Advice For Navigating Military Schedules

There is a reason military time is a 24-hour clock. It is equally reasonable to have something going on at 0100 as at 1300.

From my experience, the schedule the military runs on is the hardest part for civilians to understand. I have accepted that no matter how many times I try to explain my watch schedule to friends and family, they will never quite understand. 

Because of this, I am not going to try to explain it to you. Mostly because I have no clue what sort of watch/duty/work rotation your service member (referred to as him for the purposes of this post to ease explanation) of choice is on. Instead, I am going to give you some tips to help you through the chaos.

Calendar 

Have him either put his schedule on your calendar or send it to you in detail so you can add it. This way, whether spouse or mom, you can keep track and are not constantly asking. Most digital calendars have the lovely feature of repeating events. Very helpful in this.

Flexibility 

Being flexible is essential when working with military schedules. He might be on the day shift one day and nights the next with little to no warning. 

Even when working “regular” days, you never know when something will break, and he is at work until 1900. Time lines get moved up and down all the time. Going with it. If you are a mom, I wouldn’t recommend asking too many questions. If you are not careful, you will end up more confused. If you are a spouse, I wouldn’t ask for every single update. Get a general idea of when something is supposed to change and wait till it gets closer to the date. No need to worry about all the changes a year in advance.

Communication

Communication is key in all things. My husband and I have an agreement that he will call me by 1830 to let me know if he is going to be at work later. This prevents me from worrying and him from getting 9000 texts asking if he is okay.

Patience 

Being patient with him and understanding that he is at the mercy of his command. If he gets stuck at work late, it is probably not his decision. When things change, and he is all of a sudden on a different duty rotation that ruins plans, he probably didn’t want the change either. 

I say this as a reminder to myself as well. Even though I have been there and understand the unexpected, I still have to stop myself from getting upset when my husband is home late with no warning.

Holidays

Holidays can be tough to navigate. When watch and deployments cover holidays, it can be sad and lonely for the spouse who is home alone. Finding others to be with and setting a day when he is home to celebrate can help. I have a separate post on navigating holidays here.

I hope you found this helpful in navigating crazy military schedules. Hang in there, it gets easier, then harder, then easier again. I would love to know what advice you have for navigating military schedules in a comment!