Im an 18 yr old PFC in the florida army National Guard ivebeen in the Guard for 2 yrs ive been looking for marriage for about 5 months maybe 6 Inshallah Allah puts the sister in my path soon but my question to the Ummmah is however impossible it may seem is it possible to marry a muslima who is also in the armed forces the reason I ask is because 1.) I have only heard of but never Seen a Muslima in the Armed forces 2.) Its too hard to marry a civilian muslima due to the fact that most of the civilian populus shuns me due to my being a revert1 2 not being of the general race or culture in my Masjid in this Case Arab american and 3 me being in the u.s army despite me being well spoken and able to support myself. (not to mention the constant hunger for Islam wherever i go) Some brothers joke and say i should marry a sister in Iraq that would be funny if it werent slipping in and out of my mind everyday since the only person to get awya with that was a major the other 2 guysslipped a patrol and got kicked out for it. Also itd be hard to determine the true intention of the muslima does she just want to come into the U.S or is she really interested in the Marriage.. All these problems could be solved if i married a muslim in the armed forced because She understands ow the military works and would more than likely be willing to put up with it because we could be in the same unit if it happened... And 2 shes Muslim I dont have to explain myself or tell her why i wear thobe or khoufi in my civilian clothes or why i pray 5 times a day so on and so forth Also i dont have to date and everything stays 101% halal Suggestions from the Brothers or Sisters? Aslaamualeikum

Waleikum Salaam Brother, You pose an interesting question and touch upon an issue that is present even between non-Muslims within the military. Even they have problems when a military member gets married to a civilian. Most problems occur once the military member goes on a deployment for a long period of time. When he/she comes home a lot of things have changed as both husband and wife had to make sacrifices and learn new ways to cope with being apart from each other. One of the best ways to deal with problems is honesty, open communication, trust and faith. The same solution would go for us Muslims within the military. We need to be honest in our communications with our partners and try to support them as much as we can. Putting ones faith in Allah (swt) is very important. My suggestion to you is that you continue your search, but do not limit yourself to just active duty, or reserves, or just one branch of service. Look out into the active, reserve and guard forces, and the other branches of service. You can also consider sisters who have had someone in their family serving in the military, such as their father, brother or maybe an uncle. These sisters should understand the unique situations military members and their spouses are exposed to. Lastly, I would not completely dismiss sisters in your communities. Some sisters are very understanding and adaptable to new situations. Even if they are not familiar with the military, they would like/love you enough to be sincere in their pursuit of a Halal relationship with you according to Islam. Insha’Allah, this will help you a little and I will keep you in my prayers that you may find a loving, caring and understanding wife. Waleikum Salaam