It was unclear what the actual role of the Family Readiness Group (FRG) was in helping the spouses of U.S. Navy submariners (SMSs) in learning to live the submariner-family lifestyle. Submarines deploy in regular cycles regardless of world conflict. Submariners and their spouses are isolated from each other during deployments, communities of submariner spouses are smaller than other Navy communities, and spouses must acquire unique social capital to manage unique challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore how SMSs experience or perceive the FRG role in their social construction and adaptation to the SMS lifestyle. The examination was guided by Ingram, Schneider, and DeLeon's social construction and policy design theory. Data were collected using an open-ended survey distributed to 83 SMSs through an online survey platform. Data were coded for themes and subthemes using an iterative process including values and process coding. Key results were that SMSs construct themselves differently than how they are constructed by policy principals. Among SMSs, benefits and burdens perceived to be distributed by the FRG program are different than the distribution of actual benefits and burdens. These differences influenced participants' engagement with the FRG program. More research is needed to define this influence and to explore the origins of relationships that increase lifestyle capital. The implication for social change is that a better understanding of the nature of SMS lifestyles can contribute to better policy decisions and improved program design, leading to better outcomes for military spouses.

<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.

The sacrifices required of Navy families are substantial. In order to maintain readiness, the Navy must maintain high standards and retain well trained people. To retain experienced and productive service members, family life must be supported and enhanced as much as possible. This study examined deployment related stress as experienced by deployed staff of the SAS SCORPION and their spouses and the Command's responses in terms of alleviating such stresses. A qualitative research methodology was used employing an exploratory, descriptive strategy. The study made use of non-probability purposive sampling for all three samples. To ensure rich data semi-structured interviews were used for samples one and two. Data was collected by means of a workshop for sample three. Respondents from sample one and two indicated dissatisfaction in the areas of military support, crime, medical problems, military housing, crisis periods, unplanned trips, and prolonged sea service. Sample three responded by acknowledging hardships experienced by samples one and two. They agreed in principle that a deployment seminar be made compulsory for military families and an incumbent be employed as a Naval liaison officer to coordinate problems experienced by deployed members and their families. The findings of this research, indicated the need for support structures and preventative programmes. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

This qualitative study was designed and conducted to hear the voices of military spouses who chose to live separately from the active duty spouse. The study also sought to identify potential risks due to the separation and protective factors that were used to positively cope with separation. Previous studies have examined risk factors for military spouses as a result of military induced separation such as deployment. However, no study has been conducted regarding separation by choice of the military spouse and active duty service member. The theory of resiliency provided an understanding of the presence of protective factors and resiliency. Data were collected from 8 military spouses, recruited through social media, using semistructured interviews, who provided details of their lived experience of voluntary separation. The study findings indicated that participants who were voluntarily separated from their active duty spouse were unhappy with the separation. All but 1 of the participants in the study experienced separation stressors such as being stressed, overwhelmed, lonely, and sad because to the separation. Negative psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety were experienced by military spouses voluntarily separated 7 months and longer. Social support, such as family, was identified by all participants in the study as a protective factor helping them cope with the separation. The findings of the study provide other military spouses with knowledge on voluntary separation. Additionally, federal and state mental health professionals and policy makers can gain better understanding and knowledge about this population to help foster positive mental health and designed laws to assist military spouses.

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Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Joye C. Gordon / Military spouses have a complex relationship with news coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 Iraq War. Utilizing uses and gratifications, hostile media perception, and cognitive dissonance perspectives as a basis, the researcher studied military spouses' media behaviors, perceived benefits of media usage, and whether hostile media perception and cognitive dissonance were present in this convenience sample of military spouses. Thirty military spouses participated in in-depth interviews. The results showed a desire for more positive news stories and less negative news stories about Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hostile media perception and cognitive dissonance responses were noted among participants–especially with regard to the media's tracking totals of soldier and civilian casualties. Military spouses in this sample found military news sources more credible than civilian news sources. They also described using news coverage for the purposes of gaining information, surveillance, political competency and empathy.

Based on the poetry of Jehanne Dubrow, professor of English at the University of North Texas, Stateside: An opera in one act uses the mythology of Penelope and Odysseus to tell a story of a modern day military wife. David T. Little's opera Soldier Songs, Sarah Kirkland Snider's song-cycle Penelope, and Stateside are dramatic musical works influenced by the genre, instrumentation, and formal structures of popular music that broadly deal with the emotional and internal elements of military life. These three works prioritize narrative structure of the text in relation to character, and employ elements of popular music harmony, melody, and structure. The critical essay analyzes selections from Soldier Songs and Penelope and explains the compositional process of Stateside. The creative document consists of the full score of Stateside: an opera in one act.

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