Moving and Deployment

There’s no doubt that deployment impacts family life. For military spouses, there is the decision of whether to stay on the installation with your service member or move closer to loved ones for the duration of the deployment. Whatever your family decides, there’s plenty of support for you during this transition and ways to make even stronger connections within your military community.

Before you take off for your parent’s house or go anywhere when your spouse is deployed, consider the wide range of benefits and resources available to you if you remain on the installation, such as the commissary, exchange, community support. Staying put also ensures that your children maintain their routines during this time of transition and don’t experience further disruption to school and other activities.

You might decide to move closer to family or friends to make this time of transition easier. Consider the logistics of this kind of move and let your installation know as soon as possible. Look into health care options for yourself and your family so that you remain covered after the move. Find out how to stay connected to your existing military friends and community while you’re gone.

If you’ve recently moved, a deployment can provide an opportunity to deepen your roots with your military community and take full advantage of its support and services. Explore your new location and all its amenities. Make new friends that can show you around and support you during this time of change. Military OneSource offers different kinds of relocation support and guidance to assist you. Learn more about handling deployment after a recent move.

A spouse’s deployment is the best time to reach out and develop strong personal connections in your military community. There are countless ways to make new friends and find new outlets for fun and support for your whole family. Forming strong bonds with fellow military families will strengthen your family unit and make you more resilient during deployment.