THINGS ONLY A NIGERIAN SOLDIER’S WIFE WOULD UNDERSTAND

The soldier’s wife faces a lot of drama. She deals with emotionally, mentally, and physically challenging situations and frequently gets criticized for her opinions, status, and appearance.

HERE ARE THINGS ONLY A NIGERIAN SOLDIER’S WIFE WOULD UNDERSTAND.

• Dressing up for video calls and skype dates with her soldier (Gosh…I do that always).
• Chatting or phone calls are cut short when duty calls (sighs).
• Memorize your husband’s Service Number but forget your car registration number.
• The question of,  “Where do you reside?”.(Uhhh…hmmm….You may hear at the moment).
• Knowing his coursemates and colleagues by only their last names (It’s on their name tags hanging on their uniforms).
• Knowing your neighbor by her husband’s title (so and so’s wife….Ridiculous).
• Waiting for commissioned officers’ wives to be attended to before it gets to the non – commissioned officers’ wives. I have witnessed that at a military hospital, and it’s absurd.
• Telling people he’s “ONLY” been gone for six months and would be back in a couple of months.

• Should be able to tell the difference between Army, Navy & Air force uniforms.
• What a Unit, Platoon, Company, Battalion, Brigade, Division means.
•  The various insignia.
• Her soldier wearing the same uniform every day (UNIFORMS).
• Leaving uniform accessories at every corner of the house.
• A last-minute call to look for a beret, name tag, armband, and medals.
• Payday shopping (usually a norm but not ideal).
• The importance of being courteous (Life-saving rule).

•  Importance of saving money.
• Having that baby with your husband miles away.
• How each kid can be born in a different state (What an experience).
• The terms RSM, 2iC, OC, CO, GOC, Lt., Capt. Lt. Col., Brig. Gen., Lt. Gen., COAS, CAS, CNS, CDS, etc.
• Terms like “Dismount from duty, AWOL, Your morale enter boot, I will sit you on your head, That is for your village head, Blow short one, Gas out, Rifle (loose babe), Samankwe, Sama, Caterpillar without wiper, Serve job, Job Marshal, Parade, He lost it for him”.

Some of the above words have their literal meanings but men in uniform have used them to coin their own hilarious meanings.

They also guard most of these words that even as a military wife, they don’t want you to know what it means as it’s their own coded way of communicating.

As I write this, though I know the meanings, I tried to pull my soldier’s leg by asking him some of the meanings and after he tried to maneuver in shallow waters, he suddenly pretended to be asleep which clearly shows how they try to protect the meanings of such words.

He doesn’t know I have been equally trained over the years.

I believe military wives in other parts of the world would have their own unique experiences with such military jargon.