Only in the Military

I have to start with a story about  conversation I was having with my fellow military spouses. We were talking about moves, requesting absentee ballots and trying to get our drivers licences straightened out. At this party there was one spouse coming into the base, myself leaving the base and then several who had been here anywhere from 1 year to 6 months.  My friend was laughing at having to get a new licences for their car.... Their car is licensed in Virginia  his  drivers lic is from North Carolina hers is from Montana and there permanent and the car insurance is in California. Now to some this may seem odd but in the words of about half a dozen of us " only in the military" I remember when we lived in New York My  drivers lic was from Florida our lic plates from Virginia Sam has an expired drivers lic from New Mexico ( military members may have an expired lic if they carry their military id's to prove they can't get another lic) and of course we had car insurance for New york..... There are many tales like this. each state has a different rule on whether a spouse has to get a state lic or keep our old one. I had to get one for California. Try putting this on an application for an absentee ballot. Sam is an Alaska state resident on paper so we have to get his ballots from there we list a California address a forwarding APO box and  have to list an expired NM lic with a California address and then I had to track down from ( 7 moves ago) the Alaska address from when he was there..... can you imagine the poor confused person opening that application ! Mine wasn't much better..... I am happy to be doing this though and regardless of party likes dislikes or even loyalties it is important for all of us to vote.. even if you choose to vote for snoopy. I was struck with the camaraderie of these spouses myself included that we could help each other manage through how to find things here in the area to " Oh I was stationed there here are some tips" to myself.  In the military we may move frequently but in the " culture" of the military there is a spirit of family that makes me smile. some days it is nice to feel like you belong in the "crowd" I look forward to the new experiences in Germany. I'm an Air Force spouse who will be surrounded by Army families ...despite the military being one culture each branch has it's own "cultural norms" I have friend who are Navy wives and they have unique things to their branch. this is fun and exciting. I guess if I had to liken it to something it would be like all of us being Americans we have a lot in common but have a conversation with a person from Georgia and someone from North Dakota and  California or New Hampshire they will all have regional differences that will make things interesting.  So I am off to finish my absentee ballot request..with 3 different addresses and 2 different state information. Only in the Military :)