Invisible Women: Junior Enlisted Army Wives

by Margaret C. Harrell

The voices of three women convey the dilemmas faced by many young families in the armed services.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0833028804
• ISBN13: 9780833028808
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: RAND Corporation
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Common ground

I found this book enlightening. I understand what the author's purpose was: not to show an "average" junior enlisted spouse, but a broad range of experiences by these women. It was not to disparage, but to inform military, community and political leaders about some of the hardships these families often face. As the daughter of one Army officer, the wife of another, involved as I am in the Army community, I find this book helpful in giving me ideas on how to approach the junior enlisted spouses. Also, I found a lot of common ground with these women, although my Army and life experiences have been very different. Even though I don't have financial difficulties, I have a Masters degree and have actively sought out classes and help when needed, I too have felt vastly overwhelmed by the Army lifestyle, the experiences of being a new mom, dealing with separations from my husband, and running up against the bureaucracy. I believe this book can allow the leadership to understand the issues better and call attention to similarities between all Army spouses.

Helpful for Leadership

Although the other women above may disagree with me, as someone who will commission as a "despised" 2LT in 10 months, I found the book helpful. No matter how uncommon these women may actually be, the fact of the matter is that the public is aware of the plight of junior enlisteds and this gives some explanation to all the bad press about food stamps and uneducated wives. The author states in her introduction that the book was written to shed light on the situation so that policymakers, officers and others with power can be informed to make decisions. I bought the book because I refuse to be the LT in the book screaming at E-2s on a 100 degree day. It is extremely helpful for understanding the culture I am about to enter. I bought the book so that I could be the officer who understood and worked to help the problem. For that purpose, it is excellent. I hope I never encounter families like the case studies, but if I do, I feel that I am now better prepared to help them. I have passed the book around the ROTC battalion with the hope of producing officers who have insight into the lives of the soldiers they lead.

It's all true

I just finished reading this book and it was exactly right on the mark for the experiences and obstacles that military wives encounter. I don't know why so many in the military community are saying that this isn't so.There is a high concentration of young,naive people, both the husbands and their wives, in the service and the fact that the service moves these mainly young couples so far away from any support structures that may have existed for them, and then doesn't pay them enough to live, has more to do with their struggles than just being young and inexperienced. It is easier to be a young couple attempting to raise a family when grandma,grandpa and extended family members are there to help with the grandchildren. It is a much more difficult thing to be your own and only asset when times are hard. The military establishment should be the group that is trying to make this book out to be false, not the wives. But then, many of the wives are young and don't fully realize the degree to which their choices and opportunities are restricted by their husbands'job. I would embrace this book and say thank you for noticing!

from an Army physician

The author provides valuable insight into the lives of junior enlisted spouses. It also highlights the end results of the disastrous family, health care delivery and personnel policies of the Department of Defense. This book is a must read for anyone who serves invisible women.

For anyone considering family life in military service

In Invisible Women: Junior Enlisted Army Wives, Margaret Harrell reveals a surprising and candid revelation about the lives of junior enlisted Army wives based on interviews with hundreds of spouses, Army Personnel, and others in the military community. Three specific and representative women give voice to the dilemmas commonly confronting junior enlisted families. The informative text blends humor and pathos as these young women speak of the challenges of youth, lack of education, financial difficulties, distance from husbands and families, and being "invisible" within a large military bureaucracy. Invisible Women is highly recommended reading for anyone considering family life within the context of military service, women's studies groups, and military life reference collections.