The Impact of Military Deployments on Children

To better understand the struggles with spouse education and employment, it is important to understand that until recently, professional licenses did not transfer easily, if at all, from state to state for military spouses. A PCS (Permanent Change of Station) could disrupt a career for a licensed military spouse who would have to pay to take a state certification course and test with every move. Professions not requiring special license see similar impacts as spouses often leave their current job to move with their service member and, while a large number start job searching as soon as the know where they are moving to, it can take months before they receive another job offer. In the most recent Military OneSource survey, results showed that on average, military spouses spend 19 weeks on employment searches. In a separate breakdown of the Military OneSource results, spouses are often underemployed. As a whole, military spouses have an unemployment rate similar to that of the depression era.

In the recent Blue Star Families Spouse Survey, results showed that military spouses list spouse employment as their top issue for those with an active-duty service member. One factor in this is due to potential employers viewing military spouses as liabilities. While it is against federal employment laws to discriminate against applicants for reasons unrelated to

qualifications, military spouses often are rejected by employers due to the uncertainty of an

assignment length. Military spouses have sharply honed skills that many employers look for,

such as problem solving, perseverance, adaptability, flexibility, and ability to work with diverse groups. Unlike their service members, military spouses do not have federal protections covering employment.

Education opportunities, while online education has increased access, affordability and

required in-person training and exams can prove hindering, especially when stationed overseas. Overseas assignments also significantly reduce spouse employment in professions such as medical and legal as jobs are often extremely limited and subject to SOFA (Status of Force Agreement) status, and volunteering in those areas to maintain efficiency is often a long, drawn-out process. Military OneSource survey results showed that military spouses are a well-educated group, with 31% of respondents holding a bachelor’s degree and 18% holding advanced degrees. The military does offer education financial support to spouses through the MyCAA grant, although this grant does have rank limitations on who is eligible, and the GI Bill if it has been passed to the spouse from the service member.

All of these challenges not only impact the family dynamic of our military families, but they also impact the readiness of our military. Many times, within the military, service members and families are told to make sure that everything is good at home because if it’s not good at home focus is taken away from the mission, and results could be catastrophic. The unspoken

mindset is mission first, family second. It is a difficult thing to balance when spouses are unable to find employment or are having to settle for being underemployed and trying to attend classes while the service member is away. Even with service members at home, the

responsibilities to the branch of service are first, and service members often work long hours,

leaving spouses to ensure the home is taken care of. Cost of childcare is another huge factor in spouse employment as childcare costs are high, and availability is low.

Military spouses face challenges that the general population may never experience. Within the military community, we often hear that our children will say goodbye to more significant people by their teen years than most people will in a lifetime. Constant moving, deployments, and TDY’s (temporary duty) put a strain on our military families. As spouses, we bear the brunt of it: stepping up to solo parent, taking care of the house, making sure bills are paid,

celebrating birthdays and holidays separated from a loved one, and finding new schools and childcare with each move. Many of us sacrifice our own careers and education to support the career of the service member. While we are happy to make these sacrifices, the long-term impact to our career and education goals puts us at a disadvantage when we are ready to re-enter the workforce and classroom. Volunteering is used to fill resume gaps, and available financial aid is used to ensure continued education to make military spouses are more competitive.

-Jennifer Norton