Military Families Research Paper

Military Life on Families Not a lot of people know the actual challenges of what military men and women go through with their families. Until now, individuals have this misconception that the military life is as ordinary to any regular civilian life. Many of the common beliefs that people assume about military service members they just serve their country, go out to war occasionally, and handle constant deployments easily without a struggle. While this is the case, civilians fail to recognize that military spouses and children face many obstacles when they are separated from their service member. The most difficult challenge that many families go through is separation from their service member during a deployment. Often times, individuals

As time passes, military active duty parents are most of the time not around to celebrate and share those special moments with their own children. This could be difficult to understand especially at such a young age for children. “Much of the research about military children examines stressful experiences (for example, a parent 's deployment, moving, or maltreatment and abuse) or the deficits that these stress factors purportedly cause (for example, poor academic performance, depression, or behavioral problems).” (Cozza) During the time of when active duty men and women are gone, spouses are left to take care of everything on their own. For example, spouses have to raise their children by playing two roles as both parents. Besides having to act as a single parent, spouses have to deal with unforeseen situations that may occur when their significant other is not around. A military spouse has to be mentally and emotionally prepared but most importantly patient. Anyone who is married to a military service member would know that

Along the way military spouses have learned to grow stronger throughout the constant moves, separation, and responsibilities on their own.

Besides deployment, all active duty members have to relocate every three to four years. This is can be one of the most stressful times for military families. Only military families who have experienced moving to another place would know how difficult the move is, especially for children. The most heart wrenching experience that all military children have to go through is saying good bye to friends and leaving a place they called home for a short period of time. Some children have a tough time already adjusting to a new environment so moving to new place is even more challenging. Although military children have already become accustomed to always relocating, it becomes even harder to transition as they age. Young adolescents at this age will feel sad during this time because they will have to start over at a school and make new friends again. This adjustment isn’t as simple for teenagers especially when they don’t make any new friends. Military children face the obstacle of trying to adapt to a new