How Is Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan Affecting U.S. Service Members and Their Families?

Abstract

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have extended over the past decade, have put America's all-volunteer force to its most severe test since its inception in 1973. In this environment of ongoing demand for battle-ready soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, there is concern about the effects and consequences of prolonged stress on the force as a whole and on individual service members and their families. The well-being of troops and the people close to them is an issue of much importance, both because it affects military readiness and the ability of the U.S. armed forces to carry out their mission and because the nation is committed to acting on its appreciation of the sacrifices made by military families. To devise policies effective for facilitating the well-being of this community, there must first be a comprehensive understanding of the myriad issues and consequences that service members and their families may face because of deployment. Yet for much of the 2000s, this understanding was largely lacking. Recognizing the need for analysis, RAND launched a program of research around 2005, its goal being to investigate this topic and, where possible, offer policymakers informed recommendations. This article introduces this body of work—still being added to today—through descriptions of six of RAND's earliest studies on various aspects of the topic. It calls attention to the pressing policy questions; summarizes the key findings, insights into the issues, and policy implications; and, where applicable, lays out recommendations.

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have put the all-volunteer force to its most severe test since its inception in 1973. Of all of the wars the United States has fought to date, Afghanistan is the second longest, with Iraq taking a close third place—both superseded only by Vietnam. In this environment of ongoing demand for battle-ready soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, concerns are growing about the effects and consequences of prolonged stress on the force as a whole, and on individual service members and their families. Among the concerns are questions about the resilience of the all-volunteer force, potential earnings losses of activated reservists, the nature of battlefield casualties, the care service members receive if wounded, and the emotional health of the children of deployed parents.

Over the past five years, the RAND Corporation has produced a diverse body of research that offers insight into these issues. These studies were among the first to take up the theme of how deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are affecting service members and their families, and to offer policymakers informed recommendations. The earliest study, reported in Stress and Performance, was completed in 2005 (Kavanagh, 2005). It took a detailed look at how the acute stress of today's military deployments might alter the performance of service members in the theater. Activation and the Earnings of Reservists (Loughran, Klerman, and Martin, 2006) followed in 2006, describing an investigation of whether deployment led to a loss of income for reservists while away from their civilian jobs. The year 2008 saw the publication of two reports: Invisible Wounds of War (Tanielian and Jaycox, 2008), based on a comprehensive study of the psychological and cognitive injuries of deployed service members, and Deployment Experiences of Guard and Reserve Families (Castaneda et al., 2008), based on a study that probed the unique experience of families of activated guardsmen and reservists. In 2009, RAND released How Have Deployments During the War on Terrorism Affected Reenlistment? (Hosek and Martorell, 2009). This study, which included an analysis of actual reenlistment behavior and expanded on an earlier study based on focus groups and data on intentions (How Deployments Affect Service Members, Hosek, Kavanagh, and Miller, 2006), examined whether current deployments were negatively affecting reenlistment rates within the four services. “Children on the Homefront: The Experience of Children from Military Families,” published as a journal article in early 2010 (Chandra et al., 2010), reported on a study of the issues faced by children of a deployed parent while that parent is absent and after he or she returns.

These six studies sparked the development of a rich body of research that continues to grow. Some of the study results and recommendations are no longer new, but they have nonetheless laid important groundwork and set the direction for newer studies being carried out today.