Married American soldiers in Iraq have at least one good thing to write home about, couples are now allowed to bunk together. It's a little change in policy that could make a huge difference to spouses that serve their time together.
In the past
married couples had to part ways when it was time to bed down when they were stationed off base in the army.
Because of long standing Army rules married couples couldn't share sleeping quarters in war zones. The couples were not allowed to have private space to keep the home fires burning. That changed in May 2006 with little press coverage or fanfare. The result are happier couples and much less stress in the most stressful of situations.
This is the first war that American troops have had to deal with long separations for couples who are both in the same location in the military. In the past women were stationed out of the war zones as much as was possible.
With over 10,000 couples in the Army this war with it's extended tours of duty has been rough on marriages.
While couples can be as affectionate as they want behind closed doors in public PDAs are still not allowed. It's against the rules to hold hands on duty or in the mess hall.
The only downside of allowing couples to bunk together in private rooms is the possibility of pregnancies.
Sgt. Amanda Christoper, 25, and her husband, Sgt. Matthew Christopher, 22 are one couple that has benefited from the ruling change. They have spent four months of their nearly one year marriage in Iraq. They both work in a military hospital in the Green Zone.
"Some of the stuff I've seen, if she weren't here, I'd be a lot less cool about it," Matthew said as the pair sat inside their potpourri-scented living quarters -- a mere 120 square feet, with a TV set atop two black lockboxes, an impressive collection of stuffed animals and a Chicago Bears plaque. "There was one night in particular, I saw something and I just thought, 'Oh, God.' I came in here, talked to her for a few minutes, went outside, took a deep breath and I was good to go."
Capt. Jessica Hegenbart and her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hegenbart had to wait for two months to be able to bunk together because all of the trailers for couples had been claimed. They have been able to rest together since June. They say that the only problem with bunking together is that they may now worry even more about each other's safety in the dangerous war zone.
Because we're so close out here, we know to the hour when our loved one's supposed to be home from a mission," Jessica said. "So if they're late, our brains starts going to that place where you start to wonder what went wrong. That happens more often than I'd like to admit."
