Children of Deployed National Guard Troops: Perceptions of Parental Deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom

This article makes an assessment of what is known about how deployment of the U.S. National Guard troops is affecting their children. It also evaluates these children's perceptions and thoughts on the experience of their parents getting deployed to active combat. Several lessons are then offered to clinicians and family members on how to help these children cope with their situations. It suggests that future research is necessary to examine and track child reactions over time as subsequent phases of deployment takes place.