My local military community was the focus of my photovoice project. As I evaluated the issues of my community, I realized that the vast majority of service members and their spouses were within the young adult period of development. Many of these young adults have young children. These young adults and children often struggle with issues and difficulties resulting from military deployments. Deployment causes disruption within the family system.…
Even when we are not at war, military families often deal with stresses such as frequent moves or the absence of a parent (DOVA - Department of Veterans Affairs). Deployment to war only creates additional issues for a family to handle. Not only do families have to face the fear of their…
Military Brats face many hardships that people often don't see or hear about because frankly, what does it really have to do with us? Things such as social interactions and going home to their family can become challenging or even scary to those children who are young in age, and while there are some plus sides to being raised in the military such as versatility, learning how to become a great cook by the age of seven, and even the ability to dive into the many cultures the world has to offer the cons can often outweigh the pros in the struggle to maintain a healthy mental lifestyle for these children. Studies have shown things such as how different genders handle growing up in the military, the harmful mental effects that are in place because they grow up in the military, and the ways that anyone can stop these things from happening or…
“we keep moving forward,opening new doors,and doing new things,because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths” - Walt Disney. I’ve had three big moves in my life that had been hard for me, but not as much as this recent big move to San Antonio. It was a sunny, humid day in Edinburg, Tx and I was texting my best friend Mariela while she was home sick when my Mother texted my brother, sister and I that we were moving to San Antonio. I instantly became so full of anger because my mother wanted to move us away again after only moving to Edinburg six years ago.…
“Let’s move!” Max starts first and we rush past the cafeteria doors and head to the office doors. There are two men standing guard with large guns. Bird throws his boomerang at one of the men, who falls dead to the ground. The other searches the area around him and the last thing he views are our faces before I impale his heart with my drumstick.…
There is nothing more disorienting in a child’s life than moving. I moved twice in my life, three times if you count going away to boarding school. Moving made me disoriented, but the people that I met kept me going. I first moved when I was seven. It was not a big move.…
Have you ever moved? If so how many times? One thing about moving is that there is always a very good side and a bad side, but alway remember the good in moving. My truth is about me moving. I have moved three times.…
I understand your position on pre-deployment and redeployment being the most difficult phases of a deployment. There is so much to do and so much families and sometimes the servicemember does not know. There is so much uncertainty; it makes physical planning and psychological adjusting all the more difficult. Also, for family members, the assumption of new roles usually happens during the pre-deployment phase, even though the service member has not yet deployed and still living at home. But, there is so much the service member needs to do to prepare, there are often extended working hours and family time is limited.…
I was born into The Salvation Army. My parents are officers and have been for the past 22 and a half years. It is a usual situation that officers get moved every four years or so. I was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts and It was only 2 years later that I got moved to Sharon, Massachusetts. I cannot recall anything that happened.…
Moving from house to house, school to school, making new friends every time. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska in December 1996. My father joined the military in july of 1997. His very first duty station was located in virginia, when I was only one years old. My mother 's family from virginia, so I got to meet some of them.…
There are a couple of obstacles that have played a major role in me becoming who I am today. I've had naysayers trying to negatively influence my thoughts, and crush my dreams by saying that said I will never amount to anything, or that I should give up on my dreams and get realistic with my goals. A couple years ago I was a completely different person. I was out of shape physically, my academic performance was very poor, and I had a terrible attitude. I improved greatly in athletics and my academic career.…
Military families are known for relocating constantly and due to this “military brats” struggle to develop roots that average children form throughout their childhood. Being uprooted may cause you to feel lonely or placeless. McClay and…
Military families often times experience different types and multiple stressors and trauma throughout their lifetimes. At times these different situations and stressors can be positive or negative (Lester & Flake, 2013). However, either with either type of stressors families can show both strengthens and weaknesses. These different transitions can be positive and can allow for opportunities for youth to grow and experience adventures that they might not have had the opportunity to experience if they were not a member of a military family. These transitions can also be disruptive towards the family or individuals due to changing schedules and locations.…
This a great! We often focus on the service member and tend to forget about the hardships placed on families and especially children. These hardships and the amount of endurance required to withstand multiple deployments and separations can and often do exceed that of the deployed service member. Furthermore, your family is part of the less than 1% of our population that stepped up and committed to serving our country regardless of what that may entail or the consequences that it may bring.…
Being in the army meant always moving around, deciding to stay…