EFFECTS OF TRANSITIONS ON MILITARY FAMILIES

Effects of Transitions on Military Families

Effects of Transitions on Military Families

Military service is very different from civilian life. Veterans speak of the camaraderie of the “military family,” in which needs are addressed in a highly structured culture. Canadian Forces members have ready access to health care and know their rank in the organization. They often bond closely with unit members. Family relationships can be strained by moving to new postings every few years and long family separations during training and deployment. Park recently described the demographics of the modern CF.7

There are no commonly accepted definitions for the start and end of transition to civilian life, which happens at all ages after short and long periods of service. It might start early, as some recruits plan ahead. For most, transition starts when members begin to think about leaving the service or realize involuntary release is pending. Administratively, transition starts when members are told they are being medically released or formally signal their intention to leave voluntarily. Transition to civilian life can bring unexpected feelings and problems: loss of the military family and the member's identity; disorientation in an unfamiliar civilian world; a period of readjusting to being with family full-time; and difficulty finding a family physician in a new community. For those who welcome release, transition might end days after their last day in uniform. Others gradually adapt over months or years to civilian jobs, communities, and family life. Successful transition can be very difficult for those who continue to miss military life or who struggle to adjust to the civilian world when they have physical or mental health barriers.

When CF members are medically released from service as a result of chronic physical or mental medical conditions that prevent them from remaining operational, their conditions are usually well described and being treated. Medical release accounts for about one-fifth of the roughly 4000 members leaving the CF annually. Transition of members released for medical reasons is usually planned and coordinated before release by the case managers in VAC and the Department of National Defence and the CF.

Voluntary release is much more common than medical release. Canadian Forces members can leave voluntarily with 30 days' notice, which leaves little time for transition counseling. Some members who have left the CF voluntarily did not fully disclose their health issues before leaving. Some members believe their health problems will disappear after they leave military service, only to find the problems become substantial barriers in civilian life. Although members receive information about VAC services and are encouraged to attend transition interviews before release, they might give priority to other details.

Role of the family physician

In spite of the best joint efforts by the Department of National Defence, the CF, and VAC to engage members in transition health planning before release, some members might still present to civilian family physicians with health problems that prevent successful reestablishment in civilian life. In such cases, the family physician investigates, diagnoses, and treats the symptoms as usual ...