I saw your report on the Nightly News last night. I had never heard of a "jody", either. I have to say, it's a little depressing to know that that's all the faith they have in their spouses - to think they might be keeping a "jody" around! Good Lord.

I'm not surprised. There is a LOT of cheating going on today.

its not 'The Jody' its just Jody - being a former Marine during the first Gulf War, that is something you worry about. Its life, it happens, it happen to me, it happen to other guys in my unit - it happen to a lot of guys. If you're in a military town, and you are Jody, you can't wait till a unit pulls out. the wives will be out there having a good time and Jody knows it. You can have all the faith you want in your spouse, but Human Nature is Human Nature.

Anybody that has been in the military knows Jody. Your Drill Sgt makes sure of that.

I'm not a bit surprised to hear this. Sexual inequities abound in this country. A lot of these servicemen will come home to an empty house, no wife, no kids, no possessions, etc. The only thing they will get are divorce papers and child support payments. Sexual inequities and other double standards abound in this country,and it's the poor servicemen who are going to pay for it for serving their country. Having served in the military until retirement, I can tell you, with all certainty, that marriage and the military are not compatible..at all. Like the old saying goes (and it's just as true now as it was years ago), if the military wanted you to have a wife (or spouse), then you would have been issued one.

I just read your blog, and I feel sympathy for the soldiers. It must be incredibly difficult for them to be so far away from their loved ones, and their "normal" lives. I myself had never heard of a "Jody" either, but I can imagine the concern. I hope that the men and women that are out fighting for us didn't have to worry, but that is not the way of the world. My thoughts are with them.

Learned about "jody" when counting cadence back at lackland AFB TX in '71. Never met him, thanks to sincere trust and fidelity (both partners) throughout our 31 years of marriage. The reward is that loving, long look into each other's eyes during those very intimate moments that only get better.

In response to the above comment: I'm a Marine who has deployed twice, leaving my spouse at home. I trust her with all my heart. But it's the down times; the times when you have absolutely nothing to do but sit and think and miss her and wonder what she's doing. These unwanted thoughts just come. We don't want them, they're just there and they drive you crazy. For my part, I knew they were crazy thoughts, but in some cases, those things really are going on at home and its very sad to see a young Marine's heart break because his "Suzy" at home is sleeping around with "Jody".

JODY is alive and true, its a well known documented fact that 85% of spouces {wives} cheat while there loved one,s are depolyed

Lost a marriage to "Jody" during the 1st Gulf, it sucks...at least there was pay back...he got her crap...

More so, I think its a shame that soldiers even have to worry about these things. It's bad for a soldier's morale. However, all the distance between a husband and wife is hard to conquer when it comes to trusting one another. Too much time on a soldier's hands, (or "living like monks") and a lack of involvement in his wife/girlfriend's life, makes it difficult to keep these things out his mind, regardless of whatever likelihood of being cheated on by "her" actually exists. As a military wife, I don't doubt that some of these thoughts pass through my husband's head, and I don't take offense at reassuring him when I think he may be getting complacent from worrying about me all the time. I'd rather be a suspicious person willing to prove themselves, than my husband be too consumed with "Jody" to keep his head down.

I read this and laughed. I have not fought in Iraq, many close friends have and almost 90% had girlfriends, a wife or soon to be. All the females except for one who was pregnant had a "jody" (as you call it) if not more than 1. You ask why? Family values and morales are not the same today as they once were. The easiest answer is look at today's divorce rate at 80%.

"Jody" is a way to verbally express the fear every soldier has. The military encourages songs about him -it's a way to release the stress and channel the anger of deployments. Unless you've been away, you have no idea the loneliness.

Jody has been a part of cadences and military life forever, just like the "Dear John" letter. Last time I checked a number of spouses cheated in civilian life when their husband or wife was right at home with them. Its a lot easier to cheat when you can be certain that he or she is 9,000 miles away and won't be walking through the door for the next 6 months.

In response to those that don't think that "Jodys" are prevelant. My son was deployed to Iraq in December 2005. In June 2006 his wife filed for divorce, he was still in Iraq. The divorce was final on August 28th, he's still in Iraq and by September 10th she had cleaned out their storage facility, with the mid thirties man she had been babysitting for. She's 21. He's still in Iraq and saddled with mega credit card bills that she compiled while he was deployed. He is still in Iraq. According to my son there have been several divorce filings and Dear John letters among his fellow soldiers. Thanks for the support and faith.

Just a side note: "Jody" is also talked about at length in the movie "Jarhead". That was the first time I heard of it. My best friend's husband has spent a year in Iraq and is now in Afghanistan. She is the most devoted, loyal, faithful person I know, and she is all alone with no family and few friends in a military town. Women CAN be trusted - she is living proof.

About 3 months ago I was listening to a talk radio show in Orlando and they were discussing "Jody". I had no clue what or who "Jody" was until one of the hosts, a former Navy enlisted man, explained that Jody was the "friend" that was going out with your wife while you were deployed...As in "I've been hanging out with my friend Jody while you're gone"... It's an ambiguous name that can be either a guy or girl, but it's represents the man the wife is cheating with while her husband is deployed overseas. If it ain't Jody, it's Stacey, Jamie, Kelley, or Tracy. From what I've heard, there are a lot of men ready to step into the "Jody" position and sadly a lot of wives who spend way too much time with him...

Before my brother's National Guard company deployed to Iraq in late 2003, he was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY as backfill to replace the active duty soldiers who had already deployed. He told me PLENTY of stories about how he and the guys in his unit who would go out to bars and be hit on (or even propositioned outright) by the wives of deployed soldiers. It was disgusting to think that all these selfish, self-centered women would be doing that while their husbands were off in such a terrible place, living in poor conditions and facing danger every minute of every day. This is not a new phenomenon, as my father's first wife left him while he was serving in Viet Nam and my grandfather's wife left him when he was in Europe during WWII. The big problem is that a lot of these women are young, lonely and insecure, but that is NO EXCUSE for them to act like w*****. All I can say is that I hope every one of those women gets what they deserve.

They should be worried. After nearly 20 years of military service I have seen this many, many times on every base in every city. On some bases(base housing)I have seen a code set up to signal when their spouse is deployed or in the field and they are open for business so to speak. Don't be naive.

underway one christmas off of columbia the wives sent us a video of a party they had at a local pizza place. as the camera panned around the room there was a lone old man sitting in a booth, all of us watching the video at the same time yelled "JODY!!"

"Jody" and the stories of Jody have been around well before the Civil War and my educated guess is they have been around almost as long as there have been soldiers on deployment. Relationships with service members undergo stressors that civilian relationships cannot match. The service member has the added stressors involved in deployment while the non deployed partner has the stressors of any jobs the deployed partner used to do (parent, bill-payer, household repairer, etc.), plus the stress felt from the danger their loved one is in.
I would urge that before making a value judgement about a class of people, you walk in their shoes for a bit first. But then again that would mean we would have to have enough patriotism in the general populace (think WWII) to subordinate our own desires enough to serve in the Armed Forces.

If you watch the movie "Battleground" starring Van Johnson and James Whitmore (a depiction of G.I.'s from the 101st Airborne Division during W.W.II's Battle of the Bulge) you hear the Jody Cadence whenever they are shown marching in formation. It's quite catchy. Now I know the rest of the story behind it.

If you have to worry about your spouse cheating while you're overseas, then you might as well worry about them cheating when you return back home. Cheating can happen regardless of the amount of miles that separate two people...you can be half way across the world, or it can happen right under your nose. For the record, I am a proud Army wife who is dedicated and loyal to my husband! Shame on those other wives for having a "Jody!"

I think the reason the soldiers worry so much is that so much of their lives are beyond their control. They even have little control over their own life and death. How can anybody in those circumstances do much other than fear the worst about everything?

I have never heard of a "Jody" but the husbands doubting their wives is a natural thought, unfortunately. I just hope the wives at home realize and respect the reason for their husbands absence. The wives should be proud to be alone during those times because that is the position their husbands are currently in. We should all be thankful for the lives & careers of the military! My thoughts & concerns are with them.