The Employment Situation of Military Spouses

This chapter examines military spouse employment, the business case for hiring military spouses, and barriers to their employment. The unemployment rate among military spouses remains high compared to civilian peers even though their educational attainment, pursuit of employment, volunteerism, and engagement in related professional development activities tends to support a strong business case for hiring them. Also, there is no evidence to suggest that military affiliation negatively impacts success or ability to perform in the workplace. Thus, there is a compelling business case to hire military spouses, but they are often overlooked as human capital resources. This chapter will help human resource professionals learn more about the value of military spouse job candidates and the issues that impact their employment across the human resource life cycle from recruitment to retention.

Military Spouses’ Perceptions of Suicide in the Military Spouse Community

Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Defense shows military spouse suicide to be an imminent concern for the U.S. military. Currently, there is an absence of research in the counseling profession related to suicide prevention and intervention for this population. Therefore, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of military spouses regarding suicide within their community. Ten military spouses were interviewed twice and were asked to provide written responses to follow-up questions. Six main themes emerged: (a) loss of control, (b) loss of identity, (c) fear of seeking mental health services, (d) difficulty accessing mental health services, (e) the military spouse community as a protective factor, and (f) desire for better communication about available mental health resources. Implications for practicing counselors and military leadership in helping to prevent military spouse suicide as well as recommendations for future research regarding ways to support military spouse mental health and prevent suicide in this community are included.

Building resilience in US military families: why it matters

Service members and their families have endured significant stressors over the past 19 years in support of the nation’s engagement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘Resilience’ is the term most commonly used to describe the military spouse and military-connected child. However, due to a paucity of research on military families, little is known about the impact of spousal/parental military service on the military family. The ability of the healthcare provider is critical to ensuring the success of the military spouse and military-connected child. Providers can support the physical and psychological health needs of military families through (1) identification of military family members in clinical practice and (2) providing culturally competent care that correlates the unique lifestyle and physical and psychological health exposures associated with spousal/parental military service. Historically, in the United States, there has been a proud legacy of generational military service in families—upwards of 80% of new recruits have a family member who has served in the military. The leading factor associated with retention of the service member on Active Duty or in the Reserve or National Guard is the satisfaction of the at-home spouse. Disenfranchising the military spouse and lack of services and support for military-connected children could create a gap in meeting recruitment goals creating a threat to national security in the United States.

A Critical Review of Barriers to United States Military Spouse Education and Employment

In the United States, there are over one million military spouses. Frequent geographical relocations, the psychological stress and anxiety associated with spousal deployments, and supporting their children as the only parent while their active duty spouse is away leave military spouses disproportionately accountable for all family obligations. Ultimately, these inequities create barriers for military spouses and their employment and educational pursuits. Despite similarities in lifestyle to active duty service members, military spouses are not categorized as an at-risk population and have not been studied in depth. This chapter utilized the source, survey, synthesize method to address the literature gap surrounding the barriers to military spouse education and employment. Findings from the existing literature were synthesized to present the key themes for studies that investigated the military culture, barriers to military spouses' pursuits of higher education, employment, and career advancement and earnings.

Strategies Used by Military Spouse Small Businesses During a Military Relocation

There are over 615,000 women military spouses and 1,786 known military spouse business owners who relocate every 2 to 3 years to follow their active duty spouse. The research problem addressed was the lack of strategies military spouse small business owners used to sustain their business during a mandatory military relocation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies 5 women military spouse small business owners, located at military installations in the Midlands and Pee Dee regions of South Carolina, used to sustain their businesses during a relocation. The sampling method used was census sampling. The systems theory was the conceptual framework of this research supported by sustainability, strategic management, and event system theories. In-depth semistructured interviews and archival documentations were the chosen methods of data collection. A CADQAS software was used to organize the data and content analysis method was to analyze the data gathered from the interviews and documents. The emergent themes were small businesses, work-life balance, business finance, barrier to business ownership, initiatives to support military spouses, and personal finances quality of life.

A Study on Military Spouse Licensure Portability in Legislation and Practice

Military spouses face employment obstacles such as relocations, leading to un- or underemployment. The Department of Defense (DoD) proposed three best practice guidelines for transfer of licenses for military spouses. In this study, we (a) reviewed state legislation on military spouse licensure portability and identified how states addressed DoD best practices, and (b) interviewed staff and reviewed websites at six occupational boards of each state. Most states have implemented at least two guidelines, while occupational boards have implemented only some of the legislated guidelines. Thirty-seven percent of boards in states with legislation supporting expedited applications for military spouses did not offer them, and not all accommodations are publicly displayed. Financial counselors should recommend military spouses call regulatory offices about accommodations.