Valentine’s Day for Singles in the Military

It’s fair to say I meet a lot of people in this line of work. The job itself puts me in front of our awesome audience of listeners all the time and it’s always fun to meet people who share a common passion for music who are fans of local radio.

I recently met a girl at one of our remotes who is on her third year in the Navy. She and I talked, had a few laughs, and exchanged numbers. It didn’t take long for us to realize there was a definite spark and that we shared a ton of the same interests and passions.

Knowing she was only here a short time I tried to take her to as many fun events as possible and make sure her well-deserved time off was well spent. The subject of us dating inevitably came up and that’s when I realized one of the sacrifices single people in the military make all the time that not a lot of people think about. We always talk about married couples being separated and how hard it is for them and their children to have a loved one gone for so long, but one thing I never personally thought about was how much they have to move even if they aren’t deployed overseas.

This girl is being deployed to Syria next week and will be on a ship for 6 months meaning contact will most likely be limited and even after that she will be based in Florida. This is a common story for those who are single in the military. Dating while enlisted is a very difficult task if you’re looking for something serious because you never know how long you’ll be stationed in one place.

I think we are all in search of someone special who will be with us at night to feel loved and complete. Imagine knowing that for the next four (or more) years of your life, every relationship you start will most likely end up in a painful separation and ultimately a break up. Imagine lying awake at night in a place thousands of miles away from home wondering if that last person could have been your future husband of wife. I don’t mean to depress anyone lol, but I’m trying to set the scene for what I think is a really nice thought.

Now, I know nothing can make up for that feeling but what if some of us took time to send Valentines to our single veterans and active members of the military just to kind of remind them that they are being thought of and that love is still waiting when they return home? The two strongest emotions in the human mind are Fear and Love. There’s no doubt that being overseas in a different country can be a scary and lonely experience no matter what branch of the military you’re in. Why not try to counteract that with a little bit of love?