How Military Deployment Affects Families and Children
This paper examines the effects of military deployment on family systems, with particular attention to the stress placed on the non-deployed parent, the difficulties of post-deployment reintegration, and the developmental consequences for children. Drawing on research by Lester and Flake (2013) and Joshi, Connelly, and Rosenberg (2014), the paper argues that deployment fundamentally alters household dynamics by forcing the remaining parent into a dual caregiver role. It further contends that the post-deployment period — when the returning service member must reintegrate into a changed family environment — is often more stressful than the deployment itself. The paper concludes that these compounding stressors threaten both marital stability and healthy child development, and calls for greater public and institutional attention to military family support.
- Introduction: Deployment disrupts military family stability and roles
- Effects of Deployment on the Family: At-home parent assumes dual caregiver role under stress
- Post-Deployment Reintegration Challenges: Returning spouse faces difficult civilian and family readjustment
- Impact on Children's Development: Children risk developmental harm from deployment-related instability
- Conclusion: Calls for public attention to military family support
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper builds its argument in a logical sequence — from deployment effects on the at-home parent, to reintegration stress, to long-term child development outcomes — creating a clear cause-and-effect structure.
- It grounds its claims in peer-reviewed sources, using direct quotation from Lester and Flake (2013) to anchor the central argument about reintegration being the most stressful phase.
- The conclusion effectively synthesizes all three dimensions discussed (household role disruption, reintegration, and child development) without introducing new material.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of source integration: rather than merely summarizing research, it uses citations to challenge a commonsense assumption — that departure is the hardest part of deployment — and replaces it with the counterintuitive but evidence-supported claim that return and reintegration are more disruptive. This technique strengthens the paper's analytical credibility.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into four parts: an introductory framing of the family as a social structure dependent on stability; a central body section covering three distinct effects (role disruption for the at-home parent, reintegration stress, and child development concerns); and a conclusion that recaps each point and calls for policy attention. This tight structure suits a focused argumentative essay at the undergraduate level.
Introduction
Families are social structures that, like all structures, require stability and solid foundations to serve their purpose (Joshi, Connelly, & Rosenberg, 2014). If the purpose of the family is to provide shelter and support for the growth and development of its individual members as active participants in society, then a family that suffers the departure of a significant role-player can have a negative effect on the remaining members — particularly children. Such is the case among military families, where deployment creates a void within the family system dynamic. While the military parent is away on active service, the household becomes essentially a single-parent home, with ramifications for both the remaining parent and the children. This paper discusses the effects of military deployment on the family.
Effects of Deployment on the Family
While military deployments are necessary to support the defense of the country, the primary effect on the family is that they oblige the remaining parent to fulfill a dual role, acting as both mother and father while the spouse is away on active duty. There is, therefore, a significant trade-off as far as society is concerned. On the one hand, society must defend itself and protect its interests abroad; on the other hand, it must support the family infrastructure, since a stable family reinforces the overall growth and health of society. The problem is that when a spouse is deployed for upwards of 30 days at a time — and frequently much longer — it places undue stress on the family left behind.
The parent who remains at home must now act as the sole leader of the household, responsible for raising children, managing finances, and overseeing all domestic affairs. This can represent a major shift in responsibilities that would not have been required had deployment not occurred, resulting in a substantial increase in stress for the at-home parent.
Post-Deployment Reintegration Challenges
However, the stress experienced by the at-home parent is not even the most difficult aspect of the situation, according to researchers Lester and Flake (2013). They argue that it is the post-deployment period that proves most challenging — the phase during which the returning spouse must reintegrate into civilian life and adapt to changes in spouse, children, and the broader home environment. As Lester and Flake (2013) state, "service members, having come home from war, must be reintegrated into families whose internal rhythms have changed and where children have taken on new roles" (p. 121).
The challenge of reintegration concerns both the returning spouse's need to cope with changes that occurred during the absence and the family's need to adjust to the changes in the returning service member. Because civilian and military cultures differ substantially in terms of behavior, norms, expectations, roles, discipline, and outlook, confronting these changes can be extremely difficult for everyone involved. This difficulty compounds the stress that already exists as a result of the initial deployment itself.
Conclusion
The problem of military deployment and its effect on the family is a serious one that warrants more open discussion in the public sphere, as it pertains directly to the societal and familial infrastructure of the country. The impacts on the family are evident in numerous ways: the rebalancing of household roles, with one parent now acting as two; the management of financial responsibilities and child-rearing; and the children's own need to adjust to the temporary absence of a parent. Beyond the deployment itself, there is the further challenge of post-deployment, during which the returning spouse must readjust to civilian and family life while the family simultaneously readjusts to the returning spouse and parent.
All of these factors create stress within the home and can lead to problems in psychosocial development for children, as well as marital and parental stress for spouses. It is therefore important that these issues be adequately addressed and that alternative support solutions be explored and implemented.
References
Joshi, H., Connelly, R., & Rosenberg, R. (2014). Family structure and stability. In Millennium Cohort Study initial findings from the age 11 survey. London: Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education.
Lester, P., & Flake, E. (2013). How wartime military service affects children and families. The Future of Children, 23(2), 121–141.
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