Military Family Case Study

The purpose of this assignment is to reflect on the impact of the deployment cycle on the military family. Deployment and reintegration can have a deep impact on military families, and this Case Study is asking you to think and reflect on how this experience changes, grows, or develops a family. Review these instructions, the grading criteria for the assignment as outlined in the grading rubric, and relevant content in the Module. Below are some web links to explore selected military families that you may use for your Case Study. If you have a military family who is willing to talk with you about their experiences, you are more than welcome to use them for this assignment. Blog sites: These two Navy wives have excellent blog sites where they talk about raising families while a loved one is deployed. http://theycallmedependent(dot)com/ http://deploymentdiatribes(dot)wordpress(dot)com/ CSM Chris and Lisa Faris CSM Chris Faris is the highest ranking enlisted Delta Force soldier in the military, and the Command Sergeant Major of the US Special Operations Command at MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL. He and his wife Lisa decided to open up about the difficulties they experienced in their marriage due to the high OPTEMPO environment. They spent 2012 traveling around the country talking to members of the Special Operations community with the hopes of helping other military members and their spouses. http://www(dot)cbsnews(dot)com/8301-505263_162-57474778/trouble-on-the-home-front-military-divorces-on-the-rise/ http://www(dot)npr(dot)org/2012/05/10/152426651/faris-family-fights-for-their-military-marriage http://usatoday30(dot)usatoday(dot)com/news/military/story/2012-04-24/military-marriages-special-forces-war-strain/54513768/1 Lt Nick Vogt Nick was a 2010 classmate of my son's at West Point. He was accepted to medical school, but wanted to be a soldier first. During his first deployment he was severely injured by an IED, and was clinically dead several times. One year later (Nov 2012) he has made a remarkable recovery. While you may have to extrapolate some information about the family systems, if you go to Facebook and spend some time on the site the family developed to keep friends and family involved in Nick's care (it is open to all who want to see the site) you can learn a great deal about the family, their beliefs, and how they function. http://www(dot)facebook(dot)com/pages/Nick-Vogt-Family/178392405583759 http://www(dot)huffingtonpost(dot)com/2012/11/06/nick-vogt-soldier-double-amputee-recovery_n_2082647.html http://www(dot)armytimes(dot)com/article/20121105/NEWS/211050313/Lieutenant-journeys-back-from-the-dead Instructions 1.Describe this military family as it transitions through the deployment cycle--what was done to prepare both the military member and the spouse/family members for deployment? Discuss the pre-deployment, deployment, reunion and reintegration time periods. 2.Describe the unique strengths of the family/family members that helped them cope with the impacts of deployment. 3.Describe the weaknesses or struggles of the family/family members that hindered their coping with the deployment. 4.Provide 3-4 resources that would be useful to this family. Provide a short rationale on why you chose this resource. ________________________ Content

Military family case study

 From the time an individual joins the military to the time they returned home will create life even chages. This case studyis about a veteran name Saint. He is a young man that moved from Haiti for a better life. He was living in the USA for only 3 and 1/2 years old before join the army at the age of 23. He was just married to his girlfriend of three years before starting his military training. After he got married it was hard for him to get a job and afford his education. He decided to join the army for a better life.

Pre-Deployment: Pre-deployment phase is a period where the service member goes to their initial training prior to deployment. Saint had to face a lot of issues. From being married for only a few months and only being in the country for only a few years didn’t make it The veteran states that he had a desire to approach life with vigor, based on his desire to serve the country and also take opportunity to better himself. Even though he had the support of his wife but his parents weren't approve of his decision. He went to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for 11weeks. His parents didn't support his decision that they didn’t even attend his boot camp graduation. He also spends another 7 months at Fort Lee in Virginia for training in logistics.

Deployment: After Saint completed his training, he was sent overseas to his duty station in South Korea for 1 year where he was unable to see his wife. When he came back from Korea , he lived in Colorado for two years, where his relationship with his wife was mostly via internet and phone. The Veteran states that his deployments weren't eventful until he was deployed to Iraq for 1 year. He only got to come home to his wife for 15 days. After his deployment he returned to Colorado for the remaining of his term.

Post deployment phase: Once back to the states the veteran states that he found it relatively hard to approach and sustain his previous life as a civilian. It was hard for himto talk about with me, but states that he tried to get adjusted and has never found a need to discuss or seek medical or mental health care related to his 5 years in the army. It was hard for him to get a job even with his experience from the military he could not find a job. When he saw all the hardship he had to face, he took advantage of the GI bill and attended USF and obtained a degree in Bio-medical science. While attending school he was working as a taxi driver and created a little cooking business at home. After obtaining the degree it was even harder for him to get a job. I was diagnosed with PTSD and I had to get treatment.

Reintegration and reunion: The military takes special consideration when transitioning military personnel into civilian life. He stated, “I don’t know why they seemed to care so much, but they did. I thought it was weird that I had to go to a class three times a week, in order to learn how to fit in.” He also stated: “As a young man you don’t want people to think something bad about you so you have to do your best to blend in. Coming from the military where you have a lot of discipline, and a perfectionist. I became very impatient with everyone including my wife. It was very hard for me. After having children with my wife I had to learn how to adjust better and do what is best for my kids.”

Strengths: perseverance, willingness to learn, and powers of observation

Weaknesses: survivor’s guilt, arrogance, and perfectionist

Support: wife, daughters