Maintaining Family Resiliency Before, During, and After Military Separation

Military deployments and duty-related separations are defining experiences for military service members and their families. They are one of the most widely recognized and documented stressors for military families. While deployment and separations challenge families, they also impact the military mission and influence service member retention (Albano, 1994; Black, 1993; Drummet, Coleman & Cable, 2003; Kelly et al., 2001; Orthner, 2002; Orthner, Bowen & Beare, 1990; Vormbrock, 1993). Nevertheless, the experience of separation can also strengthen military couples and families by increasing their resiliency. Based on the U.S. experience of military separations, the goal of this chapter is to focus on family resiliency because, in peacetime and war, families are crucial to the well-being and effectiveness of military personnel. Families provide vital support to service members' readiness, performance, and ability to carry out the mission (Norwood, Fullerton, & Hagen, 1996). When service members are separated from their families and unable to be present when loved ones are struggling, "the consequent worry affects their ability to carry out their mission and in some cases may render service members ineffective" (Mateczun & Holmes, 1996, p. 373). It is crucial therefore to provide information about how families can maintain and even enhance resiliency before, during, and after military deployments and separations.