Last year Congress announced that the military budget was going to be slashed. And it was. Almost instantly, military families could physically see where the cuts were made.

In Hawaii, the Child Development Center stopped offering hourly care to certain age groups. Respite care for families in the Exceptional Family Member Program was limited. The arts and crafts center on our base was shuttered. Permanently.

Now, those budget cuts may alter the course of our lives.

The Army has begun convening boards to review the records of thousands of NCOs to consider releasing them from active duty. These QSP boards are expected to review the files of about 64,000 soldiers, all ranked staff sergeant or above.

I have read in many releases and coverage of the boards that officials are expected to pink slip at least half of that number.

A lot of our close friends, families we have served in the ranks with for the past 20 years, are worried.

Our soldiers have tried to guess what might flag them for dismissal. The official word is that derogatory information in your personnel file makes you a candidate.

But to what degree?

I know lots of good soldiers who had a boss they didn’t see eye to eye with. Their head butting resulted in a bad review for the soldier. It doesn’t mean they did not do their job or that they did a poor job. In most cases, they are outstanding soldiers. But will a review by someone who simply didn’t like them mean they are put out on the street?

Soldiers in my husband’s office assume anyone with an injury, even if they can do their job, are also on the chopping block. Anyone within a year of retirement in a job field that is overstaffed, they feel is also fodder for the fire.

Morale is pretty low. Panic is pretty high.

Many of my military spouse friends are on high alert. They didn’t plan to retire now. They don’t have their paperwork, their plans - their life in order.

There are mandatory retirement dates for each rank. Meaning, if your husband is an E-7, and is never promoted, he must retire at 26 years. For career families, that is the date they plan their lives around.

Now, many of those families will find themselves seven, even eight years from that date, with pink slip in hand.

When you retire from the military, it is different from retiring from a civilian job. You often have to move, buy a house, both spouses have to find a job, children have to move schools and lives have to be rebuilt.

That’s a lot of planning, and cash, to come up with in a few short months.

My husband, an E-7 with 19 years, is undoubtedly in the stack of files to be reviewed. After two spinal surgeries, necessary after 20 years of serving as an Army paratrooper, I fear he may also be an easy toss into the “gone” pile.

We are four years from the date we planned to retire. We are four years from having our plans aligned. We are four years from having our lives ready to leave the military.

So now, like military spouses are accustomed, we hurry up - and wait.

I can only hope for good news, and prepare for the worst.