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Macho Spouse was created by Male Military Spouses for Male Military Spouses. We have male spouse contributors from diverse backgrounds contributing Blog posts with valuable information on various topics.

Check out the blog posts and feel free to join Macho Spouse as a contributing blogger. Whether you make a one time blog post or decide to contribute regularly, we welcome your contribution and appreciate your help.

Male Spouse Blogs

Old Fart here, with rant number 3. Ok, rant number 2 wasn't so much of a rant as it was a back to basics teaching on OPSEC. Now, I want to get-in-yer-face yell-ya-down to all you who don't think voting means anything!

Carpe Diem is the Latin term for seize the day. I've seen on social media, and the news, some folks complaining about the “would've/could've” aspect of their life. Far too often people talk about things they wish they could have or should have done. Being married to the military, I find myself slipping into that trap more and more often because my wife's Navy career can keep me from pursuing certain passions.

If we string Webster Dictionary's definitions of "active," "duty," and "dad" together we get "active dad dutifully taking care of his child(ren).

All too often I find myself watching dads who are disengaged with their children. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that there may be extenuating circumstances that I cannot see. The Dad may be tired, just come off a long shift of work, not feeling good, or just plain needs a break. I can understand that and I've been there too. By the same token we still need to be active in the rearing of our kids. Taking the time to be the example of how to interact with the world. We need to put the cell phones down, stop checking Facebook or emails. I'll also take into account the physical limitations placed on folks too. We may not be as flexible in movement as we once were, but we can still try.

For guys, staying at home with the kids can be unchartered territory. I think every stay at home dad approaches his role differently, and he conducts a lot of discovery learning to figure out what works best for him and his family. For this reason, I comprised a list of key points to advise fathers who are stepping into the role of "Mr. Mom." Although every family is different, I have to imagine seasoned stay at home dads will find my list relevant and in the ballpark of what to expect. If someone had given me a list like this nine years ago, it would have been helpful. Feel free to share your experiences and add some points that I didn't include to this discussion:

First, I would like to thank Macho Spouse's founder Chris Pape for all of his past, current and future hard work and dedication for the male military spouse community. Also, I want to thank Macho Spouse for the opportunity to write about one of my favorite subjects, BEER! In this blog I will write about beer from a consumer perspective, home brewer and craft beer professional.

Who am I?

I am a service-disabled Coast Guard veteran that transitioned to the craft brewing industry and have now been working in the industry for 18 years. I began my brewing career at a craft brewery in downtown Seattle just two weeks after being honorably discharged. During the course of my brewing career I have also worked in Brewpubs where I held the position of Regional Brewer for a chain of brewpubs. Currently, I consult for breweries and also operate a pilot system to teach prospective brewery owners and homebrewers about the differences between home brewing and professional brewing.

I am also a male military spouse, so I have had to juggle work (when I can), home brewing and the challenges that come with military life. During the last ten years I have primarily been at home taking care of my boys (now 7 and 10), earning a bachelors and just recently my master's degree. I have been keeping my feet wet by home brewing and doing some part time brewery consulting. Now, I am re-entering the craft brewing industry and will be an instructor at both a Craft Brewery Start-up Workshop and Craft Cidery Start-up Workshop for Oregon State University this Spring. Of course, immediately after the workshop we will be relocating so the next five months will be busy! Enough about me, let's talk beer!

I don't get excited about much, but I am very excited about this. I no longer have to do all the paperwork and go through the hassle of changing my residency every time we PCS (move). Plus, now I get to keep my residency with a tax-free state. BONUS!

Military spouses need to check the following article out. It gives more details about the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA). Also, keep in mind that this makes voting easier for military spouses!

I did a "soft launch" of the Veterans Info Site website today. The official launch of the website will be in mid-March.

The VeteransInfoSIte.com is intended to provide a single Resource Center for our US Military Veterans and their family members. Specific and current Information related to Benefits, Housing, Employment and Medical Assistance is provided in an accurate and timely manner.

This project is VERY special to me because I am always seeking ways to help those who serve - and have served - their country. As a veteran abd civilian male military spouse, I see the importance of having timely information regarding Veterans benefits and services.

VeteransInfoSIte.com is one way that I can help Veterans get the info they need.