Melissa West, former military wife

Melissa West remembers the tough time she had trying to find a job while her husband served in the Air Force.

With degrees in marketing and psychology, she thought finding a job would be easy.

She repeatedly was turned down by potential employers because they feared she would leave when he was transferred. Instead, she was hired for digging ditches and installing sprinkler systems. At one base, she was able to find a position as a retail store manager; at another base, she could only land a part-time teaching job.

West remembers feeling stunned when she repeatedly was turned down for jobs, and the reason most often given was the fear she would leave once her husband was reassigned.

"My husband's squadron was in testing, and I was told once by an employer that if he dies, I'd just leave anyway," she said.

More than 20 years later, West says she hears the same concerns raised by current military spouses and family members.

"Today I still hear the same concerns from military spouses and family members. Employers often don't want to hire them because they fear their spouse will leave or the base eventually will close," she said. "The family is often unwilling to talk about it, however, for fear of it hurting their spouse's military career."

Employers don’t want to hire them because they feel they’ll leave if their husband or wife is transferred or the base closes,” she said. “And, the families often don’t want to talk about it to avoid hurting the serviceman’s military career.”

She has known an Air Force wife with a master’s degree in international business who couldn’t get a response to her resumes until she changed her mailing address from the air base to a post office box, a Navy wife with advanced degrees who waited a year to find a job and a Navy spouse with a college degree and 11 years of government experience who couldn’t get promoted because of her husband’s duty rotation time.

Advantages of hiring military spouses often are not recognized, she said, including the fact that military life has taught them to be goal oriented, to understand the importance of the drug-free lifestyle promoted by the military and to be the kind of team players businesses want most.