Returning to Civilian Life: Family Reintegration Challenges and Resilience of Women Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

The cohort of women who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was the largest group of women in history to serve in the military and be deployed to combat zones. This large cohort is now moving into veteran status as the numbers of deployed service members decreases. Upon separation from the military, many of these women step back into family roles and responsibilities. To date, there has been sparse research on how military service, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, has affected the family relationships, family functioning, and parenting of women veterans. In an effort to better understand the experiences of women veterans as they return to their families and civilian life, five focus groups were conducted with 29 veterans. Analysis of focus group transcripts revealed seven common challenges, ranging from adjustments to the civilian pace of life and developmental changes in children’s behavior to managing anger and difficult emotional interactions with family members. Women demonstrated strength and resilience in dealing with family challenges by employing four common strategies, such as making meaning of their military service, accessing veteran social support, and drawing on military-acquired skills. Implications of the findings for social work practice are discussed.