An Introduction to the Handbook

So first things first, let’s have a bit of an introduction and an explanation for the title of this little blog, “The Air Force ‘Husbands’ Handbook.  I am, as the title suggests, an Air Force husband.  Or more accurately, I am the male civilian spouse of a wonderful woman that is serving our country as an officer in the Air Force.  The “handbook” part comes courtesy of an inside joke from one of my friends back when he found out I had gotten engaged.  He found it necessary to send me an engagement gift and of course, being the jokester that he is, it couldn’t just be any old gift.  It had to have special meaning to commemorate such a momentous and joyous event.  Yes,  he decided that a lovely mint copy of “The Air Force Wife Handbook: A Complete Social Guide ”  would be the most appropriate gift for me.

 

Needless to say, I was not amused. 

It was only made worse after I opened and read some of it that I discovered that it was chock full  helpful advice about how to successfully host afternoon tea with other officers wives.  Or the proper manner in which to address invitations when hosting a dinner party.  The right type of dress to wear to a formal military function.  Yeah…  Excuse me while I go look for my masculinity, the Air Force seems to think that it is missing.  I have a lot more to say about that but maybe in another entry.

Now full disclosure here, this isn’t really a handbook.  It’s really just a place for me to reflect on and write about my experience of being married to a loving, wonderful and beautiful woman who just happens to be in the military… and can disassemble and re-assemble a M-16… and then shoot it.