As is the case with any culture, the family is the basic custodian of values and the military is no exception. The nature of military deployment means that military families get to experience periods of prolonged separation which affect them in several ways. On the other hand, families play a crucial role in the use of morale for the deployed personnel. Thus, both perspectives underline the significance of family in the military set up. So, having a program that can support families better manage the rigors of a member’s deployment is essential to the health and wellbeing of all concerned parties.
The deployment-reintegration cycle has numerous steps that affect different members of the military family differently. According to Marek et.al (2012), this cycle has about 3 separate stages with each leading to another, namely, pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment or reintegration in this instance. It is doubtless that deployment implies multiple and extended separations from family life for military personnel. On the other hand, the families left behind must find other means to fill the role vacated by their deployed member as a means of coping. Hence, deployment puts pressure on how the family operates, its setup, and consistency. Furthermore, Marek et.al (2012), observe that effects and difficulties that they attribute to deployment can have adverse effects even beyond the home.
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Deployment aside, the process of reintegration has been observed as being equally disruptive on both family and the formerly deployed military personnel. Here, the family must change its organization to re-integrate the personnel to become a functional and whole family once more. Common stressors here include relationship stress and negative family functions. However, the most difficult challenge is that of renegotiating family roles with the return of the service member (Marek et.al 2012). Deployment means that the parent and children left behind must assume new responsibilities until the service member returns. At the point of reintegration, family members will expect either to maintain the form developed during deployment or revert to the pre-deployment formation. So, the tug of war between conflicting expectations coupled with poor communication about reintegration is another stressor for both service members and their families.
Demographically speaking, Marek et.al (2012) observed that the number of military families grew in 2011 and that approximately 2 million children had at least one military parent. Furthermore, according to the Department of Defense (2016), there are about 1.3 million military personnel in active duty, with a further 1.7 million accompanying family members such as spouses and children. Further advancing this notion, the Department of Defense (2016) estimates that up to 40% of the actively deployed personnel have dependent children. Considering the observed trend of troop drawbacks that has been in effect for several years, the number of service members returning home is set to keep increasing. In turn, this observation means that an increasing number of military families must come to terms with the prospect of reintegration.
Developing a program to address the challenges of the deployment-reintegration cycle will require certain skills and sensitivities. Here, active listening, critical thinking, information gathering, and organization will be essential. Developing such a program will require managing several aspects at the same time, good organization skills will minimize negative emanating from oversights in management (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). Active listening conveys genuine interest and care in what the other person is saying. Furthermore, this skill can be used as a tool to create trust and respect among military families to the extent of making them more receptive of the program. Supporting military families is challenging because each is dealing with unique circumstances requiring equally singular solutions. Identifying problems is only part of the challenge, using creativity and critical thinking to develop the program and support solution approaches is the other part (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). The ability to identify important information is essential in developing a program because it facilitates better decision-making. So, the gathering and interpretation of information is a crucial ability.
Further, developing a support program for military families will require advocacy, communication, and system navigation skills. Good communication skills will facilitate difficult conversations with people undergoing significant life challenges (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). Again, the ability to speak and write clearly means that the nature of the program can be communicated even to those people experiencing emotional distress. System navigation implies specialized knowledge of the systems within military agencies. Considering that the program deals with military families, it is doubtless that the most significant sensitivity is that of military culture (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). Therefore, it is essential to be sensitive towards the environmental factors that either create or contribute to challenges such as deployment and reintegration. Again, it is essential to assess families in the background of their military experience. Still, it remains important to note the procedures and responsibilities regarding confidentiality and the use of information gathered (National Association of Social Workers, 2012).
Culturally speaking, the military culture has unique elements that separate it from civilian principles. High work performance, standards of order and discipline, organizational culture and climate are examples. Still, the Department of Defense fulfills several conflicting roles among military families and service members such as employer and healthcare provider (Wooten, 2015). Therefore, differences in military culture and organization inform how families access and adhere to care as well as how care is coordinated between military and civilian organizations. Essentially, the impact of military-based stressors on families, complexities of military organization, and the occupational hazards of military service are key elements in the development of a support program.
Military life is such that the deployment-reintegration cycle is an inevitable occupational hazard. Thus, a support program should equip both the service member and the family to enable them to manage the changes they endure during the separation period. The program design caters for the three stages of the cycle separately but the underlying emphasis is that of providing necessary information and practical coping strategies (Marek et.al 2012). This discussion will limit its focus on the effects of reintegration on family life and some of the practical steps that can be taken by the family to build resilience during deployment as well as ease the reintegration process.
Reintegration presents many challenges that basically pressure the family structure, organization, and cohesion. Therefore, information and practical skills building must address these dimensions of family life for the support program to be effective. For instance, the program will encourage family members to maintain contact either via electronic messages, telephone calls, and letter writing during the deployment stage (Rubin, Weiss & Coll, 2013). Similarly, the program will teach family members open communication skills such that they can better express and process their expectations and experience to each other (Marek et.al 2012). Significantly, the program will train family members on coping skills to manage the inevitable distress that accompanies the cycle and build resilience against the cycle’s stressors.
It is doubtless that military-related stressors impact both service members and their families. The deployment-reintegration cycle produces stress that reverberates beyond family life in addition to affecting morale among service members. Increasingly, there are more service members being reintegrated into family life and the Department of Defense has made attempts to meet such needs. However, since most of its focus is on the service members there is a gap in the provision of military family support services. Essentially, elements of military culture and professional ethics must inform an effective support program.
References
Department of Defense. (2016). 2016 Demographics: Profile of the Military Community . Retrieved from http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2016-Demographics-Report.pdf . Retrieved on October 3, 2018.
Marek, I., L., Hollingsworth, G., D’Aniello, C., O’Rourke, K., Brock, J., D., Moore, L., Butler, L., J., Zhang, J., & Wiles, B. (2012). Returning home: What we know about the reintegration of deployed service members into their families and communities. National Council on Family Relations . Retrieved from https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/focus/military-families/returning-home . Retrieved on October 3, 2018.
National Association of Social Workers. (2012). NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=fg817fIDop0%3D&portalid=0 . Retrieved on October 3, 2018.
Rubin, A., Weiss, E. L., & Coll, J. E. (2013). Handbook of military social work . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Wooten, R., N. (2015). Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education. National Center for Biotechnology Information . Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469218/ . Retrieved on October 3, 2018.
