Based on personal interviews with military spouses, as well as current articles and statistics and studies from the Department of Defense and Rand National Defense Research Institute, this book provides an objective look at America's military family in the 21st century, and explains how the military is attempting to improve family life. Following the Flag discusses both the problems and perks of today's armed forces families. It particularly looks at the military family since America has become involved in "peace-keeping missions" in Africa and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Studies on family stress connected with deployment (depression, divorce, domestic violence) are presented. A special focus is the families of the National Guard and Reserves who are often unprepared, emotionally and financially, for family members to be called to duty. In addition, the book provides current information on nontraditional military families. These include female military personnel married to civilian males, who many times must place their careers second and follow their wives to new assignments, and families where both spouses are military personnel who can be deployed at any time. Many changes have occurred in the American armed forces over the past three decades. An all-volunteer military came into being after the end of conscription in 1973; women have joined the force in ever increasing numbers; service personnel today are again involved in combat situations around the world; reserve and guard units have been called to active duty. With these developments, the role of military families has changed as well. This book explains what the those changes have been, and what they have meant to thefamilies involved.

It is often said that a woman must do a job twice as well as a man in order to get half the credit. This is particularly true of women in law enforcement. Women have been involved in various forms of policing for the last 100 years, but it wasn't until the Equal Employment Act of 1970 that women could move from the job of meter maids to patrol and detective work. Yet less than 1% of all top-level cops are women, and there remain significant obstacles in the career paths of women in the force. This book looks at the history of women police officers and provides first-hand accounts of women at every level, including those who drop out. It addresses discrimination, competition, lack of mentoring, differential treatment and sexual harrassment, examining what issues play into the decision to stick it out or leave that many policewomen face. It also considers the family issues these women return home to at the end of the day. It is often said that a woman must do a job twice as well as a man in order to get half the credit. This is particularly true of women in law enforcement. Women have been involved in various forms of policing for the last 100 years, but it wasn't until the Equal Employment Act of 1970 that women could move from the job of meter maids to patrol and detective work. Yet less than 1% of all top-level cops are women, and there remain significant obstacles in the career paths of women in the force. This book looks at the history of women police officers and provides first-hand accounts of women at every level, including those who drop out. It addresses discrimination, competition, lack of mentoring, differential treatment, and sexual harrassment. It looks at what plays into the decision to stick it out or leave that many policewomen face. It also considers the family issues these women return home to at the end of the day. Unlike other treatments of the subject, Alt and Wells show how women have changed police work into a more community-oriented model of policing, reduced police violence, served as a strong force to promote a more effective response to domestic violence within police departments, and helped with community-police relations. With a combination of first-hand accounts, careful research, and lively analysis, the authors are able to convey the actual experiences of women who have made their careers behind the shield.

Falling for a scam or con is humiliating for anyone, and can have terrible consequences. But for the elderly, being the victim of fraud can be disastrous, and they are the most common and vulnerable targets of everyday scams, cons, and frauds. From identity theft to gambling scams, from power of attorney issues to pyramid schemes, there is no dearth of creativity in the ways some criminals will relieve the elderly from their money and their homes. Here, Alt and Wells describe the most common scams, offer the stories of actual victims, and detail ways to protect yourself and your family from becoming easy targets. What makes the elderly such easy marks for con artists? How can they avoid the common traps? Knowing about them is one place to start, and this book helps readers to understand and identify the most common scams perpetrated against the elderly. Because such cons are so hard to prosecute, it is important to know the methods criminals employ to separate innocents from their hard-earned money. This lively, vivid account of one of the most insidious forms of crime will help families and individuals protect themselves and their loved ones from the machinations of those who view them as easy marks.

This overview explores the use of black people, either through coercion or enticement, in the armed forces of predominantly white societies in times of crisis when the supply of white soldiers was exhausted or when whites refused to fill the ranks of a wartime army. A chronological review, the study begins with references to Biblical armies and ends with the technological environment of the modern world, looking at how blacks were employed, exploited or rewarded for their service over the centuries. While the balance sheet is mixed, military institutions have proven to be leaders in integration and equality for blacks both in the United States and in Europe. Inequality still exists in the modern American military; however, the authors contend, it is more likely to be based upon educational disparities than on the color of a soldier's skin.

African American soldiers played a significant role in the creation and expansion of the United States. The authors write about conquistadors who utilized blacks as soldier slaves. They recount the stories of the black men who fought during the Revolutionary War. They detail the experience of the Buffalo Soldiers in securing and protecting the western wilderness and follow the black soldier fighting alongside Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. From the decks of the battleship DEGREESIMaine DEGREESR to the Philippine Islands, from the hills of Vietnam and the deserts of the Middle East, and, finally, to the all-volunteer army, this book reveals the impact that black soldiers have made on American history.

We know that a supportive family is the key to a person's success. It is fascinating to read a history of military wives that begins to give them the credit they deserve for service to their country and their families. Patricia Schroeder U.S. Representative, Colorado Campfollowing opens an important page in history for the military and for the role of women in the military. The women described in this book were not only devoted wives and mothers who brought a few of the comforts of home to forlorn military outposts, but they were also nurses who cared for the sick and wounded, as well as soldiers who fought bravely next to their soldier-husbands. They served their country with great love, dignity, and honor, and they deserve this long overdue recognition. I believe this book will be both an inspiration and a model for present military spouses as they follow their loved ones throughout the world or wait patiently at home for them when they are apart. Timothy E. Wirth U.S. Senator, Colorado Campfollowers themselves, Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone have collected published and unpublished memoirs, diaries, and letters and have conducted personal interviews to present this comprehensive history of the military wife from the Revolutionary War through the post-Vietnam years. The first work to concentrate on the unique hardships and rewards known to these women, this book considers both the traditional and modern roles of the military wife, with particular attention to her place as second in line to her husband's career and the military establishment's reluctant acceptance of her as integral to the success of its mission. Resilience and flexibility, loneliness and companionship, and danger and loyalty are all components of the military wife's life described in these revealing pages. The chapters are organized chronologically, outlining the experience during peacetime and war, stateside and overseas. Throughout, the focus remains on the strength of this sisterhood as it copes with separation and fear by fostering its sense of community, and faces the indifference of the military by constantly asserting its identity. This look at the many different facets of life as a military wife, described from a personal perspective within a historical framework, is a thoughtful analysis, a complete chronicle, and a true adventure with all its joys and perils.

We know that a supportive family is the key to a person's success. It is fascinating to read a history of military wives that begins to give them the credit they deserve for service to their country and their families.

"Patricia Schroeder U.S. Representative, Colorado"

"Campfollowing" opens an important page in history for the military and for the role of women in the military. The women described in this book were not only devoted wives and mothers who brought a few of the comforts of home to forlorn military outposts, but they were also nurses who cared for the sick and wounded, as well as soldiers who fought bravely next to their soldier-husbands. They served their country with great love, dignity, and honor, and they deserve this long overdue recognition. I believe this book will be both an inspiration and a model for present military spouses as they follow their loved ones throughout the world or wait patiently at home for them when they are apart. "Timothy E. Wirth U.S. Senator, Colorado"

Campfollowers themselves, Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone have collected published and unpublished memoirs, diaries, and letters and have conducted personal interviews to present this comprehensive history of the military wife from the Revolutionary War through the post-Vietnam years. The first work to concentrate on the unique hardships and rewards known to these women, this book considers both the traditional and modern roles of the military wife, with particular attention to her place as second in line to her husband's career and the military establishment's reluctant acceptance of her as integral to the success of its mission.

Resilience and flexibility, loneliness and companionship, and danger and loyalty are all components of the military wife's life described in these revealing pages. The chapters are organized chronologically, outlining the experience during peacetime and war, stateside and overseas. Throughout, the focus remains on the strength of this sisterhood as it copes with separation and fear by fostering its sense of community, and faces the indifference of the military by constantly asserting its identity. This look at the many different facets of life as a military wife, described from a personal perspective within a historical framework, is a thoughtful analysis, a complete chronicle, and a true adventure with all its joys and perils.