In 2021, 1.4 million Americans served in the United States military forces across the five branches. Serving your country is a proud profession, but it doesn’t come without a unique set of challenges.
If you’ve ever wondered about what military life is like, it can be both rewarding and taxing for the soldier and their families. Continue reading to learn the four biggest challenges of military life.
1. Family Separations
One of the most significant difficulties military families face is separation. From the moment basic training begins, military members must leave their families for months at a time. After that initial training, service members may be sent on long deployments away from home.
This means time away from loved ones, missed milestones, and re-acclimation every time they return. Spouses at home are left to maintain the household, children, and family dynamic until their military members return. Additionally, considering the sensitivity of these issues, you should only be dealing with professionals for this matter — see a complete list of veterans and military law attorney services.
2. Nomadic Lifestyle
The military often moves troops to meet the needs of special operations and training. To meet these needs, the military may relocate families to another base for an extended time. This can mean moving away from extended family, changing your children’s schools, leaving behind friends, and living in a new, unfamiliar area.
Most military families move around every three years, making it difficult to feel like you have roots in any one place. Living off base and buying military real estate property is one way many soldiers try to make a new place feel more like home.
3. Finances
While military members often get paid well, it can be difficult for their spouses at home. Because they may live far away from family in a new place with non-traditional schedules, childcare is often difficult for spouses to find and maintain.
Without a steady childcare system, spouses often find it challenging to find work of their own. Additionally, Military members are often concerned about their benefits and don’t believe they will receive their expected retirement funds.
Thankfully, there are military law firms such as Stone Rose Law, that work to ensure veterans receive all of the compensation and benefits that they have earned. You can see more about these services here.
4. Emotionally Taxing
The life of a soldier is often emotionally taxing. Being away from home for long stretches of time and experiencing things the average person does not, such as violence and loss, can take its toll on military members.
For their military family, the regular uprooting of their lives and the absence of a spouse and parent often feel isolating. It can be difficult to make new friends and find a support system.
When their soldier is away on deployment, there are added worries over their safe return and extended stretches of time where household responsibilities lie squarely on their shoulders.
Military Life Is Both Rewarding and Challenging
Joining the military is a rewarding career. However, military life poses a unique set of challenges for both the soldier and their families. Some of the toughest challenges include time away from home and regular moves.
If you find yourself struggling with military life, there are often groups and confidantes within the military community to help with these struggles.
Looking for more? Check out some of our other posts to explore.
