New Uniform, Same Challenge - Kelly Crigger

elationshipsNewUniform,SameChallengeeparation day issupposed to belike crossing afinish line. Formany spouses, nervescalm and persistentshoulder tension eases as bootsget hung up for the last time andcombat uniforms are traded infor neckties. Unless, of course,your spouse takes on a challengeequally as daunting as being in themilitary…like fighting in a cage.Special Forces Staff SergeantTim Kennedy left active duty lastsummer, but his decision to becomea professional fighter merelytransitioned him into a new highstress job. That meant for Kennedy’swife, Ginger, the environmentchanged, but the difficultiesof being married to an elite warriordidn’t.Mixed Martial Arts, or UltimateFighting as some call it, is a rapidlygrowing sport that’s especially popularamong the troops because attheir core, MMA and the militaryshare major similarities. A memberof the 7th Special Forces Group fornearly five years, Tim Kennedy deployedto combat three times andcompeted in various MMA venueswhile in garrison. So in mid-2009the Kennedys stood at a crossroads.On the one hand they loved militarylife, but on the other, Timwas in his physical primeand couldn’t resist the callto the cage.Tim and Ginger left active dutyand took up residence in Austin,Texas where Tim is now a NationalGuardsman and Ginger commutesto Fort Hood. But life outside of activeduty isn’t any easier, especially

“relationshipsfor a professional fighter.“I’m happy because I get moretime with him,” Ginger says. “Buthe also trains three times a dayand competes in sniper competitionsand I’m on the road sixtymiles a day, so I still don’t see himthat often.”Dedicating yourself to a SpecialForces Soldier is stressful. GingerKennedy is learning that beingmarried to a professional fighter offerslittle respite, save for the lengthof time he’s in combat. A deploymentlasts several months, but afight lasts just fifteen minutes—though the anticipation of a fight isalmost as demanding.“The weeks leading up to a fightare the most difficult,” she says.“He gets edgy and cranky. Hismind is preparing for a significantand possibly traumatic event, andhis body is changing because he’scutting weight. The tension in thehouse is pretty thick.”And there are precious fewfriends to turn to in their newcommunity. If Ginger missesone aspect of military life, it’s thesupport structure she had at FortBragg. The military is known forclosing ranks and taking care of ourown during times of trouble, sothe absence of an FRG-type organizationgives Ginger a newfoundappreciation for the closeness ofsupport groups. So is this a case of‘be careful what you wish for?’“No,” she says. “I’m still happyhe’s not getting deployed anymore.I know the phone isn’t going toring in the middle of the night andtake him away. Now when we getthose calls it’s usually his managerasking if he wants to sign a fight.”The boots might be gatheringdust in the closet, but when thegloves are well worn, the challengesof supporting a fighting man arethe same. “