Learn about the military. Learn about its culture. Learn the acronyms. You’ll be able to follow the conversation.
Learn to do it yourself. Learn how to change the fuse in a stove. Learn to fix a toilet. Learn to fill the windshield wiper fluid. Learn to use a drill. You’ll take a lot of stress off your partner because he’s not worried about you.
Learn patience and compassion. It will serve you throughout any ordeal.
Learn to ask for help when you’ve reached your limit. Martyrs don’t survive and if they do they’re usually not fun, happy people.
Learn to keep your mouth shut. Learn to keep secrets to yourself. The civilian world has 6 degrees of separation. In the military you’re lucky if there are 2. Don’t gossip, it will always come back to haunt you.
Learn to make a contingency plan then learn you’ve got to make two more. Failing to plan is planning for failure.
Learn to dress. Your husband wears a uniform so he’s exactly like everyone else. Your style needs to match everyone else too. Don’t make him stand out from the crowd because you dress inappropriately at military functions.
Canadian Army Wife 
Learn to question changes in behaviours and reactions. The amount of confrontational language is your’s to chiose but call your service member on this. PTSD/post-event re-integration difficulty *is* common, despite what many members admit to themselves. The line in our house is “you don’t have to go through the CF but you do need to deal with this.”
Absolutely! Learn the signs of PTSD. Learn where to get help, when to get help and how to get help. Wishing you all the best Abbie and thanks for commenting!