Military families and military-to-civilian transition: the current state of play

Abstract: Military-to-civilian transition is a complex phenomenon; there is no consensus concerning the determinants of success, the mechanisms that support transition, and when transition begins and ends. Theories on military-to-civilian transition mainly conceptualise the process as unfolding through a linear, phase-based process and explore a myriad of factors that are thought to have an impact, whether positive or negative, on the transition process and outcomes for the service person. No single theoretical approach to military-to-civilian transition is dominant. Families have been noted to share responsibility in the veteran’s transition and can support the transition of serving members in a variety of instrumental and emotional ways. In her testimony to the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Dr Deborah Norris summarised the interdependence between the transition of the service person and their family’s transition: ‘If the family is struggling, the veteran will as well, and this, of course, would be a significant barrier to health and well-being through the military to civilian transition’. The experiences of families through transition have typically been analysed with respect to their role in supporting the veteran through the process, not how families, in their own right, experience the transition. Models of transition based on systems theory account for the interdependence between veteran transition and family transition, while bringing into view the unique standpoints, needs and characteristics of families as independent units of analysis. It is time that families are more fully integrated into military-to-civilian transition theories, frameworks, policies and programmes, a step that may reveal the complexity of transitioning family systems, both in relation to interdependence with and independence from the veteran’s transition experiences.