"Be the Change You Want to See in the World" --Gandhi

    My proactive military career began when my fiance was suddenly sent out to train for military duty 3 months before our wedding. We had been promised this time together and then my fiance(now husband) received a call from his commander that he was supposed to be at this base training YESTERDAY. That's right, he was supposed to leave for training the day before he had actually received his orders. In other words, he was in trouble for not instinctively predicting orders that had not been planned yet.
   We were devastated! We had planned our wedding around the military and now they were going back on their word. When we made calls to find out what was happening, NO ONE KNEW. We called every one of my fiance's superiors and no one seemed to know what was going on.  My fiance received 4 calls within that same hour, each time changing his orders to a new time and new place!
  After this, I had had enough! The military was messing with both our lives and there was no organization involved. I expected more from the military! After this I decided I was going to be very proactive and a pain in the military's butt.
  While in training my fiance was not being paid for two months of work. I was furious! When he inquired as to what steps he could take to get paid he was chewed out and threatened.
  So I took charge. I contacted my local congressman and told the whole story. I said that I knew my rights and I would not put up with this garbage. Amazingly, that congressman responded within 24 hours. The pay problem was solved within the next 24 hours!  I spent many times on the phone with a military lawyer and we spoke about how important it is for military spouses and families to be proactive. The problem is, most don't know what they can do. So we need to promote proactive and educated military families. Take a step, get involved, learn your rights!