Americans have rarely been as removed from military service
as today. The number of active-duty military personnel is near modern-day lows,
and the number of Americans directly tied to military servicepeople also are at
near-historic lows.
For military personnel, this means more time away from home
on deployment than ever. And for the families that support them, the stress and
loneliness have rarely been as challenging. For children, being part of a
military family is particularly challenging.
Families left to hold down the home front during
deployments, however, are not alone. There are a growing number of resources
that are available. Knowing where to look, however, can be a challenge.
What follows are seven sites that families can look to for
assistance.
Purple Star Schools: The Virginia Department of
Education oversees the Purple Star program, which recognizes schools and
districts that have created services aimed specifically at serving the children
of military families. This school year, both Stafford Public Schools and Fredericksburg
City Schools received Purple Star status for the first time. Families in those
districts can talk to school administrators about the services and support that
schools can provide you. (See related story)
Veteran Military Family Congregation: Recognizing
that military personnel will often turn to a local faith-based community first
when in need of help, VMFC was formed to help connect families and faith
communities. Congregations register to join VMFC and, once accepted, are
equipped to help their faith communities deal with the unique challenges
military families face. (www.vmfc-usa.org)
Sesame Street for Military Families library: Launched
in 2006, Sesame Street developed a bevy of kid-friendly and family-friendly
resources to assist military families on a wide range of subjects. Especially
for families with children under 5, this site is a treasure-trove. (sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org)
MilitaryOneSource: Built and maintained by the
Defense Department, MilitaryOneSource collects, screens, and points families to
information and resources they will need. In particular are the following two
pages regarding deployment: Deployment Resources for Families, https://www.militaryonesource.mil/deployment/pre-deployment/deployment-resources-for-families/,
and Supporting Your Military Children through the Deployment Cycle, https://www.militaryonesource.mil/parenting/family-life/supporting-your-military-children-through-th….
Childcare Aware of America: Finding childcare is a
national problem, with shortages reaching critical levels, especially here in
the Fredericksburg area. Childcare Aware of America is available for all
families, but it has programs dedicated specifically to supporting military
families. The group also provides fee assistance and respite child care
programs (www.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/)
Special Operators and their Families: Military
servicepeople serving in Special Forces (the Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Army
Rangers, Marine Raiders, AFSOC, and SWCC) carry out some of our nation’s
most-dangerous operations. For their families, deployments carry special
worries and concerns. SOF is committed to assisting families through these
trying times. (www.sofsupport.org)
National Military Family Association: The NMFA is
designed to assist military families in all stages of military life, but it
also offers special resources and services as families dealing with the
deployment cycle. Focusing on pre-deployment preparation, as well as
post-deployment realities, NMFA’s only concern is making the difficult as
manageable as is possible. (www.militaryfamily.org/info-resources/deployment/)
Finally, families should be attuned to scams. As difficult
as it can be to believe, families of military servicepeople are easy targets
because they are facing stressful situations.
MilitaryOneSource offers both a fraud prevention kit and a
Preventing Scams Factsheet. Families of military personnel should remain
vigilant; these resources from MilitaryOneSource is a great start. (https://benefits.va.gov/benefits/docs/fraud-protection-kit.pdf)
Martin Davis is editor-in-chief of FXBG Advance
(www.fxbgadvance.com) and the father of a USMC special forces Marine.
