The emotional cycle of deployment: A military family perspective

Military families have experienced the emotional trauma of deployment on an unprecedented scale since the end of the Gulf War. Humanitarian missions and peace enforcement have sent our troops to Somalia, Cuba, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. In the last decade, military downsizing has increased the likelihood that each soldier will eventually participate on an extended mission. The impact of these long separations is of increasing concern with two-thirds of soldiers now married and deployments to the Former Yugoslavia entering a fifth year. Differing coping strategies are needed through five stages of deployment. Education of health care providers, military leaders, soldiers and family members to anticipate these stages is crucial to ensure the soldier's safe return and to minimize familial trauma.