Abstract:This descriptive qualitative study was designed to explore how former military members describe their preparedness and use of digital communications to reduce the feeling of social isolation while deployed to combat environments in remote locations. The problem addressed in this study was that military personnel deployed to combat locations experience feelings of social isolation which can increase the likelihood of damaged social relationships and feeling of isolation upon return. A descriptive qualitative approach was used to explore how former military members describe their use and their preparedness to use digital communications to reduce the feeling of social isolation while deployed to combat environments in remote locations. Guided by the 5-domain framework of social isolation by Wang et al. (2017), this study examined the various aspects of social isolation for deployed military personnel and mitigating factors. The research questions were designed to explore how deployed military personnel described their preparedness to use digital communications to reduce social isolation. Bruan and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis approach for qualitative data analysis was used. The data for this study were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews and using a Likert-type questionnaire. The findings were that participants were unprepared emotionally for the transition to digital communications while deployed and felt that the quality of their social connections was reduced while being deployed despite remaining connected through digital media. Through the findings, recommendations of utilizing various forms of communication, mass communication, and asynchronous communication were reached.