How Does Military Affect

Families With Soldiers

Overseas?
Dear Military Spouse,

We are writing to inform you that your active duty spouse will soon be leaving
for deployment. Deployment is when an active duty soldier is sent to a high combat
zone somewhere overseas. Deployments will be on average seven months in
duration, however it may last up to eleven months. To begin with, we would like for
you to know the different stages of military deployment. There is pre-deployment,
deployment, sustainment, redeployment, and postdeployment. Pre-deployment is
the time before the actual deployment takes place. Deployment is just the first
month of your spouse being overseas, and sustainment is the 2-5 month period that
your spouse is overseas. Redeployment is the last month of deployment. Lastly,
postdeployment is the 3-6 months after deployment.(Military Family Perspective)

We also want to inform you of the devastating possibility that your loved one
may not return the same. With the current war the possibilities of PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder), TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and depression are much
higher. PTSD affects nearly eight million adults living in America. New studies have
shown that a soldier overseas has 12-25 percent of getting PTSD. PTSD can cause
stress, fear, flashbacks, outbursts, and depression. TBI has also become a new
threat, the rates of a soldier being diagnosed with this disorder is 11-19 percent.
This is a cause of the new explosive technology being used. The concussion from a
grenade or other explosive can cause the brain to shake in the skull. This, in result,
leaves the brain bruised and possibly even leaving the patient with with temporary
loss of brain function.(U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

However, many new treatments for PTSD have been invented. There are
currently almost 200 specialized PTSD treatment programs throughout the U.S.
These programs are available to all veterans who have completed active military
service, have been discharged from duty for something other than honorable
discharge, and lastly that they have completed a federal deployment to a combat
zone. Treatment may include talk therapy, medications or a combination of the two.

Treatment itself may take up to 6-12 weeks, possibly longer depending on the
severity of the injury. (nih.gov)

Another thing to consider is your child(ren) if you and your spouse have
any. The deployment of one of their parents can have a big impact on children
psychologically. Very young children may experience separation anxiety, tantrums,
and changes in their eating habits. School-age children may experience a decline in
grades and test scores, and may have mood changes or physical complaint issues.
Teens may become angry and act out, or act withdrawn or shows sign of apathy.
30% of military children have reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for 2
weeks during their parent's deployment. Nearly 1 in 4 reported having considered
suicide actions because of this. We are not adding this to scare you but to inform
you of the possibility. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Another issue that may arise while your significant other is away is the large
responsibility of single parenting. Most military spouses are under the age of 35 and
largely all females, (do something.org) only 5 percent of military spouses are male.
For the parent that stays behind, their family responsibilities are amplified. These
responsibilities include financial issues, the fear for your spouse's safety can cause
anxiety, loneliness, and the possibly feeling of being overwhelmed. Just because we
appear to have it together during tough duty stationslaughing things off and trying to make the
best of everything, we are always at our limit, said by Alison Perkins. (10 Things You Might Not
Know)

Colonel Meg Ziegelbauer

U.S. Navy SEALs