April 27, 2017, by Hannah Whittenly – Military deployment is a trying time for every family. It takes an emotional toll on the individuals involved that is unlike anything else. The families are obviously worried about their deploying service member. They are about to enter harm’s way to do a dangerous job. However, the service member also has anxiety about how their family will function when he or she is out on the job or deploying abroad.
Utilize the Family Care Plan
The family care plan is an official document that is designed to establish the responsibilities of everyone involved with a military family. It goes into careful detail about the welfare of the service member and those who are left behind. Child activity is highly scrutinized. There must be documentation that supports where children are attending school, how they will be receiving medical care and who will be in charge of enforcing this part of the contract. Powers of Attorney are often necessary so that the family care provider has the authority to conduct business. The service member must ensure that there is access to funding and all of the necessary facilities are available for their family while deployed. You can help your soldier by stepping up and being willing to do your part to take care of their children, pets, finances and other such things that they might be worried about while being away.
Help Them Find Moving Resources
Moving anywhere can be stressful, not just on the soldier themselves, but on the entire family. If your son or daughter has their own family that they will have to move with them, then they shouldn’t have to deal with the packing and moving things to their new home while they are worrying about what is come. No matter how tough they act, they’re most likely still worried. Because of this, they should have an international moving company, like Wheaton World Wide Moving, move their stuff for them. This is something that you can help them find if they don’t know how to find a good moving company themselves. They should also see if this type of thing can be compensated by the military as well.
Talk About Life Insurance
Life insurance is a vital part of service member readiness. They must be able to face the difficult fact that doing their job could cost them their lives. Part of taking care of a family while deployed is making sure that they have the tools to survive on their own. After all, it is possible that the deployed service member will not return home from duty. This difficult process is extremely stressful on military families. Relief is provided when all of the administrative aspects of taking care of a fallen service member are in place before he or she ever deploys. Sit down with your son or daughter before they deploy to discuss their wishes about how their life insurance money should be used if they were to pass away in the line of duty.
Keep Up with the Communication
Communicating with loved ones back home is one of an essential survival tools for any deployed service member. It is important to know that there is someone who cares about what a soldier, sailor or airman may be going through. Depression and anxiety will demoralize any physically strong individual. Having a healthy emotional support system is vital to the readiness of each service member and their units. Family members need to have a dependable method of contacting they’re deployed loved ones. Write every week, if not more, and send packages (for holidays and out of random acts of love). Keep that contact going no matter how busy your own life gets.
As a mom or dad, your child—no matter how grown they are—is still one of your top priorities. Hopefully, taking in the information above has helped you learn a little bit about what you can do to help support your service member.
About the Author: Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.