USAG HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – Family resiliency an integral part of the Army. There are approximately 715,000 military families across the force, with approximately 112,000 in the Army.
Army 1st Sgt. Thomas Lee Jr., senior non-commissioned officer assigned to Bravo Company, 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 1st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, is very aware of how his family contributes to his military career and the sacrifices they make.
“I have been deployed without my spouse, who also is in the military,” said Lee. “It is very difficult to deal with that situation. We understand that we raised our hands, we made this commitment to the United States Army.
Planning is essential to military readiness. Deployments can be sudden, leaving little time to make arrangements for family member care. Instituting a family care plan minimizes family-related stress.
For dual-military families stress can be even higher when both military members are called to serve. To ensure single-parent and dual-military families are cared for, the Army has the Family Care Plan.
“In my family, we have great family support. Both sides of our family are more than willing to give a helping hand when we find ourselves in a dual deployment situation,” said Lee.
Besides physical care for family during a deployment, the U.S. Army also recommends deployed service members set up an allotment from their military pay to ensure their family’s financial needs are met while their service member is deployed.
“Financially, my family is taken care of. Since both of us are military members, we always have a steady income flow,” said Lee.
Sometimes, even the best plans fail.
“We have learned to be flexible, adaptable, and the other things that the military has taught us how to be, “said Lee. “We just have to persevere through those challenging times.”