High-Context Communication In A Military Family

I agree with Dr. Iyengar assumption that many Americans believe that they should make their own choice, having more options leads to better choices and never say no to choices. I remember being taught to have more than one trade, have at least one other occupation that I could perform well, and always consider my choices. Upon graduation from high school, I wanted to join the US Army, because my father was drafted during World War II, my brother fought in Vietnam and another brother enlisted in the Army. If it was not for my parents giving me options, that is, to attend college rather than enlisting in the Army; I would not have continued my education immediately after graduating from high school.

Humanity values a stronger attachment to materialistic possessions rather than our identity, families, and our passions. The majority of the general public goes to college to ensure they get the job, which in turn provides financial security (Cantor 280). We count on these big corporations and government for

My preconceived thoughts regarding military families and children were that deployed parents had a difficult time re-engaging, which increases the likelihood of arguments and disagreements, primarily about their partners’ military career and issues related to the children. The literature states that this is very accurate (Fraser, 2011; Hall, 2008; Williamson, 2012), and I actually experienced this hands-on during my second year field placement. To keep it short, the veteran stated that he’s had three divorces because of accused domestic violence allegations and he also does not have the best relationships with his children. This implication reaffirmed my preconception about veterans that much more, but I had to take a step back and understand

Meet Joyce, my next door neighbor, and Madison's "adopted" grandmother. The story of how Joyce and Madison became close is one I have shared before, but will gladly share again. As a military family, we're almost always away from our family and friends. I personally cannot tell you how many mother's day I've missed with my very own mother, and also with my family. I was based at Fort Carson, in Colorado when Madison was born, and my family, except for my husband and kids, were all in another state. Just like most military family, being in a strange state with no-one close by can become daunting. Most of us have learned to live with it over the years, and we tend to adopt those that are close to us. Other military families become our families,

Circular Communication. Communication throughout the K household seems to be strong. There is a positive circular communication between AK and DK and BK. When BK tells her parents that she must use the bathroom and can make it to the toilet, she gets a sticker that she gets to put on her “potty chart.” The circular pattern diagram below (figure 4) shows this pattern.

(a) What is the major overriding issue? Within my organization communication is the major issue and I would assume it is like that in most large organizations. However, the military functions differently than civilian businesses because there isn’t always the ability to solicit an opinion or input from juniors or subordinates, as you would have in the civilian sector. There is also the generational gap, which poses a new set of communication problems. The millennial generation questions everything compared to gen x, which has the mindset of “get it done and ask questions later”. Even as a member of the senior leadership team I recognize that team that questioning my commander just to do

“The average person uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time.” Wetmore, D. E. (1999, August 23). Time Management Facts and Figures. Retrieved from http://www.balancetime.com/articles/tm_facts_and_figures.htm It is imperative to arrive on time to anything and everything that has been pre-planned. If everyone was to show up late to their appointments, jobs, or social events it would cause complete disorganization and extreme stress. Having excellent Time Management skills could help you excel greatly in your everyday life.

Personally, I have always been horrible at managing my time, even when I had a bell to tell me

This section examines communication within families and links to relevant literature. It also recognises the need for family to be a safe place in order for deeper relational connections to occur and looks at ways a safe environment can be created. It examines the ingredients needed to facilitate affective communication and analyses the different types of listening styles. There is discussion on how awareness of the Johari Window model can bring about deeper relational connections. I then reflect on communication within my family of origin and conclude with a short summary.

Many are accustomed the term Military Brat as a derogatory label towards a child of an active or retired military service member. As Military Brats they understand that there is no time to forge bonds with people. Brats are forced to combine a lifetime of memories into just a few years, before they pack up everything to be transported to a different state or to a different country. Fully expected to learn a new language if needed, adjust to a culture faster than most would want; all of which at an unrealistic speed in the eyes of the regular world. Most attending 5 or more schools in less than 12 years, constantly the new kid in class. Forced time and time again to start over, all the while never once complaining; as it was a way of life for them. The constant reminder to join the Armed Forces, with no time to make friends, they only had acquaintances with no time to form worthwhile bonds. But truthfully, the bonds formed by military brats alike, are unstoppable. In the short time that they had together, they were forged from blood, sweat, and tears, and built to withstand the passages of time. The family dynamics that military brats are accustomed to are for more different than so called normal families, what families go through cannot be comprehended by the outside world.

Military children face more obstacles than other similarly aged children. These children are often relocated frequently, have disruptions to their family systems, have increased fear of family member’s safety, and higher levels of stress amongst family members also experiencing military life (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Protective factors that increase resilient adaptation include supportive family or social networks and responsive parents (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Riggs and Riggs (2011) conceptualized an individual’s resilience in relation to the bonds that exist within the family. The underlying internal and external processes behind resilience are affected by attachment relationships during an individual’s life (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). In family systems theory, individuals and their relationships develop within the family attachment network (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Family processes mediate how a family and the individuals within the family handle stressful events (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Family systems theory and attachment theory have some corresponding overlap (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Riggs and Riggs (2011) conceptualized how military families adapt and adjust to stress using a family attachment network model. This model includes several relationships that exist at several system levels, with every level having distinct characteristics that only exist for that level but are also intertwined with levels throughout the bigger system (Riggs & Riggs, 2011). Attachment relationships are

My mother came to this country around 30 years ago at the age of 19 with my older sister who, at the time, was only a couple of months old. Around the same time, a number of my family members did the same and brought their young children. I would be born about 10 years later in Los Angeles and my brothers two and four years after respectively. By the time I was able to go to school most of my cousins had already given up on school. Much like my mom and their parents, they ended up working jobs that paid little and had to work multiple jobs to be able to afford to live on their own. Soon after my sister would follow suit and move out on her own. From the stories I’ve heard from the lot of them, they’ve never believed they’d be able to make it to college anyway so they put little effort into school. A number of the stories involve ditching class or going to parties, only intending to stay in

In an Individualistic society people mainly take care of themselves and believe in individual freedom They believe in making their own decisions. They don’t rely on the family to help them. They’re goal orientated and believe each person on their own should look out for themselves and achieve their goals on their own. The United States is an Individualistic country. Everybody believes in the American Dream of each person single handedly achieving their goals by themselves. And they do that by going to college, earning a degree, get a high paying job, buying a nice car, get married, have kids and a dog and buy a house. They achieve these things without the help of anyone. This society also doesn’t believe that the family unit should take care of their parents. They believe they should go live in a nursing home or they arrange for someone to

In many respects the term time management is a misnomer. After all, it implies that in some way or another we can control time, which is simply impossible to do. Each one of us has exactly the same amount of time in a given day and none of us get a "do over." Some people feel that they are constantly under pressure, going from pillar to post as they try to accomplish what they need to do. They feel that they're constantly under stress and never able to catch up and consequently these people do struggle to achieve what they're trying to achieve and become successful. However, other people seem to march forward relentlessly with their plans and strangely enough never appear to be watching the clock at all. We need to find out what their secret is and what their approach to time management is too.

Time management is an ability that I greatly admire. It is an effective skill that is valuable. A friend once stated to me, “The bad news is that time flies, the good news is that you are the pilot.” I try to