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Fabrice Supplisson and sons
“An all-volunteer military com- “The greatest challenges facing Kelli Brown, an Army spouse,
bined with an American public and our spouses today are the extended stay-at-home mom of a special-needs
government insistent on a worldwide family separations and deployments,” child, and active volunteer, agrees.
presence and a two-front war is a
recipe for long tours and little down-
time,” says Smith.
Frequent PCS moves make engaging
And then there’s the loneliness.
“It is hard not to feel isolated in a professional career and buying a
from the non-military community
when it feels like few others outside
home for a future family diffi cult.
of the American soldiers, sailors,
airmen, Marines, and military fami-
lies toe the line. It is very diffi cult says Wanda Castellaw, a Marine “Military families worldwide deal
to watch your military community Corps spouse of more than 30 years with separation and deployment on a
be wholly involved in and focused and a program analyst at SAIC Inc. daily, weekly, monthly, and even year-
on fi ghting the war on [terrorism], “We have a lot to adjust to ... as ly timeframe. Those are huge chunks
when life outside the military com- military spouses,” says Castellaw. “We of time that those families will never
munity often does not appear to move a lot and have to get used to a be able to recapture. The implication
share the same focus,” says Smith, new home. We try to follow a career is a ripple effect we will feel for gen-
adding that about one in 10 Ameri- path through those moves and help erations to come,” warns Brown.
can citizens wore a military uniform our children adjust to the changing
in World War II, but today, fewer schools. All of these challenges, how- Trickle-down challenges
than one in 200 serve. ever, are surmountable when the fam- There are big generational challenges
Closely akin to Smith’s concerns ily is together. They are much harder facing military spouses today — and
are those of another spouse. to deal with when the family is apart.” then there are the in-your-face ver-
M AY 2 0 0 8 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 5 5
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