The Military Family Advocacy Program has Given Increased Attention to the Prevention of Family Violence

In addition to the stressors experienced by parents in civilian families that can increase the likelihood of child maltreatment, military families face added military-specific stressors that may increase their risk of child maltreatment. For example, along with frequent changes in the active duty family member’s job assignments, many military families are required to relocate every two or three years. Not only does relocation involve establishing a newresidence, the family members must leave friends and establish new support systems. Active duty family members also experience the stress of being responsive 24/7 to the needs of the military, including the possibility that they can be deployed at any time. Further, for more than a decade, the United States military has been involved in wars in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), which have been the longest United States combat operations since Vietnam. As a consequence, there have been concerns about the effects of combat-related stressors, such as repeated combat deployments and combatrelated trauma, on the functioning and mental health of military family members. The military services have not been blind to these concerns. In stark contrast to the old adage “if the military had wanted you to have a family, it would have issued you one,” across the past three decadesthe U.S. military has dramatically increased its efforts to support and to promote healthy military families. Part of this effort has focused on the prevention of family violence and responding to reports of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence in military families. The military Family Advocacy Program (FAP), first established in 1981, plays a central role in this effort. FAP is a congressionally mandated program that coordinates a comprehensive community response designed to deal with child maltreatment and intimate partner violence in military families.