Long-distance relationships for Military Families are difficult enough without the additional hardships of at least one person being deployed. What should our military leaders do to help active-duty service members maintain and grow their interpersonal relationships? Based on a blend of evidence-based research by Southwell et al. (2022) and insights from the assigned reading by Moelker et al. (2021), military leaders should consider the following techniques to assist active-duty service personnel in sustaining and expanding their interpersonal connections:
Military Families Communication Infrastructure
It is the responsibility of military leaders to guarantee that deployed soldiers have access to dependable and standard communication channels. This covers phone lines, mail services, and internet connectivity (Moelker et al., 2021). This lessens the stress brought on by communication difficulties and enables military members to keep in touch with their loved ones.
Psychological Support
Military leaders should give service members’ mental health priority because deployments can be emotionally draining (Southwell et al., 2020). Helping service personnel deal with the emotional strain of long-distance relationships may be achieved in large part by providing counseling services, such as access to military chaplains or mental health experts.
Flexible Leave Policies
Military leaders should implement flexible leave policies that let military members see their loved ones while deployed (Moelker et al., 2021). This provides a little break from the separation and aids in preserving the relationship between spouses and families.
Family Support Programs for Military Families
The family members left behind during deployments might benefit significantly from family support programs and services like family readiness groups (Southwell et al., 2020). Family members may find these programs helpful in overcoming the difficulties of being apart.
Education and Training
Give service personnel and their partners workshops and training on managing long-distance relationships and the particular difficulties they bring. According to Moelker et al. (2021), education can provide couples with emotional and communicative skills to help them deal with deployment challenges.
Using knowledge from the book by Moelker et al. (2021), military officials must understand how communication and emotional ties affect deployed service members. The dedication to enabling and sustaining these essential connections is necessary to ensure that the events that transpire during deployment do not “stay on deployment.”
Understanding the value of preserving interpersonal relationships during deployment and the many difficulties that accompany it may be based on the course materials and this discussion. The readings highlight the need for candid and encouraging communication between loved ones and service personnel, which military leaders should encourage and assist actively.
Military Families Challanges far from home
References
Moelker, R., Andres, M., & Rones, N. (Eds.). 2021. The Politics of Military Families: State, Work Organizations, and the Rise of the Negotiation Household. Routledge.
Southwell, K. H., Coppola, E. C., Topp, D. B., & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M. (2020). Continuity in psychological health and role functioning across deployment. Military medicine, 185(Supplement_1), 263-273.
Be sure to cite course materials for weeks 10-11 in both your original post & your responses to two of your classmates.
Readings:
- 18What happens on-board stays on-board?
- The political game of communication between deployed military personnel and their loved ones
- Manon Andres and René Moelker
- 22Epilogue: dating from a distance
- Love and separation in a networked society
- Requirements: 250 words
Hello!, ASA citations, same book Military family
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