Since 2001, more than 2 million American children have had a parent deployed at least once; according to one study. For as long as I can remember, my father, Robert, was a member of the Vermont Air National Guard; other than my father,my extended family was also heavily prevalent in the military as well; both of my father’s elder brothers were members of the marines and army, and my grandmother 's brother died fighting in Vietnam. Deployment wasn’t an easy occurrence for any single person in my family, and it showed in the form of anxiety, and even depression. My uncle was part of the Army, and he was deployed a fair amount as well, so, my cousins knew the hardships. However, since our father’s were part of the military, we were presented with …show more content…
Other than the inevitable worry for the soldiers safety that comes as a result of deployment, the emotional front that is expected is arguably the hardest aspect of deployment for the spouse, especially if there are children involved. In a study by American psychologist and the University of Michigan, if a parent shows obvious signs of stress and worry, than the child is more likely to suffer from a psychological disorder. Likewise, if a parent who is going through this with a child is cold and unresponsive, then the child will most likely have emotional and behavioral problems; if the parent is responsive and caring, the child will not. Either way, this makes it so the parent is forced to fill a role that requires an immense amount of pressure. The prosperity of the child therefore does not just depend on the individual, but the social structures and programs around them; this includes the community, school, and family. If there are strong support systems that can help the child thrive during stressful and emotional times such as deployment, than military children can use the time their loved ones are away to mature, learn, and flourish. This is why programs such as the camps that were mentioned above are in place; they give the military child a sanctuary to learn leadership skills, interact with others who are in similar situations, and ultimately find
Deployment is a word that all military spouses and military families dread to hear. When my husband came home to our barely moved in house with news of his deployment to Afghanistan, I was devastated. Though we received terrible news, we also felt incredible joy that same week. I was pregnant with our first child. We were overjoyed by this news but it also meant that my husband would be away the first eight months of our son’s life.
While soldiers are away from home, many things might change that they aren’t there for, for example, family problems and disasters. In addition, veterans might come home to a whole different world than when they left, and this already makes their lives more challenging to go with these changes. In addition, soldiers might also come back with physical injuries, like a lost limb, or loss of hearing. As a result, this makes everyday tasks much harder than they actually are. Veterans also might be mentally scarred from war. For example, a mental disorder called post traumatic stress disorder, makes life for the veteran and family much
I’ve gone blind” (Findley 186). Actually, the relatives of fighters sent to war can be controversially influenced psychologically and emotionally. Like stated in Canada in Context, “The result is more depression, more stress, and more sleepless nights. " Many family members at home worry about the wellbeing of their son or husband who is at war.
These children often miss their deployed parent dearly. In The New York Times article Military Wife During Deployment Is Asked, ‘Is It Worth It?’ The wife and 5-year-old daughter of a navy helicopter pilot are at a wedding when the daughter started crying uncontrollably “‘Daddy,’ she said, sobbing. ‘I miss my daddy.’ … ‘I don’t want YOUR daddy,’ she cried to me. ‘Not Finley’s daddy, or Addie’s daddy, I want MY daddy.’” She saw a picture of him and broke into tears because he wasn’t there to share in the happy memories. Situations like these are
Throughout the years of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, we have seen the media coverage of newly deployed soldiers and returning the faces of children and spouses left at home heartbreaking meeting and happy when returning soldiers. Many military parents have experienced multiple deployments and expanded over the last decade, but only recently has attention turned to the effects on children whose parents are deployed. Recent studies indicate that children of military families with a deployed parent is under stress, causing an increase in visits to pediatric care for anxiety, behavioral disorders and other mental health problems (Chandra, Lara-Cinisomo, Jaycox, et al, 2010;. Chandra, Martin Hawkins, and Richardson, 2010; Chartrand, Frank, white, and Shope, 2008, Flake, Davis, Johnson & Middleton, 2009; Gorman, Eide, and Hist-Gorman, 2010 ).
Growing up I always had to deal with the fact that my father was involved in the military. My father was deployed twice: once in Germany, and later to Kuwait. I was only four years old when he first traveled and almost every day I asked where dad was. The second time I was fourteen, and I was devastated that my best friend wasn’t going to be home for a year. Both times he left, it was awful for my mom, my brother, and me because he was the one person that kept us together as a family and once he was gone we were just broken. A military family goes through more than a regular family does in a year. Those veterans have families, how do people think they feel. Children who live in a military family have a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental issues. Although many people believe that we should send our soldiers overseas to keep our country safe, there is no reason why our
Even though millions of individuals in the United States suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this illness in veterans that served in Vietnam War, Iraq and Afghanistan does not receive a lot of recognition for their service and the traumatic event they experience. This is unfortunate when provided with the information researched that the effects of PTSD for veterans in Iraq and health issues are more than any other military population. Younger military population is viewed by many as ‘puzzling’ and they do not fit with the list of so called ‘minority groups’ (Savitsky et al., 2009). This article spoke about millions of veterans with PTSD following the 9/11, who is depressed and victims of traumatic events are not getting the help they really need. A process of prevention is to educate doctors, nurses, and other people in the medical profession and society in general that PTSD in veterans from Iraq and other war zones is able to be avoided. Another option of intervention or prevention is to get involved with some outpatient mental-health services. These services will help veterans and their families with strategies in teaching practical approaches to cope with PTSD. It will also contribute support on a national, state, and local level in a more consistent manner. This will help men, women, children, and veterans with PTSD, techniques in real-life situations (Savitsky et al., 2009).
The very first hardship experienced is basic training, although basic training varies across all military branches they all serve the same purpose. Every year more than 180,000 people enlist in the armed (unknown 2014). That is about 180,000 people who had to leave loved ones behind and completely start a new life that may or may not include the ones that they love. Along with leaving loved ones behind there is also the challenge of completing basic training. Once the smoke has settled and all training is complete one can officially call themselves a solider, sailor, marine, or airmen which will officially make the member eligible for deployment operations. Some deployments may be easier than others but there is no doubt that deployments can definitely become a military hardship which can cause negative impact on a service members life. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most commonly reported psychological outcomes following deployment (Wright, Breanna K., et al. 2013). A military deployment can have a major negative impact on service member’s lives. Deployments can take a toll on a service members personal and professional life which could lead to issues such as depression. The military can have a major negative impact on service member’s lives, however if one remains resilient the fruits of their labor will become
Fritz, Gregory K. "Let's Consider the Mental Health Impact on the Children of War Veterans." Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter 26.11 (2010): 8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Jan. 2014
Rosen’s study, focused on the root cause of PTSD, showed that stress (major anxiety or nightmares) shown by soldiers before sent into deployment lessened or deliquesced in 13% of soldiers (Herbert 2). Additionally, those that did develop severe PTSD had suffered emotional problems prior to deploy-ment—especially child-hood abuse or exposure to violence.
...They have studied members of 4 US combat infantry units 3 Army units and a Marine Corps unit using an anonymous survey that was administered to the subjects either before their deployment to Iraq or 3 to 4 months after their return from combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The outcomes included major depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD, which were evaluated on the basis of standardized self-administered screening instruments. But studies showed that they people that where deployed to iraq was dealing with the mental weaknesses much more than troops deployed anywhere else.
Many children are born into families that are a part of a branch of the military. Parents may wonder if the constant moving and deployment will bring negative effects on a child’s development. The rigorous lifestyle of the military can have negative effects on the children’s development growing up, but the opportunity of living as a military child is a culturally diverse, socially strong, and mature development of characteristics. The military life offers many benefits for raising a child. Have a family in the military lifestyle can greatly help the children’s development of positives characteristics.
I am very shocked, when I listen the lecture about the military suicide. This lecture focus on the horrible situation about the military suicide. A big part of the soldiers does not die in the war but in the peaceful military. People in the USA do not care about the military suicide until late 1970s to early 1980s. I find two social problems in this lecture. First is the military does not pay much attention on the mental health of the soldiers. Second is the government does not have many good policies to help veterans.
Military kids are the ones that have it the hardest, they didn’t chose this lifestyle that they were brought into. Surprisingly, most of the time they are rather resilient. Military families are faces with numerous challenges and opportunities that help them develop diverse strengths
Military veterans transitioning into civilian life often face difficulties due to the lack of sufficient family support, social support, resilience and positive coping styles. During their life in the military, soldiers are trained to see the military life as normal and safe; therefore, they can find it hard trying to connect with loved ones and non-military society when transitioning. Their experience in the military can also leave them mentally, spiritually or emotionally ill, which can cause stress, depression and other mental or emotional problems during their transition. Soldiers who have successfully transitioned found help from family members, previously transitioned veterans and different veteran affair programs. Programs that focus on building resilience and developing positive coping styles allowed them to work their way around stress and depression. Therefore, encouraging military veterans to participate in programs that lower depression and stress can