Coming Home Revisited: Family Life and Military Deployment

Abstract: The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has involved the deployment of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, many of whom are married and have children. The experience of one military family living through a deployment in Iraq in 2011 is discussed and interpreted in light of Parse’s humanbecoming family model. The model provides a useful way for nurses, and others, to understand families, in a way that honors their values and struggles in an everchanging and unpredictable world. Included is a brief discussion on how communication technologies are changing the experience of military deployment for families.