When LaQuita Moore joined the Army, she didn't know she'd be serving for life - first as a Soldier and now as an Army wife.

"I may not have the same mission as my husband, but I serve, too," Moore said. "Wives have to support their Soldiers and be the backbone of the family, especially when they're gone. We have to accept being alone, being single parents at times, and understand that our spouses will miss special occasions."

Moore and her husband Sgt. First Class Moore of I Corps have been married 13 1/2 years and have four boys, ages 4 to 22. Sgt. Moore served for 8 1/2 years and her husband served 6 years in the Marines and 18 1/2 (and counting) in the Army.

 "We had to flip a coin to see who would leave the military to raise our family," she said.

The Moores' served in the same unit and MOS, but with possible dual deployments and a growing family, they knew the stress would be too great.

"It was hard adjusting to civilian life especially at work," Moore said, of the two jobs she held before becoming a stay-at-home Mom. "I missed the discipline, structure, and peer respect. It wasn't the same." She's also a full-time student pursuing a Bachelor's degree in hospital management.

Moore believes her Army experience prepared her for life as a military spouse.

"It's easier to PCS," she said, "I have a mindset of instability and don't get too comfortable because I know things change quickly."

In fact, of the six-times they've prepared to relocate, they only moved twice (once, they'd even sold their furniture already). She believes her training and the military's "adapt and overcome" mentality helped her tremendously.

"As a Soldier, I understood it was ‘hurry up and wait'," Moore said, "and I was prepared for last minute changes and deployments because that was my job - to be ready at a moment's notice - to be ready for anything at any time. It's difficult to prep your family to adopt this mindset, but this is the life and now as a military wife, I understand that even more."

As a Family Readiness Group (FRG) treasurer and part of the FRG leadership team, Moore coaches other wives about both sides of military life. When asked what advice she'd give to new military spouses, she said to understand that your Soldier's life isn't always his own.

"Military life isn't easy," she said. "Further, you can't take everything personal with your Soldier. Pay attention to details - find out what's going on first before jumping to conclusions."

Moore advises that spouses take time for themselves, that couples (and not just Soldiers) seek counseling during redeployment because "people constantly change," and that spouses focus on the (many) positives in Army life. 

"Embrace what you do have and find the joy in it," she said. "If you wrap your mind around the good and concentrate less on what you don't have, then life's challenges wouldn't break you."