MILITARY ASSIGNMENT
Family comes first for most male and female
members serving the military. Most of what comes to light about military
families is discovered from studies or research conducted on the families of
these soldiers. Lynn Hall delves into the special features defining military
families including the role of military spouses, divorce, marriage, and
remarriage in her book, “Counseling Military Families.†Military spouses and
their families face numerous hurdles and pressures including
marital/relationship issues, deployment, separation, relocation issues, and
isolation among others. These challenges are the price they have to pay to
secure the nation. Hall indicates that “it takes a family to defend a nationâ€
(pg. 71).
Despite the overwhelming challenges they face,
the strength of the military spouses cannot be questioned. Hall indicates that
most of the therapists interviewed for his book lauded the incredible strength,
hope, and resiliency that the military spouses showcased (pg.82). Most families
give up their careers or homes just to take care or be close to their military
loved one at all times. Military families are strong even when the
circumstances turn out to be extraordinary. Fortunately, more service members are
currently returning home alive owing to the state-of-the-art-technology and
world-class health care. However, few
still die or suffer devastating injuries while at war, something that directly
impacts on their spouses and families. Nevertheless, their families still
embrace them like heroes when they return.
Military spouses are said to live a life of
uncertainty, and constant changes become a way of their life. For that, they
are required to be always ready for anything on short notice and are expected
prepare for the unexpected (Hall, 2016, p.80). Sometimes, the burden becomes
too heavy for military spouses that they quit thus leading to divorces,
remarriages, and stepfamilies as a result. The numbers are quite significant
according to research. Hall uses a 1999 study that showed that 19 percent of
the married service members were in a remarriage (pg. 76). The statistic for
divorced women service members is even worse thus a clear depiction of the
concerns and issues that military spouses and family members experience. Since
some members of the service figure out that they understand each other better,
they end up marrying thus dual military marriages. Hall indicates that 7
percent of all active duty members and 3 percent of selected reserve members were
involved in dual-military marriages as of 2009 (pg. 72).
The challenges faced by military families are
said to help them develop diverse strengths. For instance, the families of
these soldiers develop the following unique characteristics;
•
Adaptation to frequent relocations as compared to civilian
families
•
well-catered-for, safe, and orderly life
•
children are more likely to accept new children into their school
or neighborhood
•
constant relocation becomes a social norm relating to social and
economic security
•
rates of dysfunctions are relatively lower
•
children are less likely to be incarcerated and are intellectually
brighter
•
exhibit self-reliance and are resourceful
In the contemporary society, most military
spouses strive to be independent and act on their own without being always
considered an extension of their military members. Nonetheless, the military
soldiers should be supportive of their families and come up with an initiative
that helps their spouses cope up with the modern military lifestyle (Hall, 2016,
p.81). Despite all these, the military has been working tirelessly for over two
decades to help military families and spouses to incorporate more formal
approaches to adapting to military life. These approaches include many
organizations, classes, and activities. One such program is the family
readiness group (FRG) which is one of the many initiatives that guide military
spouses on how to deal with the emotional phases of deployment and educate them
about the history of a branch of service that their partners serve among other
things (Hall, 2016, p.79).
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