Navy Spouse's Guide

The particulars of pay, living expenses, travel, children, emergencies, support groups, and social life, as well as medical, legal, and educational issues are described in an interesting, spouse-to-spouse format. Readers learn what to expect with regard to separation, homecomings, life overseas, shore duty, marital dynamics, and divorce. Also covered are such vital topics as military careers, spousal careers, reenlistment, retirement, and transition to civilian life. Useful phone numbers, checklists, glossary, and an up-to-date primer on the Navy's organization, ships and aircraft, and chain of command complete this unique reference. New to this second edition are discussions of e-mail communication, Internet resources, and spouse leadership roles within the Navy. For anyone starting out or contemplating life with a mate in the sea services this one-volume source of user-friendly information will prove invaluable.

On a lark, I compared this title to two somewhat similar earlier volumes, "The Navy Wife" by Anne Briscoe Pye and Nancy Shea (1942), and "Welcome Aboard: A Service Manual for the Naval Officer's Wife" by Florence Ridgely Johnson (1956). The differences between those two books and this one highlight not only the many changes in the Navy itself over five or six decades, but also reinforce why Laura Hall Stavridis' book is so valuable. Whereas the earlier books had a big focus on the social aspects of Navy life (both books were explicitly intended for the officer's wife) and "practical" tips like how to drive cross-country to visit your husband when he's visiting another port, this book is more thoroughly practical, with an emphasis on the many support systems now in place to help the spouse (male or female) of any Navy person (officer, NCO, or enlisted) deal with the many demands of this challenging position.

As with those other books, "Navy Spouse's Guide" includes a capsule description of the Navy and how it's organized, a glossary of important, and potentially confusing, terms, and other things the reader will be expected to know. At the same time, though, Stavridis knows that the "Navy spouse" is no longer wedded to the Service in the way she used to be, and that she (or he) most likely has a career and other time-demands of her own. That's why this book is so useful when confronting situations like preparing for a move overseas ... it's practically a checklist of things to do and people to contact that will help the Navy spouse, who's often left making many of these arrangements, navigate the situation as smoothly and easily as possible.

An awful lot has changed between 1942 or 1956 and today, and this book is a powerful reminder of that. But the historical interest is far less important than the day-to-day reality of the modern Navy spouse. Whether you're about to marry into the Navy, or have been following the Fleet for years, I think this is a book you'll find yourself returning to frequently.