And So it Begins...

A girlfriend becomes a wife.

And she's already learning lesson number one - your SSN is about as relevant to the military as a mound of fire ants in India. Heh....

Comments

[Kacie]

Andi: it can be really hard to swallow at times, but I managed to get through for a long time with the reminder that it wasn't sexist--if the military member was a female, then her husband's SS# was as irrelevant as mine! :)

Things came to a head for me, though, when we were stationed in Europe. I was self-employed, and had a checking account for the small business I was running out of my (off-base) home to keep and manage the business's expenses separate from our household expenses. My husband's name was NOWHERE on the account; it was exclusively in my name--and yet, in order to pay by check one day at the BX for some supplies, I had to put HIS SS# on the check. Huh?

[Penny]

Congratulations, congratulations!! Welcome to the military family :) It's crazy at times, but friends will become family and eventually things won't seem so bad :)

[Lee Anne]

Yes, welcome and congratulations!

I remember being a new spouse and getting locked out of my house on base--no IDs, no keys, no cell. I walked to the housing office with a neighbor and couldn't for the life of me recall my husband's SS#. I knew just enough information to get back into my house and my neighbor vouched for me, but it was a real wake-up call to memorize that number as quickly as possible.

[Mrs G]

As time goes on, it will be your own Social Security # you have to look up. :)

When the rare occasion comes when I'm asked for my Soc # my husband's comes out automatically, I have to think to say, "Oh you mean mine" I guess 20+ years will do that.

Now that retirement is around the corner, I guess I'll have to refresh my memory.

[loquita]

Thanks for the welcome, and for the link Andi! :) Sorry I'm so late in responding, I have been off the map getting my house prepped to go on the market, so I am just now venturing back into the bloggy world.

Right now I have his SSN written on a piece of paper in my wallet, but what I found astounding was that *HIS* SSN is on *MY* ID card. This military world is a crazy one for sure. :)

[CR]

Yeah, it's too bad the SSN is on our ID cards. You'll find that his social will be published in many spots.

Beware opportunities for identity theft and check your credit periodically.

Congrats!

[SmileySue]

I quickly found out that I was nothing more than "baggage" to my husband in the eyes of the military. He had been enlisted for 3 years before we met and married a year later, and they gave him a bunch of horse poo because of it. They wouldn't ever give me any information about what was going on, not even a little clue. Either he told me, or I was in the dark. The only assurance I was given was that if anything happened to him, our finances would be taken care of. They didn't care that my husband's more than an income to me. These guys are machines to the U.S. government, robots meant to follow orders and no one and nothing else is allowed to mean anything (and I do mean anything) to them, and family is a problem to be solved with money if need be. He separated last month, but I will never forget the way the military has treated me. I didn't even know support blogs and Family Readiness Groups (FRG) existed until he was out of the military. I suspect they might have helped, but they should have cared enough to tell me those resources were available either before or after we were married. My husband said he knew about them, but he didn't know if the base had one. He means everything to me, and to the military, he's a life insurance policy and an able body and that's all that matters. My cousin married a Marine and it wasn't any better for her, so all I can say is good luck to you! And I sincerely mean that. Marriage is tough without having a bunch of people who don't give a rats behind about you in control of your every move.