Miss Understood-Zoo Troop

I find it funny the impression outsiders have of Army Wives, specifically in time of war. For some reason, people on the outside have the idea that we are overly conservative women, who automatically dislike all members of society who are not white Christian males. We hold the entire Muslim community accountable for the deployment of our soldiers and we are all pearl necklace while we vacuum housewives.

All I can say about this...ARE ALL CIVILIANS ON CRACK?

For example: Somebody asked me about my husband, while a MUSLIM (lol) was in the room. I simply stated, he was deployed (no big deal right?). I can't believe atleast one person in the room didn't get whiplash as they turned to guage the reaction of the Muslim male to Army wife ratio. All the sudden, awkward silence took over the room.

I will say this once WE DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYBODY'S RELIGION, RACE, CREED, HEIGHT, ORIENTATION, COLOR, OR EVEN MENTAL STATUS any more than the random person.

We don't blame the Muslim community for the war, any more than we blame Westboro Baptist church for IEDs.

Now just to get a better idea of REAL Army wives in general, I am going to use my immediate group as a reference. In my little world, there are a group of women who have supported each other through this last deployment. We have lovingly coined the name ZOO TROOP.
All names have been changed to protect their identity! :)

Hotlips: OBAMA SUPPORTER! lol But we don't hold that against her. We still call her leader. Even though we give her a lot of crap sometimes, I would trust her with just about anything.

Braveheart: Married to a Lebanese American. We've promised her several times he is not a terrorist, although she has her doubts (just kidding don't call the FBI!)She's had it pretty rough this deployment, but she's managed to give her problems the finger and soldier on.

Sugar: The tattooed, pierced girl, who you would expect at first glance to be the trouble maker. LMAO! In all honesty, she's probably the last one of us to ever cause a scene. If any of us are going to get into heaven, its probably gonna be her. The idea of seeing her lose her temper is kinda funny once you get to know her.

Candy: She's the newest of the Army wife community. She hasn't been corrupted by Army life just yet. We're trying to ease her into the reality of this world. Once we find one we like, we try to hold on to them for as long as we can. She is still her own person, and I'm pretty sure she could drink every soldier on post under the bar, and probably win a few bets in the process.

Scrappy: Now Scrappy is the one who defies all Army wife stereotypes. She's the youngest of the group, so we're holding out a lot of hope for her. Anyone who believes any of the above mentioned ideas regarding Army wives should meet Scrappy.
She is the Irish decendant of a Jewish Mother and a Muslim Father. Yet...She is Catholic (I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this one). She is a independant female who takes very little crap from anyone. She teaches ballet, and then climbs up the side of a cliff like a damn spider monkey. She sings in the choir, and has an impressive collection of weaponry. If I could talk her into adopting a black, Chinese, Hari Krishna..I'm convinced she could take over the world.

Then there is me. I feel like I am the original Miss Understood sometimes. I have a tendency to be vocal. I have yet to master the ability to filter my thoughts on the short journey from brain to mouth. I make random jokes and stupid comments, and at first glance I can see where someone may take offense to some of the crap I say. IF THEY WERE AN OVERSENSITVE TARD! lol (had to throw something offensive in there to prove my point)I am probably the least judgemental person on the planet. As long as you aren't bothering me or my immediate persons I could care less what you do. I HATE judgement of any kind.

We as Army wives are continuously misunderstood, and judged for what we are and are not. My hope is one day, one gets to know us and not the TV version.

PTSD

With the soldiers returning home, I've heard seemingly non-stop questions/statements about PTSD. Before I go to piss somebody off, let me just say that yes I believe that PTSD is REAL.

Now with that being said, I believe it is extremely over used as an excuse. Yes, these men and women have experienced traumatic life altering events. They will have issues that most of us could never begin to imagine. However..So has most of the world.

Our nation in particular has pushed the believe that only Combat Veterans are subject to Post Traumatic Stress. Therefore, they should be privy to certain acts that the rest of the world is not. Since the beginning of the war(s), I have heard countless stories of soldiers beating their wives, in some cases even committing murder and claiming PTSD was to blame. I have heard of soldiers beating their infant children and saying well its ok because I have PTSD. Drug addiction, alcoholism, theft. NONE OF THIS IS OK, EVEN WITH PTSD.

In our country alone it is estimated that nearly 40 percent of CHILDREN have been diagnosed with PTSD. Our biggest contributor the PTSD in this country is Rape. But do these children or raped women get to go around and make excuses for their behavior by saying its ok "I have PTSD". Perhaps the best example of PTSD that comes to my mind, is Aileen Wuornos. She was still executed for her crimes.

Being a solider does not get you off the hook. You signed the paperwork to enlist freely. Knowing what you would see. The other victims didn't have a choice.

Soldiers are and should be held to a higher standard. You don't get to claim PTSD and do what you want. It just doesn't work that way. You still know what you are doing, when you do it. If you can't see the difference then do us all a favor and leave the US Army. Our country doesn't need people who can't take responsibility for their own actions.