What Veteran’s Day Means to a Newly Retired Military Family

By Jamie Kaun

Every year on Nov. 11, we honor the men and women who are serving or have served in the military. Businesses often offer special discounts or free meals to veterans that day. Some communities and schools have programs recognizing their service. These are just a few small ways to thank to those who have sacrificed so much to serve our country.

My husband, Michael, is experiencing his first Veteran’s Day this year as a newly retired vet. For more than 21 years, he’s proudly worn “the uniform” and put his country first.

Making the decision to retire was a very difficult one for our family. We truly believed in the mission and my husband’s roles over his 21-year career. But we have four young children, ages 2-12, who were beginning to not look forward to moving every 2-3 years. My husband missed birthdays, special events, the first year of our youngest child’s life, the death of my mother and so many more life milestones because of working very long hours, being TDY or deployment. Life always had to be planned around the needs of the U.S. Air Force.

While my husband (and our family) was honored to serve, discussions about putting our family first became more prevalent. Our last duty station in Ohio was the closest we had lived to extended family in more than 10 years. Giving our children a stronger sense of family and spending more time with loved ones began being at the forefront of discussions, particularly as my mother was very ill at that time.

But it was difficult for my husband to think about life outside of active duty as that’s how he’s spent his entire adult life. He’s had the privilege of working with amazing people both within and outside of the Air Force and has been part of important missions. We’ve had the opportunity to live in areas that we would not have otherwise and made friends around the world.

Military life is unique in many ways. One of the most special aspects is the people that become a part of your life, even if it’s only for a short time. It’s not unusual to ask someone you met five minutes ago if you can list them as your child’s emergency contact on school forms. You can always rely on military families to help you through difficult situations. My husband was deployed across the world when I called people he once worked with (that I had never met) to care for our four children (the youngest was a newborn) so I could be with my Mom on her final day of life. Without hesitation, they took my children overnight because that’s just what military families do.

Any military family knows – your life and many important decisions that can affect it for years may not be a choice or something you can control. And while that can provide challenges, there are many life experiences and “lessons” that you gain by being a military family that you may not be fortunate to have otherwise.

Although my husband had a wonderful career in the military, he ultimately made the difficult decision to decline a promotion to colonel and retire. We decided it was time to put our family first.

Despite the many challenges we’ve experienced, I’m appreciative for what my military family has endured and I’m so thankful to all military families, past and present, for their contributions to our country.