Thursday, February 22, 2018

6 Reasons Why It's Difficult To Facetime With A Deployed Soldier

When my husband was deployed, we tried to Facetime everyday, but it's not always easy. The connection can be pretty terrible. However, I know we're lucky. My Nana Jo talks about the letters she would write to my Grandpa, who was off fighting for his country during World War 2. She said it would take months to get a letter. You didn't know if your loved one was okay. Sometimes the letters would arrive with sentences marked off in black if it was deemed unsafe. That would have been difficult.

When my husband first deployed years ago, we only got one phone call a month, if that. So I am grateful Facetime and Skype exist. But still. It doesn't always make things easier. Let me explain...





1. The sound cuts out often. So your conversation goes like this, "How day?" And, "I you." (Translation: "How was your day?" and "I miss you.") Words are left out. This can be confusing when you hear, "I chow arms." (Translation: "I ate at the chow hall and worked out my arms.")




2. The picture freezes. The other person is sometimes frozen with a silly expression on their face. It's funny at first, but then you think, "Can I just have a normal conversation with MY HUSBAND?" You also worry you'll be frozen in an unflattering way. Suppose he shows his work buddies?


3. The call will be dropped in the middle of a conversation. You'll get the "reconnecting" message, but it's a lie. It won't reconnect. You have to call all over again.


4. Sometimes the call won't even connect at all. You'll try and try and try. You'll curse and curse and curse. You'll cry and cry and cry and wail, "I JUST WANT TO TALK TO MY HUSBAND!" all dramatic-like. Or maybe that's just me?


5. If you see a member of the opposite sex in the background, you might think, "Who's that ho? Why is she near you?" Not because you're a bad person, but because you're jealous someone else gets to be near your husband when you can't be.


6. You'll be told, "I can't talk right now," and you'll immediately think the worst. You'll say, "Are there bad guys coming? Are you okay?" and then you'll be DISCONNECTED and go into a panic. You'll think of all the scary scenes in war movies. You'll wonder if that's happening to your husband RIGHT AT THIS VERY SECOND. Then, when he finally calls, you'll be all, "Oh my GOSH, are you okay? Are you wounded?" and he'll go, "Jesus, we just had a meeting. Calm down."



Again, I am grateful Facetime and Skype exist. But there are some challenges you'll just have to deal with when your spouse is in a deployment zone.



And you just have to hope that when the screen freezes, you at least look flattering and not drugged.

37 comments:

  1. I facetime with my son sometimes when he's at his dad's, which is only about 15 miles away, and the same things happen. I think it's facetime...not the distance.

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  2. I can imagine the struggle especially when you really miss your spouse. I hope they get better connections wherever they are so their families can talk to them any time without hassle.

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  3. My daughter deals with this all the time. I remind her when her dad was active duty we only had letters to look forward to receiving. He wasn't even allowed to make phone calls. That is really being cut off. We survived. Count your blessing technology is wonderful.

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  4. Facetime can really be incredibly frustrating! But how amazing is this technology so you can see your loved ones who are far away! I hope that your calls can be clearer and easier in the future!

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  5. We used to call, skype and facetime with my brother when he was deployed. Stuff happens on any given day with cell phones whether around the block or overseas, we were always grateful we had a few moments, which is more than people had years ago. I think it's just that cell phones aren't perfect yet.

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  6. That must be so tough dealing with Facetiming when you can't see your loved one for a while. We use Facetime occasionally, and I can relate to glitches, connectivity issues, and catching people at a bad time.

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  7. I couldn't' bring myself to say goodbye to him. This was such a tough post to read.

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  8. Gosh I can imagine it is so hard being away from your husband and not knowing what is going on, especially when he just says gotta go! I would freak as I am the worst for thinking the worst.

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  9. I don't know anyone whose partner is in the military but after reading stories and this post i can only imagine how hard it must be! i think just the worry of not knowing what is happening! xx corinne

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  10. I can imagine how difficult it would be to facetime with someone that is deployed. The desire to stay in touch would make it worthwhile though.

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  11. The last one about how they say "I can't talk right now." I would be a mess! I always tend to think the worst when it comes to the people I love, five minutes late.... means they are in a car accident. So my brain dealing with that would go scary quick. I have such respect and admiration for anyone serving our Country and their families as well.

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  12. I've served as well and it's really not easy. I had the chance to take my family with me all the time though which made things easier for me to see them and just be with them. But I know how you feel about this. It's a constant struggle.

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  13. I can truly understand these challenges. The connection can get really frustrating and being cut off in mid conversation results in so much worry and apprehension. But on the other hand the existence of such apps at least ensures contact.

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  14. Hhmmm. Regardless of the challenges, be happy when you see your husband. like your grandma said, it wasn't like before when you will have to wait months for a letter. Despite the challenges with Skype and facetime, you get to see that your husband is OK.
    I also think you need to adopt adaptive strategies to beat the challenges like having your husband give a sign signal with his hand to confirm that he is perfectly ok. When the network is ok you can discuss that with him to arrange the sign signal he will be giving upon connection to confirm that he is perfectly ok.

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  15. I can't even imagine how hard it is. I'm a pretty jealous person, and I'm happy my husband did not have to go on any business trips yet, cause I don't know how I would react :)) But I am too grateful Skype exists. It's a great way to keep connections with friends in other countries.

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  16. Oh no. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you. I say that you are a strong woman and my prayers are with you

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  17. I can totally relate, I've been there with my husband when he was still on active duty. The worst is when you expect him to call and it doesn't happen, the worse case scenarios really plays in your head.

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  18. This must be tough when all you want is to connect with your husband, tell him about your day and hear how things are. I can't imagine how stressful this is on a daily basis.

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  19. I can't even imagine how hard must it be to live in fear all the time, especially when the calls disconnect and you don't know what is happening.

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  20. I can see how it would be difficult to facetime often. I know it must be hard, but you're such a strong woman!

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  21. I can't imagine what military families go through but I am so appreciative for their service!

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  22. This must be so frustrating. Military families are so strong and sacrifice so much. We appreciate all of your service and dedication.

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  23. This sounds like a horribly frustrating way to communicate but you are right, we have it so much better than when letters was the only way to speak to our loved ones while deployed. Kudos to all those military families that make these sacrifices.

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  24. I can only imagine how hard it must be to have to go through that struggle.

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  25. This is really difficult, but as you said we are lucky to be alive these days where we can take advantage of the modern technology, even when it doesn't work as we may expect.

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  26. Wow, I really needed to hear this story. I have a new friend that is currently deployed in Abu Dhabi and I recently asked him about video chatting and audio calls and his reply was it's impossible. Reading this article has helped ease my suspicious mind and I will settle for enjoying his sporadic text messages.

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  27. I remember these kinds of situations for my nephew and his wife when he was in Afghanistan. Some days it was fine but others? Impossible. It was so tough on both of them and on the kids. I had no idea it was like that until they experienced it. The things we take for granted....

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  28. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the both of you. I am glad you still get to see each other and catch up, even if only through technology, during your time apart.

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  29. I haven't had to deal with deployments or even, extended absences, so I can't even imagine how hard it can be. I am grateful that there are things like Facetime for families to stay in touch!

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  30. This would be such a hard thing. I can not even imagine having a dropped call or even being told they can't talk right then when all I would want to do would be here their voice and see them for that little amount of time.

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  31. I could not even imagine the sacrafices you and your family make for myself and everyone else in this country but I thank you for them. I am glad you have FaceTime and Skye to be able to share special moments with your loved one, even with all the crazy issues they have.

    Thank you again for all you do!

    XOXO
    Elizabeth

    http://www.akeenesenseofstyle.com

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  32. Aw, this much be very hard to deal with. I greatly admire you and your spouse for not breaking it off and going strong even though he is deployed, I know a lot of couples who ended it because of that. Its a much harder level of long distance than I could ever imagine. Thanks for sharing.

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  33. I could never imagine dealing with this! Thank you for allowing yourself to be so vulnerable.

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  34. It's always funny Facetiming our parents because they always seem to get the tech aspects wrong and it's adorable. But lots of pauses and cut outs!
    And you can't even blame a poor connection.
    This must be so true! But I can't even imagine life before Facetime and Skype..

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  35. It must be difficult at times. When I was first married to my husband we only had a beeper !! My husband was not in the military so he was not gone long like your husband for such a long period of time. Kuddos to you both :)

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  36. It's definitely difficult to be a military spouse, especially when they have been deployed to another country. I feel fortunate That both my spouse and myself are not in the military and we get to spend our time together rather than long distance from time to time.

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  37. I hear you.. My parents live in india and I only get to meet them once in 2 years. Facetime has been a saviour, but poor bandwidth in india doesnt give us the best experience

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