Military SOs

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My husband is career Air Force. A lot of you are just getting started, but we are at the end of that long road. Finally!! He is up for retirement in 3 months, but put in for an extension at his current job so we can stay here until I am done with my pre-req's and (hopefully) know where I'll be going.

There's no way I could have done vet school early in his career. He was gone all the time, and with kids it would have been near impossible for me to get the grades and the experience and take care of a family. So that's why I am a 39 year old undergrad, lol. My turn!

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My husband is career Air Force. A lot of you are just getting started, but we are at the end of that long road. Finally!! He is up for retirement in 3 months, but put in for an extension at his current job so we can stay here until I am done with my pre-req's and (hopefully) know where I'll be going.

There's no way I could have done vet school early in his career. He was gone all the time, and with kids it would have been near impossible for me to get the grades and the experience and take care of a family. So that's why I am a 39 year old undergrad, lol. My turn!

Good for you!!! So happy to hear you are able to follow your dream, even if it took a backseat to the military for a while :)
 
ARRRGGHHH ... my husband was supposed to be coming home Wednesday morning, then over the weekend it got switched to Friday, which I could live with. Then today he finds out all the flights are canceled for this week so he won't be home until next Monday or Tuesday :mad:

The most frustrating part is that I got time off work this week. I can easily change my engineering schedule around but my vet hospital job not so much :(

:boom:

Ugggggh sucks so bad :(

Ohohoh! My husband was in the Marines when we met! I'ma come join this here club. ;)

My husband is career Air Force. A lot of you are just getting started, but we are at the end of that long road. Finally!! He is up for retirement in 3 months, but put in for an extension at his current job so we can stay here until I am done with my pre-req's and (hopefully) know where I'll be going.

There's no way I could have done vet school early in his career. He was gone all the time, and with kids it would have been near impossible for me to get the grades and the experience and take care of a family. So that's why I am a 39 year old undergrad, lol. My turn!

YAAAAY for new military SOs :D :D

And Gem- congrats on your husbands retirement, that is awesome!!
 
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My husband is career Air Force. A lot of you are just getting started, but we are at the end of that long road. Finally!! He is up for retirement in 3 months, but put in for an extension at his current job so we can stay here until I am done with my pre-req's and (hopefully) know where I'll be going.

There's no way I could have done vet school early in his career. He was gone all the time, and with kids it would have been near impossible for me to get the grades and the experience and take care of a family. So that's why I am a 39 year old undergrad, lol. My turn!

It is definitely your turn to follow your dreams! I'm rooting for you! :D

My husband just re-enlisted for another 6 years ... so it's looking like he'll be career Navy. Luckily we don't have any kids to deal with :p
 
I'm thinking that I should probably join this thread. :) My military SO and I have been together now for 6 months. He is a CTN2 stationed at the National Security Agency in MD. I live in MD so it's perfect when I'm there. However, it's going to be terrible when I go to vet school next year...and he still has three more years on his contract since he had a two-year extension!!

If I get into Penn, it would be amazing because it is only an hour and a half away from where we live. However, it would be much, much cheaper for me to go to VMRCVM. It's five hours away.

So if I get into both schools, I have to decide....should I pay more to be close to him, or bite the bullet and go to VMRCVM. Ugh!
 
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I'm thinking that I should probably join this thread. :) My military SO and I have been together now for 6 months. He is a CTN2 stationed at the National Security Agency in MD. I live in MD so it's perfect when I'm there. However, it's going to be terrible when I go to vet school next year...and he still has three more years on his contract since he had a two-year extension!!

If I get into Penn, it would be amazing because it is only an hour and a half away from where we live. However, it would be much, much cheaper for me to go to VMRCVM. It's five hours away.

So if I get into both schools, I have to decide....should I pay more to be close to him, or bite the bullet and go to VMRCVM. Ugh!

How much of a cost difference are we talking about ? Lol
 
This is straight from the websites.

VMRCVM:
$21,434 In State Tuition and Fees
$10,000 Estimated room and board
-----------
31,434 total per year

Total cost: $125,736

http://www.bursar.vt.edu/tuition/2012-2013.php#vetmed_vamd

UPenn:
$47,943 Out of State Tuition, General Fee and Vet. Instructional Technology Fee
$28,850 Room & Board, Books/Instruments, Miscellaneous
-----------
$76,793 total per year

Total cost: $307,172

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/0/media/student_affairs/ClassBudgets2012-2013.pdf
 
This is straight from the websites.

VMRCVM:
$21,434 In State Tuition and Fees
$10,000 Estimated room and board
-----------
31,434 total per year

Total cost: $125,736

http://www.bursar.vt.edu/tuition/2012-2013.php#vetmed_vamd

UPenn:
$47,943 Out of State Tuition, General Fee and Vet. Instructional Technology Fee
$28,850 Room & Board, Books/Instruments, Miscellaneous
-----------
$76,793 total per year

Total cost: $307,172

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/0/media/student_affairs/ClassBudgets2012-2013.pdf

:eek: :wow: holy crap!!!! I think it's a no brainier... VMRCVM all the way... .. With VMRCVM you are basically buying a house... Penn your buying two houses plus an extra 50,000 to spend on wtf you want lol... If y'all end up gettin married, I'm sure the 4 yrs of LDR will be worth a life time of not having to pay an extra $157,000 in student loans.. Wow I had no idea Penn cost so much.. Those living expenses are ridiculous!!!
 
:eek: :wow: holy crap!!!! I think it's a no brainier... VMRCVM all the way... .. With VMRCVM you are basically buying a house... Penn your buying two houses plus an extra 50,000 to spend on wtf you want lol... If y'all end up gettin married, I'm sure the 4 yrs of LDR will be worth a life time of not having to pay an extra $157,000 in student loans.. Wow I had no idea Penn cost so much.. Those living expenses are ridiculous!!!

:laugh: i am so excited to live somewhere without dc real estate prices.
 
Same predicament as me: vmr is my in state but much further than Penn, although Penn is still 5 hours from us

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 2
 
This is straight from the websites.

VMRCVM:
$21,434 In State Tuition and Fees
$10,000 Estimated room and board
-----------
31,434 total per year

Total cost: $125,736

http://www.bursar.vt.edu/tuition/2012-2013.php#vetmed_vamd

UPenn:
$47,943 Out of State Tuition, General Fee and Vet. Instructional Technology Fee
$28,850 Room & Board, Books/Instruments, Miscellaneous
-----------
$76,793 total per year

Total cost: $307,172

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/0/media/student_affairs/ClassBudgets2012-2013.pdf

I'm with kpowell ... VMRCVM would definitely be my choice. It might be harder on the relationship for those 4 years with the added distance but having $180k in additional student loans if you chose Penn would only put added strain on the relationship long term.
 
Thanks so much for the advice. I knew it in my heart, but didn't want to say it out loud. :-/
 
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Thanks so much for the advice. I knew it in my heart, but didn't want to say it out loud. :-/

This was the problem I was having, as well. My SO and I have pretty much only ever been in a LDR :( so to add on 4 more years, it's a little upsetting.

But the way I look at it, 4 more years out of the rest of our lives, and way more money to enjoy our time together with than be paying off loans in the future...I see a winner, here.
 
Perspective :D
ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1355337416.884507.jpg
 
I agree with the other posters that VMR is your best bet. Your SO is military, most likely going to get reassigned during your time at vet school - so making a decision based on where he is probably isn't the best idea.

My husband has been in almost 20, and my dad did 22. I have lived in 3 countries and 8 states - and some of them I have been to, left, and been back to. I have moved more times than I can count on both hands. :) One thing you will quickly learn is that, in the military, it's never written in stone that you'll be anywhere.
 
I agree with the other posters that VMR is your best bet. Your SO is military, most likely going to get reassigned during your time at vet school - so making a decision based on where he is probably isn't the best idea.

My husband has been in almost 20, and my dad did 22. I have lived in 3 countries and 8 states - and some of them I have been to, left, and been back to. I have moved more times than I can count on both hands. :) One thing you will quickly learn is that, in the military, it's never written in stone that you'll be anywhere.

This exactly!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
The past couple days of deployment have sucked. :( they have moved Babe out of the "barracks".. (It's not really barracks but it was an actual building for housing) and into tents until they get moved to a new Fob..

Before the move, he had Internet access that actually worked.. Now he has crappy access and we get a couple messages in before he losses Internet..

This coupled with me working 12+ hrs a day has made it very difficult to communicate (bc I'm at work when he gets on most times)

Annnd yesterday was my college graduation.. My biggest life accomplishment up to this point.. I'm sad he couldn't be there (I know he would've if he could).. But I'm disappointed in the lack of support I received from him and his family. His mom showed up, but left right after I walked across the stage.. She didn't even stay to say hi afterwards.. And she dropped off my present at my house before we had even gotten home ... WTF?! And all he said about it was he was proud of me.. And I know he means it, but I'm not feeling the warm fuzzy feelings of love and happiness by reading " I'm proud of you " (if that makes any sense)

Sorry for the long rant. I'm just blah. :(
 
The past couple days of deployment have sucked. :( they have moved Babe out of the "barracks".. (It's not really barracks but it was an actual building for housing) and into tents until they get moved to a new Fob..

Before the move, he had Internet access that actually worked.. Now he has crappy access and we get a couple messages in before he losses Internet..

This coupled with me working 12+ hrs a day has made it very difficult to communicate (bc I'm at work when he gets on most times)

Annnd yesterday was my college graduation.. My biggest life accomplishment up to this point.. I'm sad he couldn't be there (I know he would've if he could).. But I'm disappointed in the lack of support I received from him and his family. His mom showed up, but left right after I walked across the stage.. She didn't even stay to say hi afterwards.. And she dropped off my present at my house before we had even gotten home ... WTF?! And all he said about it was he was proud of me.. And I know he means it, but I'm not feeling the warm fuzzy feelings of love and happiness by reading " I'm proud of you " (if that makes any sense)

Sorry for the long rant. I'm just blah. :(

Yeah my BF lived in those tents for 9 months in the middle if the Iraq desert. :(
Try to not let his lack of emotion affect you because it tends to happen on deployment. They are in a completely different mind set and have lots of things to worry about. It will likely happen more than you would like it to.The separate mind sets are a huge hurdle you have to overcome on deployment. Hang in there. :love:
 
Yeah my BF lived in those tents for 9 months in the middle if the Iraq desert. :(
Try to not let his lack of emotion affect you because it tends to happen on deployment. They are in a completely different mind set and have lots of things to worry about. It will likely happen more than you would like it to.The separate mind sets are a huge hurdle you have to overcome on deployment. Hang in there. :love:

I agree.. My brain is still dealing with the fact that expectations you have of someone your in a relationship with may be too high when they are deployed. I definitely have two sides of my thinking.. A selfish part and an understanding part.. Selfish part is winning ATM.... Trying to get the understanding part to step in and get me out of this hole.
 
I agree.. My brain is still dealing with the fact that expectations you have of someone your in a relationship with may be too high when they are deployed. I definitely have two sides of my thinking.. A selfish part and an understanding part.. Selfish part is winning ATM.... Trying to get the understanding part to step in and get me out of this hole.

I won't lie, it doesn't really ever feel ok, just easier I guess. But there are times when the things they do or say can be unacceptable. Like my BF now admits to looking back lol. So you don't have to be a doormat when they through out the deployment stress card, bc they have to keep in mind just how stressed you are as well. And there is nothing selfish about you. You can't be selfish sticking my the side of a soldier. It's one of the hardest jobs there is. We all have our pity party moments and you WILL cry more than once, but it will all be worth it when he gets home. :love:
 
Thanks! I'm applying for the HPSP scholarship this year :xf:

Good luck with your application! Please get in touch on my site if you want any help with your essay or other parts of the application.
 
So, I'm writing a letter to a friend in Afghanistan. What are things I could send with the letter that are allowed? I've never sent anything like that..
 
Pictures, ummmm.... I can't think up much that can go in an envelope .. But if you want to put a box together with your letter I know tons of things that could go in a box lol :laugh:
 
I'm gonna have to see how much that costs seeing as I'm spending lots of moneys on my kitten, but is still appreciate suggestions. :)
 
I'm gonna have to see how much that costs seeing as I'm spending lots of moneys on my kitten, but is still appreciate suggestions. :)

Aww your poor kitty :(

Ok cheap options would be a deck of cards, single water drink flavor stuff (or MIO bottles) Pringles chips, socks, candy, baby wipes..

Pictures of y'all together would be nice!
 
Socks socks socks! My brother said he always needed socks when he was on Iraq.
 
Yesterday was my Mizzou interview... And the first guy that spoke to me said he was familiar with my home town because he was stationed at the Army base about an hour away...

Talk about an ice breaker!!

We briefly talked about my military family and my currently deployed SO.. It made me feel so much more comfortable! He went on to say that he donated part of his salary every year to different military orgs.... Let's hope he thought highly of me as a military SO and gave me a good interview score!! :laugh: :laugh:

Moral of this story is that we should all be proud of our SO, and that who knows what connections you can make by being up front with your military ties :D

ETA- hopefully he thought highly of my academic/ extracurricular activities first, then factored in I was a Military SO :D
 
Hey everyone, figured its about time I post since I've been silently stalking a lot of these threads for a while haha. I'm a marine wife and vet hopeful. Starting to freak out a bit because I only applied to two schools (Cornell and Florida) because after all this time being away from family and friends we really wanted to go somewhere we have family when he gets out next fall. Bummed about getting rejected from Cornell but fingers crossed for good news from UF soon! If not then I guess it's back to the drawing board and applying to more places next year. These next few weeks are going to drag!
 
Yesterday was my Mizzou interview... And the first guy that spoke to me said he was familiar with my home town because he was stationed at the Army base about an hour away...

Talk about an ice breaker!!

We briefly talked about my military family and my currently deployed SO.. It made me feel so much more comfortable! He went on to say that he donated part of his salary every year to different military orgs.... Let's hope he thought highly of me as a military SO and gave me a good interview score!! :laugh: :laugh:

Moral of this story is that we should all be proud of our SO, and that who knows what connections you can make by being up front with your military ties :D

ETA- hopefully he thought highly of my academic/ extracurricular activities first, then factored in I was a Military SO :D

Last 2 weeks were crazy busy but I'm back! I'm been catching up on threads and I'm so happy to hear your interview went well! :luck: :luck: :luck:

I feel like military spouses sacrifice a lot ... our SOs are gone for long periods of time, we have to be flexible and uproot our lives when our SOs get new orders, the whole long distance relationship thing when we can't live in the same city, etc. etc. ... being a military spouse says a lot about a person (in my opinion) and I can imagine that it only worked in your favor! :naughty: (this stupid smiley)
 
Last 2 weeks were crazy busy but I'm back! I'm been catching up on threads and I'm so happy to hear your interview went well! :luck: :luck: :luck:

I feel like military spouses sacrifice a lot ... our SOs are gone for long periods of time, we have to be flexible and uproot our lives when our SOs get new orders, the whole long distance relationship thing when we can't live in the same city, etc. etc. ... being a military spouse says a lot about a person (in my opinion) and I can imagine that it only worked in your favor! :naughty: (this stupid smiley)

I was thinking about you earlier, wondering how my twinnie was doing! :laugh:

I completely agree!! on the website it says they value life experience and all that jazz lol so :xf: that it helped! even without that info though, the interview couldnt have gone any better! im feeling very good about it, but trying to not get to hyped bc if im rejected im going to be broken hearted lol. ESPECIALLY bc zach is trying to get new orders at Fort Leonard Wood which is like 2 hours away from the vet school!!
 
Ah! Husband called this morning and it's time to submit our top 5 choices for his next orders :scared: ... This is a list of places he could get orders to relatively easily and I have to narrow it down to 5:

Charleston, SC
Corpus Christi, TX
Everett, WA
Kingsville, TX
Groton, CT
Boston, MA
Pearl Harbor, HI
Kauai, HI

We will know by the end of the year where we are headed!! Excited but scared :eek:

Hi EngrSC,

I live in San Antonio and grew up in south Texas. Corpus Christi and Kingsville are about 40 minutes from each other. NAS Kingsville is quite small but you have the advantage of having Texas A&M Kingsville nearby. That school offers the Animal Science prereqs that Texas A&M College Station requires for application into their CVM.

Kingsville is a small agricultural community while Corpus has about 250,000 inhabitants. I have never been to NAS Corpus Christi but Corpus is definitely a more "happening" town than Kingsville.
 
My husband got his orders and it's official, we're staying put in So Cal! :cool:

My heart kind of sunk because I was really looking forward to living somewhere else ... but this is also great for us financially. I will keep my engineering job and we'll keep putting money away so hopefully we can buy a house when/if I get into vet school. And I can keep paying for my prereqs out of pocket without incurring any debt. Definitely a bonus!

However, staying here also means I'm keeping my engineering job, which I despise. So it looks like I'll be working 6 days/week for at least a couple years between this job and my vet hospital job and taking 1-2 classes at a time. Staying here lengthens my journey, but finances are pretty important, I just need to keep reminding myself of that :oops:
 
My husband got his orders and it's official, we're staying put in So Cal! :cool:

My heart kind of sunk because I was really looking forward to living somewhere else ... but this is also great for us financially. I will keep my engineering job and we'll keep putting money away so hopefully we can buy a house when/if I get into vet school. And I can keep paying for my prereqs out of pocket without incurring any debt. Definitely a bonus!

However, staying here also means I'm keeping my engineering job, which I despise. So it looks like I'll be working 6 days/week for at least a couple years between this job and my vet hospital job and taking 1-2 classes at a time. Staying here lengthens my journey, but finances are pretty important, I just need to keep reminding myself of that :oops:

Awwww, Yaaay and booo at the same time lol

Finances are definitely important so I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run!!

I'm kind of in a blah spot.. I'm super excited about my Mizzou acceptance, but now the future hubs is trying to decide if he should re-enlist for another 4 year contract.. His contract isn't up for another 2 years but he can go ahead and reup starting in march......

The selfish part of me says, get out and move to Mizzou with me!

But then reality hits... And I think that if he did that, I would be starting clinics when he gets out bc Mizzou is 2+2... Which means I won't even see him that much IF he got out.... With that in mind I think, Oh, maybe he should just re-up for another contract.. Which would mean 2 years after graduation he would be done... I think that's pretty manageable, but I'm scared if where another 4 years might take him.

Sorry to ramble!! I've got a lot running through my mind lol
 
Awwww, Yaaay and booo at the same time lol

Finances are definitely important so I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run!!

I'm kind of in a blah spot.. I'm super excited about my Mizzou acceptance, but now the future hubs is trying to decide if he should re-enlist for another 4 year contract.. His contract isn't up for another 2 years but he can go ahead and reup starting in march......

The selfish part of me says, get out and move to Mizzou with me!

But then reality hits... And I think that if he did that, I would be starting clinics when he gets out bc Mizzou is 2+2... Which means I won't even see him that much IF he got out.... With that in mind I think, Oh, maybe he should just re-up for another contract.. Which would mean 2 years after graduation he would be done... I think that's pretty manageable, but I'm scared if where another 4 years might take him.

Sorry to ramble!! I've got a lot running through my mind lol

My husband just re-enlisted for another 6 years beginning in September ... That's after he's already been in for 6! Personally I think staying in is the best thing to do financially because it's a stable job (and paycheck) in a crazy unstable economy. Luckily we haven't come to the "living separately is a definite possibility" bridge yet and I imagine its rough ... But can you imagine your SO moving to Mizzou and not being able to find a job? If that's when you're in clinics and he's sitting at home all day twiddling his thumbs he would probably be bored out of his mind (if it were my husband he'd go all pre-menstrual on me about me not spending enough time with him :p). Plus, if he couldn't find a job then you'd be racking up more in student loans without his income.

Being military yields hard decisions no doubt!!
 
My husband just re-enlisted for another 6 years beginning in September ... That's after he's already been in for 6! Personally I think staying in is the best thing to do financially because it's a stable job (and paycheck) in a crazy unstable economy. Luckily we haven't come to the "living separately is a definite possibility" bridge yet and I imagine its rough ... But can you imagine your SO moving to Mizzou and not being able to find a job? If that's when you're in clinics and he's sitting at home all day twiddling his thumbs he would probably be bored out of his mind (if it were my husband he'd go all pre-menstrual on me about me not spending enough time with him :p). Plus, if he couldn't find a job then you'd be racking up more in student loans without his income.

Being military yields hard decisions no doubt!!

This exactly. Guaranteed income, benefits.Not to mention He would be bored out of his mind sitting at home.. Waiting on me to come home from clinics.. Especially after being apart so long, he doesn't like to share me when we are together lol I love it, but I know that's not possible during school, especially during clinics. And it's not fair to him either. Lots of things to think about.
 
Sent off a letter and chocolate to my friend in Afghanistan. We haven't talked in a week after a... disagreement. More a misunderstanding. Hopefully this will cheer him up again. :)
 
Yay! So glad to find this thread! Anyone stationed at FE Warren? I would love to find a military spouse with the same interests! Is anyone on this thread currently in VS with SO living IS or OOS?
 
Advice time. What would y'all say are important things to know and think about before entering into a relationship with someone who plans on being career military?

The guy I've been seeing for the past month or so is an Army Pilot. It appears to be heading towards an official relationship and he talks about future dates and summer plans all the time. We click really well and agree on important values and such. So far everything is going well. We only really see each other on weekends (hes stationed an hour away). Just wanted to know what advice y'all would give to someone new to this?
 
Advice time. What would y'all say are important things to know and think about before entering into a relationship with someone who plans on being career military?

The guy I've been seeing for the past month or so is an Army Pilot. It appears to be heading towards an official relationship and he talks about future dates and summer plans all the time. We click really well and agree on important values and such. So far everything is going well. We only really see each other on weekends (hes stationed an hour away). Just wanted to know what advice y'all would give to someone new to this?

My advice is plan on your life being planned for you. Because they don't care what your plans are or what you want your life to be like. You live by the military's schedule and they change it often, last minute, with no warning. I tell you that bc my fiancé and I used to fight all the time bc he would have to break plans last minute. I never understood it and always got mad at HIM instead of the situation. So plan on not being able to plan. :rolleyes:
Also "hurry up and wait" always says it perfectly when it comes to the military lol.
Being with a serviceman is awesome, but takes a tolerant, patient person. As long as you're aware of the challenges and are willing to work through you will be fine. The military controls his life, and will ultimately control yours. And I'm not saying that in a negative way, just a realistic one :D
 
I agree with Emiloo. She hit most of the points. Technically, I'm on the other side of the equation: I'm an Army Pilot who's getting out (for vet school). I met my wife prior to flight school and married her during it. I can't fully speak for her, but she'd agree that the Army can be a pain in the butt; however, we've had a really good life together. The long deployments are the worst, but those are winding down for now. Mostly, there will be many minor inconveniences (yes the cumulative effect can still be stressful). Due to the nature of the job, pilots have some more flexibility with certain duties (ex. have to fly a certain night, the times or the night can sometimes be shifted if it conflicts with an anniversary or something). Then there are the occasional 3 week trips to California or Louisiana, but those usually only happen about once a year.
On the positive side, I don't think she'd toss me back in the sea, no matter what. Patience for most of it, curse when you need to, but if its worth a decent partner, then do it. Those are rare enough to find.
 
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