Comfort, Cliques, and Clashes: Family Readiness Groups as Dilemmatic Sites of Relating During Wartime

Family readiness groups (FRGs) provide resources and support for spouses of deployed Service members, but participation likely comes with both pros and cons. Qualitative interviews with Active Duty Army or Army National Guard wives whose husbands deployed in OIF/OEF gathered information about experiences in FRGs. Some wives found that FRGs provided useful resources and helped them feel included and supported, while other wives found FRGs to be alienating, unhelpful, or a source of stress.