Military Wives

"If NDHQ (National Defense Headquarters) wanted members to have wives, they'd have issued them." - traditional military saying

News Flash: Military Wives will air nationally on July 1, at 7:00 PM, on the CTV network. Watch for it then!

During the past decade the Canadian military has taken its' share of flak. Harassment of recruits, aging and dangerous equipment, uncertain funding, questionable conduct of military personnel the list goes on and on. Yet within this storm of controversy, and the subsequent re-evaluation of the military and its role taking place in Canadian society today, one group has seemingly fallen through the cracks - women.

In Military Wives, writer, actor and director Wanda Graham profiles a group of witty, forthright, vulnerable and resilient women. Forced by circumstance, and often with little support or encouragement, they have taken up battles with the military establishment for the sake of their husbands, their children or themselves. Graham, as a former 'military-brat' herself, brings a particular insight to this topic:

"As a child of the military I sit outside two restricted worlds; the intimacy of my mother's private world, and the mysterious authority of my father's. My mother referred to herself and her children as 'military baggage.' The military says it has changed towards wives. I wanted to find out how."

In this hard-hitting and incisive documentary we hear many military wives speaking forcefully, movingly and humorously about the tensions and difficulties of being married to the military family. Illness, abuse, death, separation, uncertainty, insecurity - all of these are problems faced by military wives. The military has always relied on women, not only to keep the home fires burning, but also to keep up the morale and behaviour of the troops on the front-lines. Yet when women encounter problems (which are often caused or exacerbated by the military and its lifestyle) and ask for help, they too often encounter dead-ends, cover-ups, band-aid solutions, indifference, and bureaucracy. Says Graham:

"Women fall in love with soldiers. He says 'I do,' and the military comes home with him every day, an uninvited permanent guest. Women say 'I do,' without asking at what cost."

In Military Wives, Graham and experts such as lawyer Lucie Laliberte and family violence expert Dr. Deborah Harrison, set out to draw back the curtain on some of these problems. They show the courageous and principled stands that Canadian military wives are taking on issues that effect them, their families, and ultimately the entire Canadian public.

Military Wives received its world premiere screening at the Atlantic Film Festival in September, 1999 and its television premiere on the CTV Network that same month.

Military Wives was produced by Peter d'Entremont. The film was produced in association with CTV Television Inc with the financial assistance of Canada Television and Canada Television and Cable Production Fund, the Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit, Rogers Documentary Fund, and the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation.