6 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Deployment

With deployment comes a lot of experience and knowledge. There are some things you simply don't know or wouldn't think of until your first deployment. Each deployment is different, too, so you will learn new things all the time! Here's some things I wish I had known:

1. Custom forms suck. These are the forms you have to fill out if you are going to mail your Sailor/Soldier  care packages. You have to list every item by weight, write all the information in the right places, and press hard enough to make it through 4 receipts. It's also best to fill these out before you tape up the package, before you get to the post office. If you include a copy of the receipt in the package, your soldier can hold on to them and you may be able to get reimbursed for shipping. Just keep a stack at home, you will always want a back-up in case you mess up the one you are filling out..
2. The military can change/cancel/alter orders at the last minute. The saying is "you don't know where you are going until you get there, or when you will be back until you get home." It's important to remember to be flexible. Flight times, orders, location, coming home dates, the mission, they are all subject to change at any time. This is incredibly frustrating, I know. It's just part of it, and if you know it can happen it's easier to roll with the punches. My husband always says "orders are written in Jell-o." 
3. Send toilet paper. The really good kind. The soldiers in the desert are using 1 ply on the giant rolls. My husband says that just one roll (since that's all they have room for in their racks) of nice, non-sandpaper toilet paper is a hot commodity in the desert. It's the little luxuries that matter. 
4. Don't send care packages that will embarrass your spouse. It may be fun to decorate the box all girlie and fill it with glitter, but don't. Your spouse will be opening this in front of other people (or it may be opened for him). You want your care packages to be fun and practical and show your love, not fill your husband's tiny living space with perfume and glitter and streamers. Believe me, guys make fun of each other relentlessly. If you are sending something for your spouse's eyes only, label it that way. Then he can make sure not to open it with everyone else around.
5. Mail does not arrive in order. Number your letters and packages. For some reason, mail has to travel through an alternate universe before it can reach it's destination over seas. You or your spouse may receive letter #20 before letter #2. Mail often gets damaged, torn, or lost and the fact that it takes so long makes no sense to me. Number everything you send. Also, be careful what you write. Don't write about a situation you need help with, because by the time your spouse gets the letter, it will be over and they will be very confused!
6. Deployment is hard, but you will be okay. Keep an open mind and an open heart. Remember that you are strong and capable and you can get through this. Use your resources!!