My Dad Should Be Deployed During The Middle East

There is a large amount of military families around the world. About Forty- three percent of active military members have children (Website). These children face so many challenges and struggles in their life while having a parent in the military. Children of Active duty military members exhibit anxiety, depression and stress just as much as the service members and spouses experience. For instance the children experience going through multiple deployments, long separations, frequent moves and awkward reunions when their parents return home from deployment. Even more so if the parent has been physically or mentally traumatized from overseas.

One of the hardest things I have gone through is deploying for over a year while my daughters were growing up. One year does not sound like a long time, but for a young child it is an eternity. When you come back in their life, it takes a while to get close again. I missed her first steps, some of her first words, first Christmas, and her first birthday. These missed life events made me consider leaving the military, choosing a career that will not have me leaving my family for long periods. Very few people can understand the hardships like those of a military

As mentioned above the military family members go through many challenges. The service member when deployed leaves the other parent to the care of the family and home. Many divorces happen due to one parent being away from the home for long periods of time and the stress placed on the one parent at home. With one parent left to take on the role for both parents, this can either become a stressor for that one parent or strength building time. The children may receive less attention because the one parent is doing the duty of two. They become self-sufficient during this time. The service member that is deployed is focusing on the duty at hand. This may be patrolling the boundaries of the

Military Families face a number of challenges before, during, and after deployment. The issues start when service member bring the news of a possible deployment to the spouse and the rest of the family. It starts with emotions, such as fear because of the possibility of the service member no coming back and anger for the reason that the spouse will have to stay at home dealing with everything alone. As the day of the deployment gets closer, the service member start a period of detachment and pulling out. This can happen to prepare the spouse and realize that the service member will be physically

Deployment and Reintegration is one the greatest challenges military families and children have to face on a daily basis. When a family member deploys or reintegrates within the entire family, it not only affects the service member but it affects the entire family. It can often lead families and children with a negative mental health and wellbeing. Bello (2015) reported that most families and children (80.5% required less than one month to adjust to the return of their deployed parent. In this finding, the families and children were quick to adjust to having their family member back in the home. The findings are interesting because when compared with another family, the findings are drastically different. Boberiene (2014) found that three out of every four families feel that reintegration after the first three months is the most stressful phase of a deployment. This is because the family experiences many emotions while the member is away. In the first statistic, families and children didn’t require as much time to adjust to reintegration as much as the families did in Bobriene’s study. This shows that all families and children handle reintegration differently and some may require more time than others. The situation in Boberiene’s study is similar to what Chandra (2009) had said about families and children, she stated that the number of months for deployment had a huge impact on how children handled reintegration. Although reintegration may seem like a joyful and positive

I had a lot of problems that made it difficult to get through the day at times. For one, my family moved around a lot so I often had to start a new in a few schools and make friends all over again. It got to the point where I did not really want to try to make friends at all. I had a few though in highschool, a few classmates I talked to but not really opening up to people fully as I wanted. I felt that there was a good chance we would move again. As they years progressed, it slowly got worst. I never really opened up about to anyone, not even my parents. I just kept it bottled up inside me. I kept it all inside. How sad I felt, how much I felt like I was not capable at anything, able to succeed in life. I kept the hurt I felt when my younger sister seemed to suddenly become a mean, selfish person who saw me as a freak. I never truly opened up about how lonely I felt even with

I was raised in a military family type environment with my father being away on tour during my early years as a child. This helped created an environment where I was only left with my mother with my father being there for either four days to four months before returning to tour. After my father left the Navy, he kept with him the mentality that he was still there, he would treat us like his patrol by “barking” orders at us and demanding us around. My mother would the mediator of the house and remind my father that this isn’t the Navy but his family. My mother was the one who helped me and my brother throughout our younger years being the provider of our family during the years my father was in the Navy.

According to a 2010 Department of Defense report, 40% of the active military personnel have children and most of these parents will be deployed at some time during their service. According to several professors from Brown University, these families will go through a “deployment cycle” every time a parent is deployed. This cycle begins with pre-deployment, which causes the family to experience feelings of stress and fear. These emotions are created because of the imminent departure date and danger that the parent will face. Next follows the deployment phase, where the family struggles to take on new roles while also experiencing feelings of fear for the loved one who is deployed. It is also seen during this phase that military children struggle academically, reporting that they have less supervision and have a harder time concentrating.

Deployment and integration are one the greatest challenges military families and children have to face on a daily basis. When a family member deploys or reintegrates within the entire family, it not only affects the service member but it affects the entire family. Deployment can often lead to families and children, experiencing a negative mental health outcomes and compromised wellbeing. Bello (2015) found that most families and children (80.5% required less than one month to adjust to the return of their deployed parent (Bello, 2015). Accordingly, the families and children are often quick to adjust to having their family member back in the home. Interestingly, discoveries are surprising in light of the fact that when contrasted to another family, the discoveries are definitely unique. Boberiene (2014) found that three out of every four families feel that reintegration after the first three months is the most stressful phase of a deployment (Boberiene, 2014). This is because the family experiences many emotions while the member is away.

As a former military wife, I have a plethora of experience working with military families and children. My experiences working with military families in Hawaii, New Mexico, and Colorado and being a part of a military family have influenced both my personal and professional life. In my principal internship I worked with the military family life support counselor to aid in supporting the academic and emotional growth and health of many military families served in our school. As a former military wife, I know how hard deployments can be and this have given me empathy and understanding of the military lifestyle. My students at Air Academy High School are confident and comfortable confiding in me about their struggles as a loved one deploys or

Psychological problems, the absence of the loved one, the uncertainty to know if their loved ones are alive or dead are challenges that take a toll on these families emotional well-being, (Park, 2011). Relocation is one challenge these families often experience. Park believes that children experienced a change in chores, schools, friends, and environment which can affect their emotional and psychological health (2011). History has shown that family members have a strong way of adaptation and endurance. However, in recent years, deployments have been more frequent and military members stay away from home for longer periods of time. The happiest moment in their lives is when they are all reunited that is why the length and frequency of deployment can make a difference for service members and their families. The shorter and less frequent the time of deployment, the less of a risk for

My father is a U.S. Army veteran who served all over the world and is a veteran among many who are suffering from the VA. The VA’s terrible management caused my dad’s disability and dependent benefits to be ruined. This in turn messed up his retirement pay and now he has to take up a another job to afford a house. Even when he was applying for college the VA almost had him pay for the entire enrollment because they thought he used up the money in his GI bill. Luckily my dad isn’t one to let something like that happen and the VA paid for the school. However, this was a borderline scandal.

Reflecting on my emotions from the past week I can say, I am finally able to smile. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend my husband’s Basic Military Training graduation, which took place in San Antonio, Texas. I had been waiting for this event all quarter, that day where I would finally get to see my Airman. Even though I was only in Texas for a few days that was enough to appreciate, and realize how much I missed and need my husband. Nonetheless, the hug and that kiss at the end of his graduation made up for all of the tears and sacrifices I had to go through these past weeks. It had been eight long weeks without seeing him, so I was super excited to see him. However, before getting to the base, I wondered if he would be the same person. I wondered if I would be able to turn on my emotions or pick up where we had left off. I was unsure, of my emotions since I had managed to turn them off for some time, I was afraid of the way I would react, nevertheless, all I wanted was to see him.

This is just a few of the many issues that many Amerasians encounter in the Philippines. Faced with the nightmarish conditions of living in a society that alienates them, the so-called families that exploit them, as well as the unknown future that lay beyond, these individuals — rejected by their American servicemen fathers — are caught in a state of legal, social and emotional limbo.

Very early I felt the pain of losing my Dad, not for frivolous reasons, but because of his commitment to the country and call to serve. As noble as this was, it’s a feeling that most, these days, will never understand when a parent has to show up and put his life on the line for the country. Our angst was getting through it―many nights were shrouded in fear of the “unknown”; an uneasiness that rippled through the atmosphere because we did not know if he would return alive. All the questions that ensue at dinner and bedtime never ceased being asked, and many were never answered.