Implications for Military Families of Changes in the Armed Forces of the United States

The trends discussed above are likely to continue. The American active-duty armed forces are unlikely to grow larger and are probably going to get smaller. They are likely to be more professionalized and career oriented and hence older and with higher numbers of married personnel. There will be continued pressures on the defense budget, and budget allocations are likely to go to hardware acquisition and to deferred maintenance rather than to personnel (including family) programs. Noncash benefits to families are declining as is retired pay. The job security that used to be a strong incentive for career personnel is threatened. The smaller force is likely to continue to be called upon to perform a large number of out-of- area missions, including peacekeeping and fighting terrorism, contributing to frequent family separation as a characteristic of military service. Where possible, reserve forces will increasingly be used to supplement the active forces on these missions, thus making separation a more common characteristic of service in the reserve components as well. At the same time, the armed forces, which have in past years assumed more responsibility for the well-being of the families of their personnel than have most employers, are increasingly likely to regard military families as apart from, rather than a part of, the military community, as increasing numbers of military spouses pursue their own careers and increasing numbers of military families live off-post and receive their basic services, from education and health to recreation and entertainment, from outside the military.