Campfollowing: The Unseen Backbone of Military Life

In the military history world, much is written about the soldiers who serve— their courage, battles, and lessons learned. But what about those who stand beside them, shaping military life in ways often unseen?

Campfollowing: A History of the Military Wife by Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone is the first book of its kind to comprehensively explore the evolution of the military wife (spouse) from the Revolutionary War to the post-Vietnam era. Despite its limitations, it remains a cornerstone for scholars seeking to understand the untold stories of military wives.

Who Were the Authors Behind Campfollowing?

Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone were more than just writers; they were military wives with firsthand experience navigating the unique and often challenging role of being married to service members.

• Betty Alt (Betty Sowers)—A sociologist and historian, Alt spent years researching and writing about women's roles in military life. Married to a retired Air Force colonel, her personal experience shaped much of her work.

  
  

• Bonnie Stone (Bonnie Domrose Stone)—A journalist and former Deputy Public Affairs Officer for Tripler Army Medical Center, Stone was also deeply embedded in military life as the wife of a retired Navy Senior Chief.

  
  

Together, they combined personal experience and academic research to paint a vivid picture of the military wives’ role throughout military history.

Why Campfollowing Still Matters

Written in the early 1990s, Campfollowing was groundbreaking in its attempt to chronicle the history of military wives across all branches of service. The book had three key objectives:

• Tracing the evolution of military spouses—From silent supporters in the shadows to active participants in the military sphere.

• Highlighting their contributions—Military wives played a significant role in their spouses’ careers, often without official recognition or compensation.

• Shedding light on their struggles—Loneliness, financial instability, and lack of agency were common challenges military wives faced throughout history.

  
  

Alt and Stone argued that military wives, while not in uniform, were integral to the success of military missions, community, and service members' well-being. However, the book faces criticism for its lack of focus on enlisted wives, male spouses, racial diversity, and inconsistencies in scholarly rigor.

The Unfair Comparison of Military Wives and Servicewomen

Some critics compared Campfollowing to Judith Hicks Stiehm’s Arms and Enlisted Women (1989), which analyzed the experiences of female service members from 1972 to 1982. Arlene Kaplan Daniels' review of Campfollowing emphasized Stiehm’s book as a superior analysis of gender bias in the military.

However, comparing military wives who are not active duty members to active-duty women is like comparing apples to oranges. While servicewomen hold defined roles, earn salaries, attend regular military training, and advance through military ranks, military spouses remain unpaid, untrained, and largely unrecognized– yet, they are often expected to support the military system in unofficial but essential ways. These are two fundamentally different experiences, and evaluating them by the same standard is neither fair nor accurate.

Judith Hicks Stiehm’s Arms and Enlisted Women is an insightful and valuable book, but it is not an appropriate comparison to Campfollowing. Both works offer distinct perspectives on women's experiences in the military system—one from the viewpoint of those in uniform and the other from those who serve behind the scenes.

After reading multiple reviews of Campfollowing, I found that this tendency to compare military wives to active-duty women is a recurring issue. But, once again, it is an unfair and misleading comparison—like apples and oranges.

The Legacy of Campfollowing

Despite its flaws, Campfollowing remains a vital resource in women's and military history studies. It provides a starting point for scholars investigating the intersection of gender, military policy, and social class. Without Alt and Stone’s groundwork, many historians today would have to start from scratch to understand the role of military spouses.

While modern historians now have access to more diverse perspectives and a broader range of research tools (thanks to the internet and digital archives), Campfollowing paved the way for discussions on the agency of military wives (spouses). It raised essential questions about their contributions, sacrifices, and the military’s reliance on unpaid labor.

Final Thoughts

Military spouses have long been the silent backbone of the military sphere, yet their contributions remain largely overlooked in traditional military history.  While Campfollowing carries personal sentiment, bias, and sometimes a lack of objectivity, it remains a valuable resource for historians. Many still reference it as a navigational compass for studying women's history, particularly the role of military wives.

The book highlights a significant gap in military history and underscores the need for a deeper exploration of military spouses' agency and contributions. Perhaps it's time we give spouses the recognition they deserve—not just as passive supporters but as integral figures in military history.

~Mel

#MilitarySpouseHistory #HomefrontArchives #BehindTheUniforms  #UnseenContributions  #SilentStrength  #Campfollowing #MilitaryWifeHistory #MilitarySpouseBooks

#MilitarySpouseAuthors

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Sources:

"Arlene Kaplan Daniels." In Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001.

Arlene Kaplan Daniels, "Campfollowing: A History of the Military Wife" by Betty Sowers Alt and Bonnie Domrose Stone (Book Review)." Signs 19 (1) (Fall): 285.

Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone. Campfollowing: A History of the Military Wife. New York: Praeger, 1991.xi + 163 pp. Notes, bibliography, and index.

Betty L. Alt." In Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2008.

"Bonnie M. Domrose Stone." In Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2009.

Joan Biddle, "Campfollowing: A History of the Military Wife." Minerva ( 1992)

Judith Stiehm. Arms And The Enlisted Woman. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010.

“William E. ‘Bill’ Alt,” Montgomery & Steward, February 13, 2017.