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Solo-Ops: A Survival Guide for Military Wives | 
 enlarge | Author: Hilary Martin
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $16.02
You Save: $5.97 (27%)
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Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 703075
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 244
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 1401086276
Dewey Decimal Number: 306
EAN: 9781401086275
ASIN: 1401086276
Publication Date: March 10, 2003
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Product Description
The military is not just a job, it is a way of life; The wife signs up for that way of life as much as the servicemen she is supporting. Solo-Ops is an honestly and directly written How To for military wives. The author attempts to teach women the up of military life by offering a serious message through humorous stories and inspirational anecdotes.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Solo Ops: A Survival Guide for Military Wives February 13, 2008
This is not only the worst of MANY wonderful books I've read on the subject of military wives, it's a downright dangerous publication. PLEASE DO NOT BUY IT. In addition to Ms. Martin's poor writing (she regularly has trouble with verb tense, and misuses words like "diluted" when she means "deluded") the advice she gives is both completely unfounded and incorrect. While I find her spirit and sense of humor endearing, and I'm sure she's a wonderful woman who I'd get along with well as a friend, she has no expertise and has done limited research on the subject she's writing about, and it clearly shows. The book routinely offers cliche and useless advice like laughing off troubles rather than dealing with them head on, and lemmingly supports the military's dangerous stigma on dealing with mental health issues. I am lucky not to have dealt with clinical depression and other mental health issues through my fiance's deployments to Iraq, but after seeing a number of the women I know and love have breakdowns and attempt suicide, I think it only selfish to continue to reinforce the military's attitude of suck it up, don't get treatment as she does throughout, including on page 72 when she calls medication for depression a "crutch". Ms. Martin, while probably a great KVN leader, and a wonderful neighbor is a terrible writer for offering blanket advice to such a vulnerable group of women in need of real guidance. Save yourself the time and read a real book like Pavlicin's Surviving Deployment.
Just Plain AWFUL! July 31, 2006
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Luckily for me I did'nt Buy this with my Own Money, My Friend did and she was so disappointed with it and after hearing what she had to say about it I skimmed through. This Book is just plain Awful! Military Life is Nothing like how she explains it.
Hilary you must be one sad Miserable Girl, who just plain don't like herself or her life!
This Book deserve a Negative 10 Stars!!!!!!!!!!!
Awful July 20, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have been doing the military wife thing for the past 7 years now and have read many books so I can recommend them to new wives, this is actually a book I urge them not to read. The military life is not that bad, it has its ups and downs like anything else. It is full of the authors own opinions rather than facts and its just absurd. In one part she tells you that you shouldnt be upset with your husband going to a strip club and makes it seems like its just absurd that you would ask him not to. Thats her opinion and its a very personal thing between couples, fact is that you are married and you need to come to your own agreement on how your relationship works. She has a very skewed view of the military life and it seems like it has been a negative experience for her which is why I am not sure why she wrote this book. If I was a new military wife reading this book it would scare me to death and send me into a depression!! If you want a book with unbiased views and factual information read Todays Military Wife by Lydia Sloan Cline, I have read almost all of the military wife books out there and this is by far the best Ive read.
 A good read if you stop and think for a moment... March 16, 2006
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
Okay, let me start by saying if you're looking for a book to carry in your purse and get you through day-to-day life - there isn't one out there. This covers basics, and generalizations - which, let's face it, all books of this genre do.
The author gives a humorous look into the military lifestyle and tells things like it really is. No, all of these situations will not apply to everyone - but some more than others. It's better to be prepared, right? And the biggest thing I have learned from being a military spouse - you have to learn to laugh about things. If you can't laugh about life, what's the point?
Some other reviewers have been quite harsh on the book, mostly on the basis of their own experiences. Personally, my husband and I have experienced a lot of the scenarios the author speaks of, and sometimes it's nice to know we aren't the only ones.
To anyone considering the purchase of this book, I do highly recommend it - but please - remember, it's not going to be exact to your life (nor will any other book on the market).
At least it is a good coaster... March 15, 2006
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
For anyone interested in reading a book about the military, I recommend going elsewhere. This book is full of factual errors, author impressions, and short-sighted pessimism that are, at best, misleading.
My wife picked up this book AT THE BASE LIBRARY (how sad). After reading it for about 20 minutes, she said to me "This is horrible!" Being a faster reader than her, I picked it up and tried to skim through it. The first thing that struck me was the unnecessarily aggressive writing style of the author...then I got past the first paragraph and realized it was much worse.
Ms. Martin was a military brat (as was I), but unless she dealt with the finance office, planned moves, or any other major facet of military life, that truly has little bearing on how to live life as a military wife. I have been in for less than 3 years and already have 3 tours in the Middle East, 2 formal training assignments, and am about to go to pilot training. I say this not to denigrate Ms. Martin, but to show I have a little more credibility than Ms. Martin when it comes to the descriptions of the military she depicts.
I think the biggest mistake in this book are her "truths." All of these "truths" are misleading/false and are only backed up by bitterness, a limited 4 year experience, and very little factual information. While I am sure that some people might FEEL the same as Ms. Martin, she doesn't seem to present any facts, only inuendo and opinion. While I can tear apart all of her "truths", I will focus on only three.
"Truth #1: The recruiter lied to you"
Most recruiters are honest. There are many who stretch the truth, but most will give you a fair shake. In addition, if you don't get it in writing and you sign without reading the fine print, sorry, but just like a new car, YOU are stuck with it under the conditions by which you signed. My advice, read the fine print and have a lawyer present if you are being promised ANYTHING.
"Truth #4: The US Constitution does not apply to your husband
...They can do whatever they want because your husband belongs to them...the military treats everyone the same: as if they are disposable and don't matter
"
This is patently absurd. The military is a government agency and responds as such, but it does not mean that you have no rights. You can participate in election campaigns, you have freedom of speech (but cannot divulge classified info), you can worship how you please, you can keep and bear arms (when not on a controlled federal installation such as a base or airport), you can vote on whom you please, etc. ad nauseum.
Just because you don't like
it and your husband is busy, doens't mean he doesn't have rights. The government does not OWN you. You are NOT a slave. They cannot force you to do a LOT of things. However, you took an oath to obey the orders of those appointed over you. If you didn't believe it, you shouldn't have said it and agreed to it.
"Truth #6: The military reserves the right not to pay you."
You may make a mistake in paperwork or commit a felony, but when your company docks your pay, it may suck, but it is not "not paying" you. If commited of a felony in ANY court, they can garnish your wages to recoup losses. If anyone in the military docks you enough pay to bankrupt you, they will be wasting valuable manpower. It was not your money to begin with; keep track of your finances, take your time filling out your paperwork (don't be afraid to ask questions), and you won't have these kinds of financial problems.
Other "truths" with problems
"11. You will not "pick" your duty station" (you can give them a list, but as long as it is on that list, you can get it. 97% get something on your list. Sorry, not everyone spends 4 years in Hawaii. That's life.)
"13. You are moving to the ghetto." (Rarely do you have to live on base. It may not fit your budget well, and you may have to pay more, but you choose where you live in your community, not the military. Make your own choice and priorities)
"15. There is no such thing as a good duty station or assignment." Every assignment has plusses and minuses. Making the most of what you have is what makes it good. Focusing on the negatives ensures you will not have a good time at your assignment.
"16. Ceremony is more important than life itself" plan ahead and this usually isn't an issue. If your wife is giving birth, you won't be at some stupid formation for a promotion ceremony.
In short, this is a horrible, misleading book that is best used as an expensive piece of kindling. 1 star is the lowest rating I could give it. It should be in the negative range.
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