Army Families Federation Report on Geographically Dispersed Families 2013

Abstract: This report draws upon interviews with 11 military spouses who, with their families, had made the decision to move out of SFA and buy their own property and serve unaccompanied. In-depth interviews were conducted with the spouses and, following analysis, a number of themes were identified. This report makes the following key conclusions: Loss of identity: It was observed that participants moved out of SFA hoping to gain constancy in their children’s education, familial stability, financial benefits and progression in their own careers. However, in doing so they made themselves vulnerable to a loss of identity as members of the military community. Parenting role: Living off-base often meant that there was a temporary absence of participant’s service spouse living at home, usually during the working week. This led to some participants feeling under-resourced as though they were single parents during this time. This scenario also had erosive consequences on the family unit. Adaptive strategies: It was observed that adaptive strategies were adopted by the families. These included, buying a house near where it was hoped the serving spouse might be posted, a positive evaluation of their marital relationship, and autonomy in the new home environment. The strain on the family unit was buffered by the fact that participants recognised the choice they had made in leaving
SFA. Exclusion and stigma: Participants felt excluded from the military community and reported that communication was poor and they lacked key information during deployment. They felt that the unique stress of being military spouses was not something civilian friends could fully understand. As a consequence of both of these factors they experienced the weakened support of two vital social networks: both the military and civilian communities.