My first time on a military base, I climbed a fence and got arrested protesting nuclear weapons. Little did I know then, that military bases in the United States and across the world would become my home.
Until I met and married a dashing Marine, I was like most Americans: I had an outdated, antiquated understanding of what military service—and those who shoulder that burden—really looked like.
That’s not because civilians are unfeeling; it’s because our society has grown disconnected from today’s military and their families.
While the first moments of our marriage, as I wed my dashing Marine under a bower of roses, were beautiful and peaceful, the crash-course in military life came fast. We endured military moves that made my career nearly impossible, deployments during medical crises, and a war that has yet to end.
But I wasn’t alone. After a group of military spouses and I founded Blue Star Families, the nation’s largest chapter-based organization serving military families, we began collecting data to give voice to what we knew families were experiencing.
This year, we celebrate a decade of research. Blue Star Families’ annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey (aMFLS) has grown since its inception to be the largest and most comprehensive survey of active duty service members, veterans, and their families. Every year, the results help to mold policy and shape the conversation around making life for military families better.
Our 2018 aMFLS has found that, with one exception, the top issues for military families are all relational. Military families are most worried about the time their family members spend away from each other, the quality of life that military life affords them, economic stability, and social isolation.
Consider these statistics from the 2018 aMFLS:
- 70% of Millennial military families believe two incomes are vital to their family’s well-being.
- 69% of military family respondents indicated the current operational tempo exerts an unacceptable level of stress for a healthy work-life balance.
- 48% feel they don’t belong in their local civilian communities.
- Only 19% felt the general public is aware of the significant challenges military service places on families.
These are hard statistics to read, especially when considering that they come from the experiences of real people who live these obstacles day in and day out.
The good news? It doesn’t take marrying into the military to understand what our fighting force and their families face. It just takes extending a friendly hand and a listening ear. We call civilians who seek to support and welcome the military families in their communities Blue Star Neighbors.
Blue Star Neighbors create a bridge between civilian and military communities to help ameliorate the disconnect that exists. We work with large organizations (like USAA, Starbucks, and Facebook) and individuals (like your next door neighbor, Michelle Obama, and Yo-Yo Ma)—all who want to make life better for military families.
But the hard work doesn’t stop with Blue Star Neighbors. We rely on active-duty service members, Reserve and Guard members, retirees and other veterans and family members to share their truths with our civilian neighbors in our annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey. That way, they, along with government leaders and changemakers, can understand how to best support this community.
Will you speak up so powerful, positive change can continue? Click here to take the survey before it closes on June 14. Your military family needs you.
