First, realize that whether you live in on-post housing or in housing off-post, the guys who live in the barracks are going to be in love with your house. The number one reason for this is because it’s not the barracks – meaning your floor has been vacuumed recently; your toilet has been scrubbed; your bedroom, living room and kitchen aren’t confined to a 10×10 space; and you have actual cable with all of the channels. For the lower ranking guys, it also means escaping doing “chores” or getting smoked by other guys during their time off.
In all likelihood, the majority of your husband’s friends are single (this is particularly true if he’s not high ranking). So you should get used to hanging out with the guys. Do yourself a favor and go ahead and prepare yourself for the fact that your family is going to expand. In fact, we have one guy who is here so often that we refer to him as our son. It’s not uncommon for us to have guys over here several nights during the week. On the weekends, we usually have several guys who camp out in our living room and spare bedroom. If you manage to make it through an entire week with no one at your house, it is a rare occurrence.
So how do you deal with constantly having the guys at your house? Some wives decide to set rules and some have flat out refused to let anyone come over unless they were specifically invited. It’s completely up to you how you decide to handle it. I actually enjoy the guys coming over and hanging out. I’ve always been one that’s had no trouble getting along with the guys so it’s not an issue for me. But I do have friends who can’t stand it when the guys show up uninvited.
The best advice I can give you is to sit down with your husband and decide how often you are willing to have the guys over. Then make sure both of you stick to it. It will make life so much easier down the road!
This is TOO FUNNY!! I have often said, “i married one, and got two free!”. We (all four of us) are only two weeks into the first deployment, and i think i’m having a harder time than the boys. My living room used to look like an army slumber party every night, now its empty. i was surprised to find out my carpet was just plain tan, not ACU print!! I am 29, and i have two ‘kids’ that are 21 years old. We truly have become a family, and it hurts not to have them around, just as much as not having my husband. plus, things are always clean, whats a girl to do with all this spare time!!