{"id":41528,"date":"2017-11-16T21:40:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T21:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/16\/survey-family-separation-concerns-top-pay-and-benefits-as-key-issue-for-troops-spouses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:36:17","slug":"survey-family-separation-concerns-top-pay-and-benefits-as-key-issue-for-troops-spouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/spouse\/2017\/11\/16\/survey-family-separation-concerns-top-pay-and-benefits-as-key-issue-for-troops-spouses\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey: Family separation concerns top pay and benefits as key issue for troops, spouses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Troops and their families are more concerned about time apart, and what that separation may mean for their children, than they are about pay and benefits, according to a new survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a change from past findings by the Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle Survey: Pay and benefits had been the top concern every year since 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of this year\u2019s participants, 46 percent of spouses and 47 percent of active-duty service members expressed concerns about time apart. Four in 10 of those respondents said they\u2019d experienced six or more months of family separation in the previous 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results \u201cindicate service members and their families are experiencing substantial difficulties balancing work and family,\u201d according to the report\u2019s analysis. \u201cIt is time for an updated understanding of military family support needs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, 7,891 people participated in the survey<\/a>, including military spouses, active-duty service members, veterans, and their immediate family members. Of those participants, 57 percent were active-duty spouses and 7 percent were active-duty service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was conducted by Blue Star Families in collaboration with Syracuse University\u2019s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and was accessed online in April and May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Department of Defense must do a better job of incorporating military families into its current thinking and future planning,\u201d the survey analysts noted in the report. \u201cThe all-volunteer force was not designed for our current security environment or the modern service member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cService members may be single parents, have professional spouses, or have children with special needs. Yet, many aspects of the military\u2019s personnel and family support policies remain based on an outdated, draft-based military.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018WE KNOW OUR FAMILIES ARE CHANGING\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe success in the future of the all-volunteer force is not guaranteed,\u201d said Anthony Kurta, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, at a panel discussion discussing the survey held at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know our families are changing,\u201d he said, noting that family structures have changed over the last 40 or 50 years. \u201cWe also have to adapt to the nature of the threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are some warning signs. This survey every year points to those areas we have to work at to ensure that 20 years from now we can still field an all-volunteer force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time away from families is one example; Kurta noted reports that sailors in the western Pacific were facing 100-hour work weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no time with your family in a 100-hour work week,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of this is the challenge that we\u2019re under. The force that we have generally is getting smaller and demands are rising. The fact is that people are just being tasked to do more in their time in their service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted one dark cloud on the horizon, according to the survey: Those currently serving are less likely to recommend military service to their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SURVEY SPECS<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While military pay is one factor military families examine when deciding whether to stay or leave the military, it wasn\u2019t the central concern this year, researchers noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the service members who participated in the survey, apart from retirement or separation because of medical reasons, 22 percent said they plan to leave the military within the next two years. Their top reasons for leaving the service were related to quality-of life-concerns: 30 percent cited concerns about the impact of military service on their families, and 25 percent said the military lifestyle doesn\u2019t allow them enough time with their family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time in the eight-year history of the survey, military child education and the impact of deployment on children ranked among the top five concerns for both service members and military spouses. two-thirds of families said they couldn\u2019t reliably find the child care they need, and 56 percent indicated the Defense Department doesn\u2019t provide enough support to help children cope with the challenges of military life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was conducted primarily through national military and veteran service organizations, who spread the word to their own members and communities. It was not a random sampling and \u201ccannot necessarily be considered a direct representation of the entire military family population,\u201d the report\u2019s authors noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n