Army Officers' Spouses: Have the White Gloves Been Mothballed?

Abstract

This article is an in-depth ethnographic assessment of the role expectations for military spouses. In the late 1980s, the Department of Defense acknowledged the rights of military spouses to pursue their own careers and ruled that the attitudes and behaviors of officers' spouses would not be considered a factor in officer promotions or assignments. Given this policy and the increasing societal acceptance of female participation in the paid labor force, as well as increased diversity among military families, the present study hypothesized a decrease in formal expectations for officers' wives. The article discusses evidence that formal expectations for some officers' wives have actually increased, and that wives' performance and adherence to expected military role behavior is once again a feature of the officer evaluation process. The conclusions and policy implications indicate that the pressures placed upon officer spouses negatively impact readiness and retention.