THERE are only certain types of women who can survive as army wives, according to Stephanie Gibb, who after 10 years classifies herself as a professional. That special woman, she says, is very easy going, strong and independent.
It is a tough combination of attributes and perhaps explains why British army marriages are now said to be breaking up at a rate of nearly twice the UK national average.
At the annual conference of the British-based Federation of Army Wives recently, it was announced that morale among its members was very low. Attendants were told the sacrifices demanded from a squaddie's wife are many.
At Stanley Fort this week, four Black Watch army wives did not contest the divorce statistics, nor that their lives sometimes seem like a series of compromises. It became clear that giving up careers and domestic security and moving away from families and friends is part of the course if you're an army wife.
Sitting around the table in the Community Centre were Stephanie, 29, who has been in Hong Kong for two months, 27-year-old Allison Douglas, Mary Gillespie, 25, and Debbie Beveridge, 20, who have all been based at Stanley Barracks for the past 10 months.
With 17 years' experience as army wives between them, Stephanie and Allison are old timers who have seen life through khaki coloured glasses in Germany, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.