Introduction
Growing
up, the only lifestyle that I know is the army life. We have traveled in lived
in many places. I have been to multiple schools, and met a great amount of
other friends and foes. I have faced separation from my parents and extended family.
The only memorable time out of all my experiences is the places and sites my
family and I have gotten the opportunity to see. There are times I feel I
cannot take the stress and extra responsibility added to my life of being the
oldest of three children when my father is away; it is this army life that has
made me into the strong and dependable person I am today.
When
civilians see or think or military families they know that they sacrifice a lot
for our country. Yet some think our lives are all great due to benefits and
pay; however we go through much more then society realizes. Being an army brat
for as long as I can remember has me drained from all the moving and
deployments. Growing up my father was an energetic, playful, family oriented guy.
After his four back to back deployments he is not the same person I knew five
years ago.
With
all the country's military engagements around the world, post-traumatic stress
disorder is becoming a major problem in the ranks (Ashbrook 2011). The military
men and women have faced ruthless combat stress,
which has lingering effects after their return home. With two major wars and
more than eight years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military
and their families feel the burden because everyone is affected. Now there are
more resources for the families, but is that enough?
During
this research, I will be presenting
discussions based in part on four articles retrieved from the college
databases. Sometimes I will support the database information with discussions
from military websites to help me develop a solution to improve my household
problems: that is having a returned soldier, my father, with symptoms of PTSD. Of course, there are other returning soldiers,
who are going through the same similar situations.
Ashbrook, T. (2011, June 30). PTSD and military families. On
Point. 30 June 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://onpoint.wbur.org/2011/06/30/ptsd-and-military-spouses.
