Military service is dangerous, demanding, and difficult. Transitioning from the military to civilian life can also be extremely challenging for many women and men who have served in the military. Military families are always forced to deal with numerous issues and challenges associated with the service members that return home from deployment (Becker, 2016). Some of them include financial challenges, limited access to caregiver resources, inadequate employment opportunities to fit the military lifestyle, and lack of family support groups. This paper examines some of the challenges that a military family may experience when a service member returns from deployment.
Primarily, family members have little or limited financial resources and influence in advocating for the timely receipt of medical care for service members who return from deployment. They often face the challenge of fighting slow and bureaucratic government processes to get quality health for their veterans (Becker, 2016). Furthermore, the resources that are available to family members and other caregivers are often limited and inadequate (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). As a result, they are unable to provide adequate and quality medical care for the service members.
Additionally, few employers offer employment opportunities that are similar or close to the military experience. Therefore, most of them are often unemployed. Research indicates that about 90% of military spouses are often unemployed. On the other hand, the spouses that are employed earned less than their civilian counterparts (Becker, 2016). Therefore, the inability to provide for hire families presents innumerable challenges to military spouses in contemporary settings, especially when their situations are complicated by caregiver responsibilities (Becker, 2016).
Identifying and finding military support organizations or groups for a service member who returns from deployment is also challenging. In most instances, their friends are either focussed on their civilian lives or have gone off the grid (Becker, 2016). Therefore, forging relationships with civilians is challenging because there is always an immense disconnect between the military and civilians in contemporary societies (Hoge, 2010).
In sum, a family may experience numerous issues and challenges when a service member returns from deployment. Some of them include limited resources as well as influence in advocating and timely medical care. Furthermore, they are forced to grapple with the lack of employment opportunities that are similar or close to the military experience. Most of them are also unable to find proper support groups for service members who return from deployment.
References
Becker, H. (2016). 3 postwar challenges that military families continue to face. Retrieved from <http://taskandpurpose.com/3-postwar-challenges-that-military-families- continue-to-face/>
Hoge, C. W. (2010). Once a warrior always a warrior: Navigating the transition from combat to home. Gullford, CT: Lyons Press.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2016). Military culture iceberg through ASD-PTSD [Video: 1 min 28 sec]. Retrieved from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBF6BCV1wlc&list=UU4n- XDAD9ONyAiV3V9BPbyw>
