How did "army wife" get deemed to be the toughest job in the army?

As a army veteran, I will agree that being an army wife is not the toughest job in the Army. (Let's face it; some Army wives are lying, cheating skanks, leeching off their husband's paycheck.) However, being a GOOD Army wife...One who can deal with a husband's constant deployments. Support him through the stress. And make his life better, instead of worse...that job is in the running for toughest.

as an serving member my self and then becoming a US Navy wife I was always very suspicious of the ones with all the stickers, the t.shirts the wrist bands etc etc as quite honestly they where often the very Navy wife that was messing around while hubby was away on deployment..............maybe it was just MY experience...................Got to add that out of26 houses in our little cul-de-sac I was the ONLY person with a job all the rest sat at home doing squit, other than tear out to wally world at a few mins past midnight on their husbands pay day...............I had one wife ask me if we got paid on this date or that date, I replied I get paid on friday, so what do EXACTLY do you do or do you mean your HUSBANDS pay day.................was not the most popular person on the block to be honest. Also weighed in at under 130 lbs No idea where it started but the ONLY sticker I have on my car is the one from the country I was born in and the one of the USAF that my son sent me.........

I couldn't agree with you more Dave. If my wife was content to sit around the house and have her only identity be what I do for a living I wouldn't be married long. I know of far far too many wives that just sit at home not doing a damn thing save for the little social group FRG crap that drives me insane. I would refuse to be anyones meal ticket, go get a real job and contribute to the house hold. I don't have a bumper sticker on my Vette that says "Nurses Husband".

It's not something to be taken literally. Yes, being away from your spouse for a long time can be very tough and taxing on the home especially if you have a children. You are thinking way way to much into it. The origin of it probably came from a spouses group or club of some kind. That would be my guess.

I'm a Marine wife and will say I do agree with you to an extent. There are those spouses who use their husbands rank against other wives. Last time I remember it's your husbands who earned the rank, you are just a civilian married to a person in the military. I will say its hard to stabilize marriage with deployments, kids and work but it's something we as spouses married into and that should be understood. But it's not the toughest job as its our husbands who are the ones who deploy and deal with the aspect of deploying, getting up at ridiculous hours etc. I am proud of my husband and all he does for our family but that does not mean I wipe the bank account. In fact we manage the money and only spend when necessary. I don't go out shopping everyday and waste money on things. Not to say there aren't those wives. Just saying not all, myself included don't use their husbands rank or spend money or advertise being a military spouse.

I do agree with most of what you said, except for point C, which I find rather insulting, both the "not tough" and the welfare. No, it's not the toughest job going, not by a long shot. But there are parts about being a military spouse that do make it harder than being an avg. spouse of someone outside of the military. Dealing with deployments and children is not much fun. Neither is knowing if you will be able to continue your career at the next assignment. I take no credit for his career... he did it, not me. (Ok, I did push him to study! A lot!) But he still had to do the job and take the test. I just gave him my love and encouragement. I take no credit for his income. It's HIS money. Which is actually a fighting point in our house, as he insists it's OUR money. (But, having my own career at one point... I still have a hard time spending any of it on me!) The ones that go around spouting this, and taking the credit for his rank, and taking his money... they are the ones that have no identity outside of being a military spouse. There is no self-esteem, no purpose, no nothing outside of the stereotype. Which is actually pretty sad when you come right down to it. I try really hard in my role as a "seasoned spouse" to encourage the young ones to make their own identity, their own mark on the world, to put "military spouse" at the end of their identity, not the front.