Impact of Deployment on Military Families

To date, approximately 300,000 families including 700,000 children have been affected by the increased and repeated number of deployments in support of the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The purpose of this review is to discuss the impact of these deployments on family members of active duty and reserve/guard personnel. A search of literature across the years of military conflicts reveals waves of studies emerging after World War II, the Vietnam conflict, Desert Storm/Shield, and now the most recent wars. Study designs most frequently include qualitative exploratory, survey methods, and program evaluations. The field is limited by small scale projects, service- and facility-specific samples, and knowledge extracted from related topics. More research is needed to achieve a more comprehensive understanding across the trajectory of the deployment experience for both service personnel and family members as well as long-term outcomes.