dated someone in the military.
Dating military personnel is not an easy task. From personal experience it actually sucks! Don’t get me wrong I love what my fiancé does for this wonderful country we live in. Although it can sometimes put a real damper on our relationship.
But there is just something about a man in a uniform that drives a woman crazy right? But ladies, this life is not all fun and games. It’s a hard life to get accustomed to.
The first thing that women need to understand and accept is that this man you are involved with is already “married” to the military.
When duty calls, you answer. Things change at the drop of a hat, when it comes to the military. Coming from experience you need to accept the fact that your plans are going to change…. A LOT!
Second. Don’t wait up for him. When he says he is going to be home for dinner, more than likely, if the military has anything to do with it, there will be some task that held him up for two or three more hours after the fact.
Obviously you should still save him some dinner and lay his pillows out for him… but again be flexible when it comes to plans.
There will be long periods of limited interaction. The amount of time this happens will solely depend on what branch and rank your man is. But every single one of them will have to go to basic training, which requires them to be away from civilization for 10 weeks.
Distance is one of the hardest things you may endure in your relationship with a military man. Only because you may be used to as much interaction with your significant other as you want, in a normal civilian relationship.
Even though there are some negatives of dating a military man, there are definitely some positives to go along with them.
More than likely you will be dating a very polite and strong person. These soldiers are trained to the highest standards. They are shipped off to basic training and are stripped of all of their bad traits. They are left with steel- eyes and fantastic manners. Anything less than those traits will be weeded out from the beginning.
Between PT every morning and the constant physical activity these men are enduring throughout the day, there is no doubt your man will be in the best physical shape. These men are being pushed to their physical tipping point and again, the military will not settle for less.
One of the most important positives would have to be loyalty. Most of the time, the military relationships I have seen last, because the man is absolutely faithful to his significant other. He is loyal to his country and he will be loyal in his relationship. I am sure there are a few exceptions to this, but I have not had to deal with them personally.
What does this all boil down to?
You shouldn’t date a military man if….
-You can’t deal with long distances
-You don’t do well with broken promises
-You hate when plans change
-Work comes before your relationship
If the military life sounds like the life for you, make sure you talk to people before jumping head first into a relationship you have no experience in. The biggest tip out there for military spouses, be patient! Dating a military personnel is worth every ounce of pain you may endure.
