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This study responds to the recognition that the majority of military spouses have paid employment but that neither the Department of Defense nor other organizations understand their motivations for work or their perceptions of how the military lifestyle has affected their employment. This article summarizes the input from more than a thousand military spouses who participated in interviews for this research. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to examine spouse experiences and perceptions regarding their employment. Findings indicate that the majority of military spouses believe that the military has a negative effect on their employment. In addition, the interviews revealed that these spouses work for a variety of reasons, both financial and nonpecuniary. The reasons for the military's negative effect and spouse motives for working are discussed, along with the ensuing implications for policy.

2018 Fall. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis was to understand the lived educational experiences of active duty military spouses pursuing an undergraduate degree, with a focus on the perceived opportunities and challenges related to degree completion. Data were collected from nine participants who identified as an active duty military spouse enrolled in an undergraduate program. Three research questions guided this study: What are the educational experiences of active duty military spouses pursuing an undergraduate degree? How do military spouses, as nontraditional students, manage the educational opportunities, benefits, and challenges presented to them while pursuing an undergraduate degree and what success strategies do they use to persevere? How do military spouses view the value and utility of obtaining an undergraduate degree? Data were analyzed and five themes emerged: previous educational experiences before the military, challenges of military life, opportunities of military life, success strategies, and career goals. These students demonstrated a diverse array of expressed motivations and characteristics. The essence of these military spouses was characterized by a form of altruistic resilience. The altruistic or selfless nature of their expressed motives extended beyond their own immediate educational or professional needs and ambitions. Numerous spouses noted the impetus to pursue their education was to inspire their children. Likewise, they often placed the demands of their spouse's military career, and the associated volunteer responsibilities, ahead of their own needs and desires. Yet, they persevered.

This proclamation from Governor Henry McMaster proclaims May as Military Spouse Appreciation Month.

Today@NPS ; In 1984, then President Ronald Reagan recognized the commitment and dedication that military spouses have by dedicating the Friday before Mother's Day in May as National Military Spouse Appreciation Day. This year, Military Spouse Appreciation Day was observed on Friday, May 12.

ObjectiveThe military lifestyle of extended training programs and deployments creates a need to clearly define each partner's roles and responsibilities after each departure and reunion.BackgroundPrevious researchers have discovered that the less ambiguity that occurs when an individual enters or departs the family system, the less likely the family is to experience strain or crisis. One challenging area of boundary definition is finances, as couples tend to avoid talking about money which may contribute to financial boundary ambiguity.MethodsThis study applies the contextual model of family stress to examine financial boundary ambiguity and its association with marital quality in the post‐deployment stage. This article presents a theory‐driven exploration of financial boundary ambiguity using the actor–partner interdependence model and structural equation modeling.ResultsStudy findings indicate that role flexibility, as well as clear and open communication, are related to less financial boundary ambiguity. This, in turn, is related to higher marital quality, although there are differences in the actor and partner effects between financial boundary ambiguity and marital relations.ConclusionTo more fully understand coping and resilience among military couples, the authors applied the contextual model of family stress focused on financial elements to clarify the significance of how the couples navigated their roles and interactions.ImplicationsPrograms focused on financial and relational health should focus on fostering communication around financial roles during periods of transition, such as the deployment cycle. In particular, programs should be oriented around strategies for reducing the stress that surrounds financial uncertainties and strain, in addition to teaching effective financial management.

This volume presents a fresh look at the military spouses in Shakespeare's Othello, 1 Henry IV, Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Macbeth, and Coriolanus, vital to understanding the plays themselves. By analysing the characters as military spouses, we can better understand current dynamics in modern American civilian and military culture as modern American military spouses live through the War on Terror. Shakespeare's Military Spouses and Twenty-First-Century Warfare explains what these plays have to say about the role of military families and cultural constructions of masculinity both in the texts themselves and in modern America. Concerns relevant to today's military families - domestic violence, PTSD, infertility, the treatment of queer servicemembers, war crimes, and the growing civil-military divide - pervade Shakespeare's works. These parallels to the contemporary lived experience are brought out through reference to memoirs written by modern-day military spouses, sociological studies of the American armed forces, and reports issued by the Department of Defence. Shakespeare's military spouses create a discourse that recognizes the role of the military in national defence but criticizes risky or damaging behaviours and norms, promoting the idea of a martial identity that permits military defence without the dangers of toxic masculinity. Meeting at the intersection of Shakespeare Studies, trauma studies, and military studies, this focus on military spouses is a unique and unprecedented resource for academics in these fields, as well as for groups interested in Shakespeare and theatre as a way of thinking through and responding to psychiatric issues and traumatic experiences.

"A unit's command team is the partnership among the commander, the senior noncommissioned officer (NCO), and a volunteer lead spouse. As the primary advisor, ambassador, and advocate for the spouses and families of members in the unit, finding the right person to undertake the important role of volunteer lead spouse is one of the most important decisions a commander will make. Once a spouse in the unit decides to take on the role, it can be challenging and incredibly rewarding to navigate working with military leadership, state or local government, base programs and organizations, and other military spouses to take care of families. This book captures "words of wisdom" collected by Mrs. Dawn Goldfein, spouse of the 21st Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen David L. Goldfein over their 37-year career. For command teams that seek to understand and leverage the military "spouse network" of command, lead, key, and key spouse mentors within their unit or their installation, it offers a treasure trove of useful ideas and stories"--

The increased operational tempo associated with current deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is placing considerable strain on military families. Among other sequelae of OIF and OEF deployment, findings from recent studies suggest high rates of depression in spouses of service members. This review presents a rationale for targeting depression among military spouses. It examines how stressors relating to the deployment cycle may contribute to depression in spouses, and outlines the effects of spousal depression on the mental health of service members and their children. Mental health services currently available to military spouses as well as barriers to their care are also described. Considerations for the adaptation of treatment to their unique circumstances and needs are discussed.

There are unique employment challenges for military spouses due to frequent relocation and limited access to career enhancing opportunities as a result of these relocations. While veteran employment has improved over recent years due to hiring, recruiting, and retention employment initiatives, military spouse unemployment has not been similarly impacted. There are unique differences between veterans and military spouses, but proactively treating military spouses as distinct from veterans requires knowledge on the part of the employer. Thus, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), as part of its broader employment research efforts, and with the generous financial support and collaboration of Prudential Financial, Inc., is exploring the topic of military spouse employment. This "Force Behind the Force" series includes a collection of complimentary products geared toward educating employers, hiring managers, and human resource professionals interested in hiring and retaining military spouses.

"This collection of reassuring, informative letters for military spouses offers encouraging words and practical advice about many aspects of military life. Readers choose topics and letters to read when they need guidance tailored to the military life situations they are facing, from planning a military wedding, to attending their first military ball, giving birth while a spouse is deployed, moving across country (or an ocean) on short notice, making friends in a new community, preparing to leave active duty, and many other moments in between. Author Lizann Lightfoot is a professional writer, military spouse, and mother of five. Her Open When letters are based on her experiences as a girlfriend, fiancée, and wife through two decades of her Marine husband's service, seven deployments, and several military moves. She is known in the military community as The Seasoned Spouse for sharing her experience with other military loved ones on her blog of the same name"--

This article presents results of an exploratory study of how Army military spouses with children cope with everyday stresses varies based on ethnic background. The study used data from 4,464 respondents of the 2001 Survey of Army Families IV (SAF IV). SAF IV, fielded April through July 2001, was used to reduce the confounding associated with the Iraq war. The results of five-stepwise regressions indicated that there were four common predictors and four ethnically specific predictors of how spouses cope. It was also found that the major sample (Caucasian) was most reflective of the analysis of the total sample of 4,464. Two of the primary predictors of spouse coping were the Problems Experienced Scale and the spouses' ability to keep themselves well informed about the Army. Study findings suggest that while similarities in coping exist between ethnic groups, there are also important ethnic differences in coping relevant to family policy and practice. These differences warrant further study based on a larger sample of spouses