- Patriotic. The military family has a strong sense of patriotism and love of country, realizing that the welfare of the country and its citizens is the primary mission.
- Adaptable. The military family is adaptable. The challenges of mobility, uncertainty, and separation force families to adapt to new cultures, friends, and support systems, and to deal with both positive and negative emotions.
- Involved and community oriented. The military family gets involved in the community at all levels (neighborhood, unit, and city/installation), and they influence others to do likewise.
- Possess a keen sense of humor. The Reader’s Digest has a section called “Laughter is the Best Medicine,” and military families use humor to carry them through a wide range of emotions. It helps to find optimism in negative situations – sometimes the humor comes much later.
- Have realistic expectations. What the military will do for you has changed over the years, as has what the military expects of family members. Fifty years ago, spouses did not get an allotment, and even before that, there was no life insurance for family members. Family members were expected to take in stride the hardships and challenges presented in military living. Today, you are enjoying the best quality of life the American military has ever known. Some families think that the military “should” take care of their every need during family separations, but realistic military families do not expect this. They realize that when the military gears up for a defense mission, that is the very time the military is least able to “take care of families.” The byword of the military family is readiness. However, the military does provide the resources to assist the family while fostering this independence. This way everyone can achieve both personal and organizational readiness.
- Resourceful. The military family learns how to “make do,” especially while involved in a permanent change of station move, serving a tour in a foreign country, or enduring the loneliness of family separation.
- A little “touched in the head.” The military family says they have to be…why else would they love military life?
EXPECTATIONS OF MILITARY LIFE
In addition to the opportunities and challenges that face families everywhere – like balancing the checkbook and raising happy, healthy children – military life presents a whole new set of hurdles. As a family, we may be first getting used to the military lifestyle at the same time we are learning how to run a new home and raise our young children.
For married couples, the military is a major change in our family life – whether we were married prior to coming into the service or after basic training.
If you are also a parent, there are often no relatives nearby who (if you were back home) would be providing helpful hints on what to do when the kids get sick or lend you a car when yours breaks down.
Other Unique Challenges You May Face In The Military
Frequent family separations because of military operations or training.
Periodic moves (relocations) because of new assignments to other installations.
Uncertainty about remaining on “active duty” because of the downsizing of the Armed Forces or needs of family members.
Potentially dangerous assignments to military operations around the world, which can be disruptive and frightening to a family, especially to children.
Competition with the military for family time. Unlike most civilian jobs, military duty often requires especially long hours on the job.
The military mission and lifestyle can profoundly affect the entire family. Families can also have a profound impact on the military’s mission as well, both positive and negative.
Recent research on military families shows that over 85% of spouses enjoy the military lifestyle and encourage their husbands and wives to stay in the military. They enjoy it even though service members spend long hours planning, preparing, and training to defend our nation. This means the service member will often be away during “family time.”
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