A few of my published articles

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Military Wives

This was Published in the Stars and Stripes European and Pacific Editions.  I hope you enjoy reading it.

This is my story. I am the wife of a soldier in the US Army. I am proud to say that, and I don’t regret one decision made along the way. My story no doubt resembles that of most military wives. We are the wives that support our husbands, the transient wives that tag along with our husbands from assignment to assignment, holding it all together. I am by no means bragging or boasting; it is by choice that I support my husband in his career. In fact, as the wife of a soldier it has become my mission to make sure that my soldier, my husband, my friend has no stress. My soldiers duty is to be the best he can be, meet the high standards that are set for him and to protect our country, which are responsibilities that are difficult enough to meet. So here we are; the military wives who choose to take the long hard road. It takes a courageous individual to keep it all together and not just be satisfied but also be grateful. You see we move wherever our country sends us, and we find ways to make sure our family is pleased about it. We uproot our children from their schools every tour and we find ways to make it exciting for them. We change jobs from place to place and we find ways to tell ourselves that it will better our own careers to work in new environments. We make and lose friends from post to post, but again we find ways to get through that. We move out of houses that we have made homes in to start over in a new and foreign place, and we find ways to make it an adventure. We wait in our new homes while our soldier s are on deployment or in training schools and we use that time alone to enrich the relationship we already have. We are away from our family for years at times, but we use that time to fine-tune our letter writing skills. We, the military wives, play an enormous part in the security of our country. It is our responsibility to make sure that our soldiers know their families are safe and comfortable. If our soldier is worried about us, they won’t be exceptionally worried about our country. So I tip my hat to the rest of the military wives who are taking care of their soldiers, so that my soldier has a unit he can count on.

By: Ronni M. Wright

I have lived in Hohenfels since November of 2001 and I feel like I just have to share this story with you. To lay down ground work I have lived all over the United States and I have had to work under many circumstances. I have worked every job from telecommunications on up to office manager and every shift that is offered; graveyard being my least favorite. We do what it takes to raise a family and for me it is a good thing that I am flexible. We don’t always get to choose where we live but we do have the power to choose how we behave and how we react to any given situation. I feel like I am lucky that my parents raised me to "rise to the occasion". In fact, my parents worked incredibly hard and never complained about having to do that. So with that in mind I want to say that it is such a pleasure to work in the CMTC Hohenfels community. I have found that it is far easier to survive in this world if your surroundings are comfortable. I work for Social Work Services in Hohenfels and I have to say that I am not only comfortable but I feel needed. I work with an exceptional crew who are all highly intelligent and who have work ethics that surpassed my expectations. You see, this is the first GS position I have been given and I’ve got to say I was a little intimidated by the idea of working for the Government. Sure my husband is in the military and I see his rules and regulations and I understand that there are specific ways things need to be done in order to have a smooth running military, but I was not sure how I would fit into that scenario. As a military spouse I have heard it all, the complaints, the arguments and yes, even the whining, but here I was about to see first hand what all the fuss was about. Come to find out, if you work with a unit that runs things by the book, with the outcome being the main objective, the whole thing simply flows into place. So for those of you who are the complainers, the arguers and the whiners, you might try getting the cohesion back in your unit, because I am here to tell you, it makes all the difference in the world to work side by side with someone who you trust and can count on. I work hard as do the rest of the Social Work Services employees and still I love my job and can’t imagine being happier. The funny thing is, no one grows up thinking about who we are, we are just who we are, but we can choose to make things better, even if we think we can’t change, we can choose.

The Hohenfels Girl Scouts of America’s already in full swing this year. In addition to being currently ranked #1 in Bavaria for the highest registration and participation numbers they have also just finished an All Girls Sports TRYIT! Since the tragic events of 911 this particular group of girls has increasingly tried to promote Family wholesome events and respect for our flag and our country. One of the chief lessons this group of girls is learning is commitment to patriotism. It is that ideal that makes them feel pride and support for their country. Some things that the leaders have started with the girls are "Love your Gate Guard Week" and now that deployments have started the Girls Scouts are looking forward to adopting some deployed troops in a continued effort to show their support.

The Girl Scouts latest event (All Girls Sports TRYIT) was held at the Hilltop on Saturday the 18^th of January. The Cadet and Senior Girl Scouts volunteered to help run the even in order to earn community service hours and both the Junior Scouts and Brownies participated in the "Bag a Badge Day" that went from 10 am until 1pm. While they were having such a great time, the Junior Scouts earned the Fun and Fit Badge and the Brownie Scouts earned the Girl Sports Badge. The day started out with a traditional Girl Scout friendship circle, which really set the mood for a day of learning, camaraderie, and fun.

The leaders of the Hohenfels Girl Scouts want to thank several community supporters and special volunteers for the success of the "Bag a Badge Day." Jim Hoyenhousen - commissary manager, Helen Ross – chaplain secretary/events coordinator, Cathy Roberts – Hohenfels gym aerobics instructor/volunteer, Teresa Jelen – WIC director, Susan Martz-Cothran – Elementary Principal, Raymond Arnold – Health Tec/Nurse/Medic, Frank Weaver – Health Tec, Sheri Hand – Aerobic Teacher/Volunteer, Christiana McMurtrey – Junior and Brownie trainer/volunteer, Nancy Scarr – Youth Sports Center/volunteer, Robert Higginbotham – Super Dad/volunteer, Tianna Higginbotham – Brownie trainer/volunteer, Stephen Bonneau – Super Dad/volunteer, Rosa Arnold – Junior & Brownie trainer/volunteer, Alexis McMiller - Junior & Brownie trainer/volunteer, Jody Rodman - Brownie trainer/volunteer, Kris Gonzles - Brownie trainer/volunteer, Mrs. Potter - Brownie trainer/volunteer, Cathy Corson – Parent volunteer, Annette David – Event Registration volunteer, Lisa Cisneros – Event Registration volunteer, JaNaa L. Jackson - Event Hostess/coordinator/volunteer, Ronni M Wright - Photographer/article author and Mary Flanery for volunteering to print copies of the photos taken during the "Bag a Badge Day."

P.S.  I will be adding more articles to this in the future I hope.....