The unfolding scandal
involving former CIA Director David Petraeus
and General John Allen is causing a commotion on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers
complained that they should have been told about the investigation earlier.
Petraeus resigned his CIA position almost one
week ago.
He admits to having an
affair with his biographer.
The affair came to light
after a Tampa Bay socialite who has been
romantically linked with General John Allen complained to the FBI about
threatening emails she received.
The emails led to the
discovery of the Petraeus affair.
Every day more and more
details are arising on this developing scandal, so we sat down with a family who
know first hand what it's like to deal with the day to day issues that military
families face.
The Smiths said the key to
keeping their marriage and family running smoothly, is trust.
Major Select Thomas G.
Smith has had to miss out on birthdays, holidays, and school events for years.
At the end of the day,
he says the Air National Guard is his career and sometimes that means he's away
for months at a time.
He and his wife, Missie say
communication is key.
Missie said, "If there's
something going on, let me know. There
are a lot of things he can't talk about.
He just lets me know when he's going to be home."
Major Select Smiths
said, "You have to maintain the trust in the relationship. The key to that is constant, honest
communication. You have to avoid any
perception of anything, other than I'm doing my job."
According to military.com,
divorce rates are climbing.
A total of around 30,000
service members were divorced in 2011, that's a rate of 3.7 percent.
That was slightly higher
than 3.6 percent in 2010, continuing a gradual rise from 3.1 percent in 2005.
Smith says a combat
mindset is what gets him through being deployed.
After traveling through
16 countries and being a part of 6 named combat operations, knowing his family
is home waiting for him gets him through day to day.
He said no matter how
this scandal plays out, he doesn't think it should affect the reputation of the
United States military as a whole.
"Anytime that somebody
does something that is perceived to be wrong it can impact the rest of us
because we're all perceived to be homogenous, but we're not," said Smith. "Even the best of men or women will make
mistakes that will create a lot of fallout.
That doesn't make them bad. It
doesn't diminish their contribution to our society as a whole, but it's a
precarious limb to be on for anyone."
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