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Comments:


I’m dreading a deployment if I have gone back to work, because my profession requires attendance at evening meetings.


As a working partner, when my partner is deployed it becomes massively difficult to juggle childcare and work without his family support.


I was alone with a baby miles away from home, no support no help nothing. I barely left the house for 6 months


When my husband was deployed for 9 months I had to give up my job so that I could look after our children - I worked late nights and weekends so there was no possibility of me sourcing childcare for my 3 children and my family were too far away to help out. It stopped my career and then had to move on his return so there was no chance of me returning to my old job to pick up where I left off. I had been headhunted for fast track career progression but because of my husband’s deployment and the lack of childcare available I had to give it all up. Frustrating just doesn’t even come close to how I felt.


Because of a short notice deployment and my husband’s usual last minute courses I had to cancel going on an evening course as I could not find childcare


Out of school club on base only opens between 7:30 - 17:30. I have an hour commute each way which means when my partner is deployed I have to pay additional childcare costs.


As a female serving with a civilian husband it will be hard when I do deploy, my husband has his own career and we will have to negotiate his hours with his employer to fit round childcare as he is a shift worker. Any legislation that would ensure civilian employers support the other parent with childcare arrangements whilst their spouse is away would be good. E.g. allowing them to work 9-5 for example to support the childcare arrangements. Having a deployed partner with no family support means that as the ‘left at home parent’ you get no break whilst they are away....more help with childcare needs to be given to forces families....


When I deployed to Afghan as a single parent, I had to send my daughter to her dad in a different county. She is of school age and has changed schools 3 times in 2 years because of postings and detachments and this has now caused emotional and behavioural problems, for which her school are getting help from the council.


We are both serving so balancing deployments but also courses/work visits can get complicated


We have been lucky to have been deployed at separate times however, as explained previously, on this occasion it has caused problems due to me not working at the unit where our childcare and school are located.


As a direct result of a 13 month absence from my parent unit for pre-deployment and op deployment, my spouse had to give up a career in nursing.


www.raf-ff.org.uk


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