<p>In addition to all our soldiers and officers who do military services abroad there are a lot of people who are affected by their choice to contribute, namely their next of kin. This report deals only with those who are next of kin to those who perform service abroad. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relatives' need for emotional and social support as well as practical and economical support. The main question is What kind of practical/economical and emotional/social support do close relatives require when a relative does military service abroad? The method used in this paper is a qualitative research interview. Interviews have been made with four women, who are next of kin to soldiers and officers who are or have been abroad for military services during the last two years. The result of this study is that all respondents have a need for emotional / social support linked to their partner’s deployment abroad; however, people require different types of support. Regarding practical / financial support the informants' needs differ, this is due to their different living situations.</p>

In addition to all our soldiers and officers who do military services abroad there are a lot of people who are affected by their choice to contribute, namely their next of kin. This report deals only with those who are next of kin to those who perform service abroad. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relatives' need for emotional and social support as well as practical and economical support. The main question is What kind of practical/economical and emotional/social support do close relatives require when a relative does military service abroad? The method used in this paper is a qualitative research interview. Interviews have been made with four women, who are next of kin to soldiers and officers who are or have been abroad for military services during the last two years. The result of this study is that all respondents have a need for emotional / social support linked to their partner’s deployment abroad; however, people require different types of support. Regarding practical / financial support the informants' needs differ, this is due to their different living situations.