Essay Example on Military Moms: Sacrificing for Service & Family

Majority of the military moms experience making tough choices. For many new moms in the military, it means making painful choices between and duties. The dilemma is found being starker for the servicewomen who have newborn babies or those who are having very young kids. I decided to visit a military branch where I could get information regarding the experience of the new moms in the military. In the military department, I found out that most of the new moms had given up on the notion of carrying out routine breastfeeding of their children given that they were only given only six weeks as maternity leave before they would go back to their line of duties. For several women, the conflict existing between motherhood and soldiering is seen extending well beyond the first year when they join the military. I was informed that carrying out of repeat deployments usually force women to begin making complicated decisions that concern whether or when they should have children. The new mothers often experienced continued challenging choice between the motherhood and the service they provide to their nation. Therefore, this kind of conflict requires being reviewed given that it requires having some implication on the individuals deciding f they should get in or they should stay in when they have to acquire extended delay for them to establish a family.

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I decided to focus on new mothers in the military. As a new mother, I thought that it would give me a better opportunity to observe them. I found that all the new mothers in the military branch carried extra luggage when reporting to work. The new moms had a small pumping bag that was filled with all basics that were required for collecting milk. These basics items for collecting milk for their newborn babies were typically carried using lunch bags because they only used their lunch time for pumping purposes.

Additionally, the new moms in the military were found to often bring some work with them because they are always in crunch time. However, I realized that not all of the new moms in the military could have the opportunity during their lunchtime for collecting milk for their kids. There were another group of mothers who barely get the time to pump, who are always trying to get that little time to themselves. The conflict existing between motherhood and soldiering is seen extending well beyond the first year when they join the military. I was informed that carrying out of repeat deployments usually force women to begin making complicated decisions that concern whether or when they should have children.

The observations that I made were much disturbing; hence, I decided that I go around visiting the new moms in the military during their lunchtime as they were pumping to seek some clarification. So, I went around questioning some of these moms who stopped coming over the pumping room. From the new moms who I interviewed, most of them asserted that they had given up on the idea of breastfeeding their child for a long time. When I inquired what had made them make such kind of sudden change, they gave a similar answer by claiming that they were unable allocating enough and appropriate time when they could do the pumping activity and when they were privileged having sufficient time to do it, it was always during the late hours of the day.

At the end of the day when some of the moms have gone all day without pumping, you can see the pain in their faces. An engorged breast is no fun with their essentials lying in front of them on the desk. They slowly engage in their daily mom activity, But the most important thing I discovered was that most military is not afforded enough time to pump. So, by the time they returned to work from post-maternity leave, they are already contemplating ending breastfeeding.

The conflicting interests of the new moms in the military remain to be latent unless they become mobilized in a way that they can initiate an ongoing struggle. Given that the new moms in the military branches are seen as being physically concentrated, having material resources needed for communicating to their upper management, they have the power to solve the crisis that they face for balancing between the military work and their social lives. Given that the new moms in the military remain as being better organized, then their struggle becomes a routine, thereby attaining the ability to sustain the conflict that they have. The disputes that the new mom's face frequently escalates provided that every group is found retaliating against the offences that they acquire from each other. The duration of the escalation process of the new mom group relies on the number of resources that they can draw upon, the population of the supporters as well as its economic benefits. The conflict that the new moms are faced with in their military branches is seen as the one determining the power distribution, prestige, and wealth in the community. However, given that the majority of the women in the military are not new moms, they are the ones who are likely to win as it is better mobilized to begin acting in the collective interest. The power concentration is unequal to the extent that there exist external threat to the new moms in the military. Both the internal and external conflict usually tend centralizing power, which makes the military management to win the disputes affecting the new moms in the military.

Conclusion

What I learned from the military moms that I interviewed is that becoming an army mom means that one is setting an example for their children by showing unconditional and unwavering love. Providing children stability in both the absence and presence of their father constitute building of a bind that makes their family stronger. Therefore, becoming a military mom does not only include being supportive, caring, loving, flexible and robust but it is about showing the kids how they are expected to assist whenever families are in need; this may be supported by the notion of expecting the unexpected as well as making of the most of it and remaining positive which is an indication of what it takes by being active and confident when facing adversity. A military mother understands the actual meaning of sacrifice. A mom in the military is a confident, determined, and a strong woman who stands to be a proud soldier. She usually embraces every moment to their fullest and strives to be the best wife, friend and a mother.