Obviously the big news focus right now is on Gen. McChrystal, so I took some time to read the original source. Opinions on this current event range all over the board, and the issue is outside the focus of SpouseBUZZ, but as a spouse what jumped out at me when I read the article in Rolling Stone was this line:
His wife, Annie, has joined him [in Paris] for a rare visit: Since the Iraq Warbegan in 2003, she has seen her husband less than 30 days a year.
Wow.
I guess I've never given too much thought to how generals live. I suppose I've thought about how sweet it would be to make $18,000 per month, or to have aides, or to live in the loveliest house on post. In other words, I've thought of the perks. I realized I'd never considered how much time a four-star general would spend away from home.
Apparently it's a lot.
My hat is off to Mrs. McChrystal for enduring a seven year deployment.