So much of the struggle with PTSD, when you get past the anger and the nightmares, is trying to piece together the relationships that you have left behind. I have spent the last 18 months learning to rebuild those relationships.

About to experience her first Permanent Change of Station alone while her husband is deployed, Crystal has begun to build the courage and strength usually found only after years of marriage.

Few people would say that parenthood is easy. However, it is even more difficult when you are a parent with PTSD. I know firsthand just how difficult being a parent with PTSD is and have my angry daughters to prove it.

When you have children parenting with PTSD can be difficult. In fact at times it can seem impossible. If you cannot reach past the battlefield or the trauma, there is no way you can reach out to your children and be of much assistance. That should never stop you from trying though. I keep trying all the time but it doesn’t make me feel better when I look back knowing I should have done better.

When constantly moving and only staying in a certain area for a few years or so, maintaining a career can be one of the many difficult tasks we must endure. But it does not have to be so difficult.

Has anyone ever come across a male military spouse? When people think about military spouses, they assume that they are women. Today, there are more than 6% of male military spouses, and still there is little to no recognition for them.

I think the most important thing people can do for anyone, not just military wives is to just be there, listen, be a friend and don’t judge. We are all individuals, and I have yet to meet a single military wife who can fit in the mold created by all the stereotypes and assumptions of the general public.

During a separation, getting used to sleeping alone may take some getting used to. You may find that in order to fall asleep you will acquire strange sleeping habits.

Sakennah Kilogi is a mother of two, Navy wife and a full time student. During her husband’s recent deployment, she dealt with many obstacles and the hardest one being a single mom.

At first, I didn’t think much about my husband being in the military because he was a Reservist only drilling once a month and going away for annual training two weeks a year. Almost ten years later and I look back today in such amazement, because I truly was so inexperienced and had no idea what this life would bring me. As crazy as military life may be at times, I would not change one thing about it. I do however wish I’d had someone at the time who could have guided me and prepared me for what I was about to experience.