Navy Spouse's Guide [Paperback]

Laura Hall Stavridis (Author), Stavridis Laura Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Naval officers and enlisted personnel undergo extensive training to cope with the special demands of their duties at sea and ashore, but what about their spouses and children? This practical, one-of-a-kind guide fills the gap by helping families navigate the unique challenges of Navy life. Personal, friendly, and easy to use, this updated edition of the original 1997 guide is based on interviews with Navy spouses and a lifetime of lessons learned by the author as a Navy junior and wife of a career naval officer. Using an array of hard-to-find diagrams, charts, facts, and figures from a wide variety of sources, Laura Stavridis explains every aspect of Navy life in a frank, open discussion.

The particulars of pay, living expenses, travel, children, emergencies, support groups, and social life, as well as medical, legal, and educational issues are described in an interesting, spouse-to-spouse format. Readers learn what to expect with regard to separation, homecomings, life overseas, shore duty, marital dynamics, and divorce. Also covered are such vital topics as military careers, spousal careers, reenlistment, retirement, and transition to civilian life. Useful phone numbers, checklists, glossary, and an up-to-date primer on the Navy's organization, ships and aircraft, and chain of command complete this unique reference. New to this second edition are discussions of e-mail communication, Internet resources, and spouse leadership roles within the Navy. For anyone starting out or contemplating life with a mate in the sea services this one-volume source of user-friendly information will prove invaluable.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 2 edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557508704
• ISBN-13: 978-1557508706
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very useful utilitarian guide, August 15, 2003

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Navy Spouse's Guide (Hardcover)

I'm not a Navy spouse, but I watched one close up during 18 years as a "Navy junior." I'm sure that a guide like this would have been very useful to her ... especially during those early years when Dad was overseas (the section beginning on page 147, "A Special Challenge: Dad at Sea When the Baby is Born" ... well, that baby was me).

On a lark, I compared this title to two somewhat similar earlier volumes, The Navy Wife by Anne Briscoe Pye and Nancy Shea (1942), and Welcome Aboard - A Service Manual for the Naval Officer's Wife by Florence Ridgely Johnson (1956). The differences between those two books and this one highlight not only the many changes in the Navy itself over five or six decades, but also reinforce why Laura Hall Stavridis' book is so valuable. Whereas the earlier books had a big focus on the social aspects of Navy life (both books were explicitly intended for the officer's wife) and "practical" tips like how to drive cross-country to visit your husband when he's visiting another port, this book is more thoroughly practical, with an emphasis on the many support systems now in place to help the spouse (male or female) of any Navy person (officer, NCO, or enlisted) deal with the many demands of this challenging position.

As with those other books, "Navy Spouse's Guide" includes a capsule description of the Navy and how it's organized, a glossary of important, and potentially confusing, terms, and other things the reader will be expected to know. At the same time, though, Stavridis knows that the "Navy spouse" is no longer wedded to the Service in the way she used to be, and that she (or he) most likely has a career and other time-demands of her own. That's why this book is so useful when confronting situations like preparing for a move overseas ... it's practically a checklist of things to do and people to contact that will help the Navy spouse, who's often left making many of these arrangements, navigate the situation as smoothly and easily as possible.

An awful lot has changed between 1942 or 1956 and today, and this book is a powerful reminder of that. But the historical interest is far less important than the day-to-day reality of the modern Navy spouse. Whether you're about to marry into the Navy, or have been following the Fleet for years, I think this is a book you'll find yourself returning to frequently.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Navy Spouse's Guide (Hardcover)

Being a dependent of an active duty navy captian I feel that this book was an excellent infomation source. Navy Spouse's Guide combinded humor with practial information to form a wonderful book that is great for all ages~Sons, daughters, wives, or (yes even) husbands. I thought that the chapter on moving was perfect and had great tips on dealing with movers. I especially liked the section that broke down moving in to months, weeks, and days. This helped me keep my cool during that horrible (and hot) summer day when I moved out of my house. The part of the book that I enjoyed the most was the secion where Mrs. Stavridis's daughter recorded her experiences with moving, it was so refresing to hear a child's point of view during this hard time for her. Mrs. Stavridis, congratulations on your first effort~It helped me tremendously, as I'm sure it helped 1000s of others!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, excellent, excellent, November 25, 2002

By 

"sabrgrrl" (Newport, RI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navy Spouse's Guide (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book. I am engaged to an AOAN and this book is a great help in planning our life. It contains information on getting a DOD ID card, Tricare, United Concordia, how to get on base, what to do before, during, and after a deployment, how to move, where the FFS centers are...it's a must for anyone married to or engaged to a sailor!