Latina Army Wife Quits Job To Be With Husband On Leave

UPDATE: Wells Fargo Spokesman Joe Stroop told News Taco that the company is working with Mendez to find a mutually beneficial resolution to this issue.

Cynthia Mendez was forced to quit her job working as a personal banker at a Wells Fargo branch in Harlingen, Texas last week when she faced a difficult decision: work during her husband’s two week leave from Iraq or not at all. Given that she hasn’t seen him since November and he will not be returning from his deployment until November, she chose to quit.

“There’s just really no other way,” she told News Taco. “It just makes me sad.”

Mendez told News Taco that, especially with the upcoming July 4 weekend, the decision she and her husband Eulalio — a sergeant currently serving in Iraq — made in order to be together has left them feeling a little bitter. Because she’s essentially a single parent when he’s away, Mendez told us she was forced to use vacation days she was saving for her husband’s visit to care for their one year-old son. When she tried to work the issue out with her supervisor, she was told there was no way she could take time off, even if she didn’t get paid.

While the situation in which Mendez and her husband find themselves is somewhat unique, the obstacles faced by military families are often daunting. Even as President Obama has ordered home thousands of troops, there are untold thousands more who must still live their lives in constant worry and must be ready at the last minute to accommodate the changes associated with serving their countries.

“It just kind of made me think, ‘What is his purpose then? What is he really fighting for? I don’t think people appreciate his service,’” Mendez told us, noting that she liked her job. Luckily for her family, her Wells Fargo job is not the family’s primary source of income. Nonetheless, she hopes that her quitting this job doesn’t affect her ability to find another one soon after he husband returns to Iraq. In the meantime, the couple is looking forward to celebrating their son’s first birthday when Eulalio returns in mid-July.

A Wells Fargo representative didn’t return a News Taco request for comment on this matter.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD