Two long-running wars take a toll on military and their families
More than two dozen officers sat around the conference table and introduced themselves. Most were American, with a smattering of officers from NATO allies; most of the Americans were Army, with a smattering from the Marines and Air Force.
They were all mid-career officers, hand-selected to enroll in a prestigious year-long, strategic-studies program based in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. And as they went around the table, rattling off name, rank and a brief bio, I was struck by the number of deployments each had seen.
“Three tours in Afghanistan, one in Iraq.”
“Two tours in Iraq, two in Afghanistan.”
“Four times in Afghanistan, two in Iraq.”
For the past few years, journalists at the AJC have met annually with officers in the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies for an off-the-record discussion of military-press relations and related topics. When those talks began, most officers had been deployed just two or three times to a war zone.
By now, though, U.S. forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years and in Iraq for more than six years. So it’s only natural that the number of repeat deployments has grown.
Still, the numbers were startling.
Later in the conversation, I asked about the strain of those repeated deployments. The military itself is handling the pressure pretty well, they reported. There’s no sense that the institution is faltering as it did in the last years of the Vietnam era.
That was exactly the kind of answer you would expect from highly motivated professionals who believe in what they’re doing. But as in previous years, a bit of frustration and even resentment also bubbled up.
Even though they themselves may be safely home in the states and will spend the holidays with their families, the officers are in regular contact with colleagues overseas; those dual wars are a constant presence in their lives and those of their families.
And knowing firsthand the intensity, boredom, loneliness and danger of overseas service, they look around and marvel at how easily their fellow Americans go about their daily business with no thought about the sacrifices being made on their behalf.
One officer did note the personal expressions of support that he and others receive when they wear the uniform in a civilian environment. A colleague from a NATO ally piped up, saying that he was astonished to witness that phenomenon. Soldiers in his own country never get that kind of reception, he said.
Nonetheless, they said, the general level of disinterest here —from the media, from politicians and the general public — was a little hard to digest.
That frustration can be particularly strong among family members. A couple of officers noted with regret that their teenaged children had explicitly rejected a military career because they saw little sign that their fathers’ sacrifices were appreciated.
A few days after that discussion, a study by the Rand Corp. was released exploring how repeated deployments affect children in military families. In general, they reported more symptoms of anxiety, more difficulty in school and more behavior problems.
“Longer periods of parental deployment (within the past three years) were linked to greater difficulties in children’s social and emotional functioning, at least based on caregiver reports,” Rand found, recommending that “families may require more assistance in addressing their children’s needs, via school programming, mental health services, or resources that can be used in the home.”
The study was sponsored by the National Military Family Association, a nonprofit founded 40 years ago as the Military Wives Association. The group is rated A-plus by the American Institute of Philanthropy, and provides services and advocacy for military families.
It’s one way to help.
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389 comments Add your comment
RB from Gwinnett
December 22nd, 2009
11:40 am
Jay, when they say they’re frustrated with the media not giving them coverage, who do you suppose they’re talking about? Are they talking about Fox News who regularly reports from war zones and gives soldiers the voice they deserve or are they talking about you and your band of merry socialist elites?
Peadawg
December 22nd, 2009
11:41 am
Obama…atleast come through w/ ONE of your campaign promises and PLEASE bring them home!
Matilda
December 22nd, 2009
11:47 am
God bless the troops and their families. Please give generously to the Ga Vietman Vets Assn (GVVA). They’re working hard to help the families and returning soldiers get through this.
Jenifer
December 22nd, 2009
11:47 am
The old men who send our military to war should be the ones fighting.
Road Scholar
December 22nd, 2009
11:49 am
Is there a web site to be able to send our troops or prayers, gratitude, and words of assurance that their work is appreciated?
Hard Right Hook
December 22nd, 2009
12:02 pm
Our military is 100% voluntary. I think we should adopt the Israeli method; everybody of age does 2 years in a branch of the armed services. Period.
Strain? This is the 65th anniversary of the Germans breaking through the Ardennes. Talk about strain.
I do not need military counsel from Komrad Jay; I doubt he was even a cub scout.
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
12:02 pm
Remember always, those of you who advocate war for every world problem like Iran, soldiers are not the only causalties. Their families suffer as bad, if not worse. The Soldier knows what he’s doing over there at every given moment. The Soldiers family can only guess and worry.
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
12:05 pm
“I do not need military counsel from Komrad Jay; I doubt he was even a cub scout”.
That is pointless and just plain mean. It adds nothing to this thread.
Rightwing Troll
December 22nd, 2009
12:09 pm
“Our military is 100% voluntary. I think we should adopt the Israeli method; everybody of age does 2 years in a branch of the armed services. Period.”
Except for not everybody of age serves in israel. There is a whole segment of the population that is exempt from compulsory service. The Ultra Orthodox. As a matter of fact they don’t work at all, they study the Torah all thier lives and live off Israeli welfare. Not suprisingly they also are some of the biggest proponents of settlements.
So your tax dollars are going to support them, billions of your tax dollars, every year for Israels “defense”, which allows Israel to pay out the welfare.
How does that make you “conservatives” feel???
Doggone/GA
December 22nd, 2009
12:10 pm
Normal – “That is pointless and just plain mean”
Cut ‘em some slack. What else have they got?
100% AMERICAN
December 22nd, 2009
12:12 pm
THE LIBERAL COMMIE ELITISTS AND THERE MIEDIA PALS DON’T EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO THANK THESE WARRIORS!!!
YOU CAN RECONGNIZE THEM BY THERE PRIUS’S WITHOUT A YELLOW RIBBON OF SUPPORT FOR THE TROOPS!
USinUK
December 22nd, 2009
12:13 pm
“Our military is 100% voluntary. I think we should adopt the Israeli method; everybody of age does 2 years in a branch of the armed services. Period.
(snip)
I do not need military counsel from Komrad Jay; I doubt he was even a cub scout.”
you know, the truly pathetic thing is that you made a good point worth discussing in your first sentence, which was then completely invalidated by your wankerific ad hominem attack on Jay.
GreenJeans
December 22nd, 2009
12:16 pm
Amen. I feel our non-military citizenry has a clean skate…no expectations of sacrifice, just a clinical detachment from the cost and horror that is war.
If our leaders take our contry to “war” then they should exact shared sacrifice in some form from all adult citizens…tax, service, mandatory voluntary support at the VA…there are brilliant minds who can come up with ways to engage all citizens other than “oh lookie…caskets.”
From Jay’s article: “…the general level of disinterest here —from the media, from politicians and the general public — was a little hard to digest.”
Indeed. If it’s a cause worth sending our troops for, it’s worth paying for. In full.
USinUK
December 22nd, 2009
12:24 pm
GreenJeans – 12:16.
amen and well said.
Mrs. Godzilla
December 22nd, 2009
12:34 pm
Grenn Jeans
Here! Here!
Katzenjammer
December 22nd, 2009
12:35 pm
Merry Christmas to our troops and the families who stand and wait during their tours.
It’s a sad, sad day. The Rainman has died. Interestingly, the man who inspired the movie “Rainman” (Dustin Hoffman’s character) apparently had a near-death experience in the weeks before he died. He claims to have counted the number of souls in hell, and insists that they were all conservatives.
The rainman said that the number included all posthumous Republicans, and everyone above the rank of centurian in the Roman Empire. It also included all Hari Krishnas, anyone even remotely associated with Scientology, and all of the Radio City Rockettes.
So it looks like liberal democrats are all saints, just as we figured. Ah, it’s gonna be great, being in heaven, making fun of the devil people, and pretending like we’re going to let them drink the sweat off our balls when they start crying like little girlie-trash about being thirsty in hell.
Doggone/GA
December 22nd, 2009
12:36 pm
Katzenjammer – not even remotely amusing.
getalife
December 22nd, 2009
12:42 pm
“I think if they introduced drug testing to the Afghan army we would lose probably three-quarters to maybe 80, 85 percent of the army,” says one U.S. soldier.
One blue dog switched parties and the gop are challenging the mandate saying it is unconstitutional.
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
12:43 pm
Katzenjammer
Merry Christmas…
Peadawg
December 22nd, 2009
12:43 pm
Wow, someone insulted Republicans and actually went too far for Doggone.
Peadawg
December 22nd, 2009
12:46 pm
Katzenjammer,
Bless your heart….
Merry Christmas(not Xmas, not holidays) and a Happy new Year to all! If I offended anyone by not being pc…o well.
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
12:48 pm
Peadawg…and a Happy Mithra to you, too…
Mrs. Godzilla
December 22nd, 2009
12:49 pm
some back story on the wars…..
The Man Who Conned The Pentagon
http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-man-who-conned-the-pentagon-dennis-montgomery/index.html
Rachel Maddow has done some good work on this as well….
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
12:53 pm
Peadawg,
And of course, you can show where anyone on this blog has ever been offended by someone wishing everyone a Merry Christmas – why keep perpetrating such nonsense?
Doggone/GA
December 22nd, 2009
12:54 pm
“someone insulted Republicans ”
sorry to burst your bubble, but it was using the “Rainman’s” memory to make a stupid joke that I object to.
Bored of Gore'd
December 22nd, 2009
12:54 pm
So the old men who start wars should be fighting them instead of young people? Does that mean the old people who get can sick or retire can pay for themselves instead of young people, as social security makes us do now?
Doggone/GA
December 22nd, 2009
12:54 pm
“why keep perpetrating such nonsense?”
Add that to the list of “all they’ve got”
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
12:56 pm
Doggone,
For real.
Innocent Bystander
December 22nd, 2009
12:56 pm
My goodness!
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
12:57 pm
Green Jeans,
I’ll throw in my polite ballet clap to you as well.
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
12:57 pm
I think we should have a war tax on every single purchase we make.
Jenifer
December 22nd, 2009
12:58 pm
Mrs. G,
Rachel Maddow rocks!
Innocent Bystander
December 22nd, 2009
12:59 pm
I second that Bosch. Or take the unemployed and teach them to make the things we need for the military. Kinda like the women of WWII
Outhouse Go-Kart
December 22nd, 2009
1:00 pm
Since I hated the cub scouts, enlisting in the armed services was never a contemplation. Armed services is voluntary so 6 tours or 16 tours is no matter. These ladies/gentlemen signed up, and thanks to them for doing so, of their own valition.
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
1:00 pm
Innocent Bystander,
Or both.
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
1:01 pm
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
12:57 pm
I think we should have a war tax on every single purchase we make.
I wholeheartedly agree…it will get the troops home faster!
Peadawg
December 22nd, 2009
1:01 pm
I wasn’t trying to “perpetrate” anything. Thanks. I can see we have a Scrooge in the house…Jim Carey played your character very well!!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 22nd, 2009
1:02 pm
So let’s bomb the savages back to the stone age, er, back to the 9th century, uh, um, whatever, and be done with it.
duh
Outhouse Go-Kart
December 22nd, 2009
1:02 pm
“I think we should have a war tax on every single purchase we make.”
We do…its called Federal Income tax. Then there are those of course who pay nothing…the bums who refuse to get a job and the “lowlies” who make so little that our illustrious capitol hill toiletbowl dwellers insist their constituency be allowed to pay nothing.
Innocent Bystander
December 22nd, 2009
1:04 pm
Both would be good!
Hard Right Hook
December 22nd, 2009
1:04 pm
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
12:05 pm
“I do not need military counsel from Komrad Jay; I doubt he was even a cub scout”.
That is pointless and just plain mean. It adds nothing to this thread.
So, it is safe to conclude you take financial advice from your car mechanic, right?
And, I dare conclude, you weren’t a cub scout either.
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
1:05 pm
Peadawg,
Nope, no Scrooge here – just tired of seeing people spazz over saying or writing “Merry Christmas” is someone not PC.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 22nd, 2009
1:06 pm
(CBS/AP) Authorities said Monday it appeared actress Brittany Murphy died of natural causes after becoming ill with flulike symptoms in the days before she collapsed in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home.
Snuffed!
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
1:07 pm
No, Outhouse…a war tax on top of the income tax. feel the pain, make a sacrifice, what’s one six pack less in the major scheme of things…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 22nd, 2009
1:07 pm
ATLANTA — Karen Handel announced Tuesday she is stepping down as Secretary of State to concentrate on her run for governor.
Maybe the new Repug will investigate ACORN.
duh
Bosch
December 22nd, 2009
1:08 pm
Outhouse,
I think it should be a separate tax – for every thing we buy from gas to a stick of gum – that way everyone owns a piece of it and has to think about it every time we buy something – everybody – and of course, it doesn’t add to the deficit or we have to borrow from China to do it – If it’s so important to our country and to our safety then we all need to pay. Us, not China.
Mr Right
December 22nd, 2009
1:08 pm
Rachel Maddow has done some good work on this as well….
She’s a joke mostly, who can believe anything she says, she’s so biased. She is a couple of notches above Olberman though.
USinUK
December 22nd, 2009
1:08 pm
“We do…its called Federal Income tax”
we have an income tax on purchases??? wow. that’ll be news to the IRS
Normal
December 22nd, 2009
1:09 pm
And, I dare conclude, you weren’t a cub scout either.
And I dare say your right hook ain’t that hard…
Outhouse Go-Kart
December 22nd, 2009
1:09 pm
We have the Federal Income tax to handle the cost of things. If the govt wasnt chock full of employee pilferage incidents, fraud and stupidity there would probably be enough $$$ for a tax cut.