The Hill News

When a service member joins the military, it’s not just a job; it’s a family commitment to our country. And yet, we, as a nation, tend to focus almost exclusively on the service members who put themselves in harm’s way, while often forgetting about the family members they leave behind who also make tremendous sacrifices on our behalf.  These family members are affected in countless ways, and we have an obligation to do right by them.

The challenges they face are not a mystery.  If a spouse rotates to a different military installation, the entire family is uprooted and they have to create a new support structure.  Their kids have to start new schools.  The families have to identify new caregivers for their children, a new specialist if they have a family member with special needs, and sometimes a new house if they are not living on the base.

If the spouse is not in the military, then they also have to find a new job â€" often with new sta! te credentialing requirements. Given these tough economic times, it is not difficult to imagine just how great this burden is for the families of our troops.

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