Sunday night’s episode of Sister Wives gave a surprising insight into Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown’s view on the military. It seems as though Kody feels his kids are too good to be enlisted.
Fans were shocked at Kody’s reaction when Janelle and Kody’s son, Garrison, told them he wanted to enlist in the Army National Guard. TLC ‘s description of his parents being “a bit uncertain” is a bit of an understatement, as far as Kody is concerned.
Garrison’s future plans had his parents a bit uncertain. #SisterWives https://t.co/jsOaRZPwsg
— TLC Network (@TLC) May 16, 2016
According to Kody, Garrison has always wanted to join the Army, and Kody has always wanted Garrison to attend college. Garrison compromised by agreeing to enlist in the Army National Guard instead of the Army. This allows him to still receive the benefits of the G.I. Bill that will help him pay for college, while only having to serve one weekend per month and two weeks per year.
Although Garrison has made a very reasonable compromise, Kody seems to feel that his son is too good to be enlisted. Kody feels that Garrison should complete college first and then join the Army as an officer. Kody believes that Garrison will be deployed while he is enlisted in the Army National Guard. He has a misguided perception that if Garrison is an officer, he will not be on the front line of combat. This is a generally incorrect assumption, as officers lead their soldiers into combat. If Garrison is assigned to an infantry unit, he will be in harms way, regardless of rank, if his unit is deployed to a combat zone.
Kody goes on to say that he doesn’t want to discourage Garrison from being in the National Guard, but he would like him to get his degree before he enlists.
“I’d rather you deploy as an officer.”
Kody is not the only Brown who seems to think their kids are too good to be enlisted. Robyn stated that when her brother enlisted, she tried to hide his enlistment paperwork two or three times. She also went on to say that if she had a choice, she would have done the same with Garrison. Robyn gave the impression that if it was up to her, none of the Brown children would be a part of the United States military.
Needless to say, Garrison’s choice to join the Army National Guard was not met with much praise or respect. To make matters worse, Garrison’s older brother, Hunter, is in the Air Force. He had no issue bashing Garrison’s choice of military branch.
https://www.facebook.com/sisterwives/photos/a.1045471102147265.1073741827.194745213886529/1148429085184799/?type=3&theater
So what about the other Sister Wives’ moms? Janelle appears to think that Garrison doesn’t know what he’s signing up for.
“He’s 17 and he thinks he’s invincible. At 17 you don’t comprehend that you actually could get shot at, and those bullets might actually hit you.”
Meri and Christine really didn’t have much to say on Garrison joining the Army National Guard, other than they were worried about the “what ifs” that could potentially happen. They seemed to support him in his choice while still being worrying mothers.
Military fans of Sister Wives will not take kindly to what they saw on tonight’s episode. It’s clear from Janelle’s tweet she is already feeling some backlash.
I’m so incredibly proud and honored to have 2 sons chose military paths. But as a mom I’ll always worry #Sisterwives
— Janelle Brown (@JanelleBrown117) May 16, 2016
What do you think about how Kody and his wives responded to the news of Garrison joining the Army National Guard? Do you think their words were disrespectful to enlisted soldiers or do you think it was a typical parental response? Leave your feedback in the comments below, and tune in for the next episode of Sister Wives on Sunday, at 8/7c on TLC.
[Image by TLC/YouTube screenshot]