As a former Army Brat and an Air Force wife ( dependent for 68 yrs. ) Ive seen both sides. Its a different life, Ill say that. And yes its hard on lots of kids. I think its even harder now, as their parent isnt home for long and then leaves again, comes home and leaves. The parent hasnt had time to decompress and adjust to family life before leaving again. The kids have got to get used to a parent that has changed and come back as a different person, plus living with the pressures of being a teen-ager and most of all wondering if the parent is coming back at all. Then if the parent is regular military and not guard/reserves is the possibility of changing schools when the parent gets sent to a new base. ( For me it was 4 High Schools ) I didnt mind, but I had friends it really bothered. We need to extend post war treatment to families as well as just the troops. We need to start as soon as the parent gets orders. And follow through the whole way.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:06:11 +0000