Military Families

What is a military family?

A military family consists of one or more

members on active duty. Active duty is full
time military service in the united states.
This also includes reserve components.
Military families often live on base or in
towns close to base and can go to school on
base or in the city they live in.
 Statistics on Military Families

• By the end of 2008 1.7 million have served in the

war in Iraq
• 4-14% show signs of depression
• 12-25% show signs of PTSD
• 11-19% have traumatic brain injury
• 18-35% have mental health risk or concern
• 43% of active duty service members have children
• Estimated 75% of veterans reported at least 1
family adjustment issue
 Statistics on Military Families (cont.)
THE ARMY, NAVY, AND AIR FORCE HAVE A HIGHER PROPORTION
OF FAMILY MEMBERS THAN ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS, WHILE THE
MARINE CORPS HAS AN ALMOST EQUAL PROPORTION OF FAMILY
MEMBERS AND ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS. THE PERCENT OF
FAMILY MEMBERS AND THE PERCENT OF ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS
IS IN RELATION TO THE SUM TOTAL OF ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS
AND FAMILY MEMBERS FOR EACH SERVICE BRANCH.

Total DoD an d Ratio of AD

Active Duty Members* Family Members** Families Members to
N % N % N % Family Members
Army 517,783 40.2% 770,609 59.8% 1,288,392 100.0% 1 to 1.5
Navy 332,269 42.6% 447,605 57.4% 779,874 100.0% 1 to 1.3
Marine Corps 186,425 50.3% 183,906 49.7% 370,331 100.0% 1 to 1.0
Air Force 329,094 41.6% 462,307 58.4% 791,401 100.0% 1 to 1.4
Total DoD 1,365,571 42.3% 1,864,427 57.7% 3,229,998 100.0% 1 to 1.4
** ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS INCLUDE BOTH MARRIED AND SINGLE MEMBER S.
** FAMILY MEMBERS INCLUDE SPOUSES, CHILDREN, ADULT DEPENDENTS, AND OTHER DEPENDENTS
UNDER AGE 2 1 WHO ARE NOT SPOUSES OR CHILDREN.

DMDC Military Family File (September 2007)

 Deployment adds stress to families

Deployment is when an active duty member is sent out of the

country on a mission for their division. Most common
deployments are being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Deployments can last form 6-12 months, sometimes even
longer. Also many are returning for their 2nd or 3rd tours.
This is causing enormous amounts of stress on families
below are some factors that add to the stress.
• How many times the parent is deployed
• How long the parent is deployed for
• Where the parent is deployed to
• How much communication is available to the deployed parent
 Children on the Homefront Study

• Objective- to study the impact of the current war on

children’s well being and how they are doing across social,
emotional, and academic domains
• Survey was conducted on 1500 military children ages 11-
17
• Children had more emotional difficulties than the national
samples
• Older children and girls of all ages had more school,
family, and peer related difficulties
• Families that lived on base fared better than ones that lived
off base in local communities
• Families benefited from targeted support
 How to help

• Make sure the parent is taking care of themselves first

• Talk about it, children are very resilient and can handle
much more than we think is possible
• Don’t dwell on it acknowledge it and move on
• Understand and be empathetic, have them discuss what
they are feeling
• Know what resources are available in your community and
have them ready to present
• Watch closely for mood swings and outburst of behavior
this will be a flag that they are struggling and need some
help
 Parents with PTSD

• Students may have to deal with a parent at home with PTSD and this
may be stressful
• Try to work with the student and parents to get help for the family, if
all the parenting is on one parent it can cause many problems
• Students can also get PTSD and my need to talk with a counselor or
psychologist to help them deal, any traumatic event can trigger this
stress
• More soldiers are getting out of the military and not getting the correct
help they need
• Soldiers Project - gives free counseling to service members returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan
• Helps to alleviate the stress from the families and provides a way for
them to get back to their lives
• Go to www.soldiersproject.org to find more info
 Month of the military child

• Celebrated the month of April

• Focuses on and honors children with military
parents and their sacrifices
• Many elementary school focus on art projects with
students
• Communities have events all month long for
military children and every year its getting bigger
• You can go to www.monthofthemilitarychild.com
and find out what is happening in your area
 Resources

• Military OneSource - a website that supports all

military families, offers 5 free counseling sessions
www.militaryonesource.com
• Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society - Helps
families with financial, educational, and other
assistance www.nmcrs.org
• National Military Family Association - To fight
for benefits and programs that strengthen and
protect uniformed services families and reflect the
Nation’s respect for their service
www.militaryfamily.org
 Resources

Chandra, A, Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Lisa H. Jaycox, Terri Tanielian, Rachel M.

Burns, Teague Ruder and Bing Han. (2009) Children on the Homefront: The
Experience of Children From Military Families. Pediatrics published online Dec
7, 2009
Santa Cruz, N (November 28, 2009) Soldiers Project helps vets cope with wars’s
mental scars. Los Angeles Times, pp. A6.
Military Onesource. 2007 Demographics: Profile of the military community; section
III: Active duty families. Retrieved on Dec 9, 2009 from
http://www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/ServiceProviders/2007DemographicsPr
ofileoftheMilitaryCommuni.aspx
US Department of veterans affairs. How Deployment Stress Affects Children and
Families: Research Findings. Retrieved on Dec 3, 2009 from
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/pro_deployment_stress_children.asp