Publications

Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Helping Parents Feel Connected to the Military Community

From time to time, new service members bring their parents and/or siblings to pre-deployment events.  This is a great way to educate their families by exposing them to military culture, other military families, and to hear about the resources available to service members.

As civilians, most parents only know what they hear on the news, but they are thankful for the job service members do for our country. When a son or daughter chooses to serve and they are not from a military family, where does a parent go to understand their child’s choice?

At pre-deployment events, parents are provided with information such as healthcare and education benefits. They walk through the information tables listening to the short speeches about what each organization can provide. There are so many options for spouses, but there are not very many places a civilian parent can call to chat or ask questions.

I know personally how difficult it is for me as a civilian Volunteer to grasp the military culture and all its nuances. At a recent pre-deployment event, I partnered with a military spouse to offer the Association’s information to attendees. I learned a lot from her because she can share from a place of experience and knows what other spouses and service members are going through.
 
At the Association’s information table, I brought my laptop to demonstrate the Association’s website. I love showing people the webpages for the Spouse Scholarships and Operation Purple® Camp. The Association’s Links page made the biggest difference in my understanding of all the resources and information about military life available.

When I showed the page to a few civilian parents I heard an audible sigh of relief. There was finally a resource to help gain understanding, so they could stand strong behind their child in his or her choice to serve. Knowing where to go to learn about the military and the issues which impact their family member is priceless.

I’m personally happy to see how the vast amount of information our Association has compiled makes a real difference in the lives of civilian parents and siblings of new service members. We are grateful to all the parents of service members. They also serve at home alongside the service member’s spouse and children.