Sober Recovery recently sat down and spoke with Kristina Kaufmann on the issues facing our military and veteran families. Below is a transcript of that conversation. 

SR: What are some things that people don’t necessarily understand about being an army wife?

KK: I think that the thing that most people probably don’t realize is that when the guys know they’re deploying, they’re already kind of gone three months before—mentally—because they’re preparing. Sometimes these deployments are a year and fifteen months but you also have the three or four months train up, and so it is a process that goes far beyond just the deployment. And the way it’s worked for the past fifteen years with the operational tempo, is that as soon as their boots hit the ground, they’re just training for the next deployment.

There’s no precedent for this operational tempo and deploying the same people over and over again. And unfortunately, for some soldiers, war doesn’t end on the battlefield. They come home with their issues that affect entire families, and you have to kind of learn to live with that new reality every time they come back. So I think that’s one of the things people don’t realize. Like, yes you’re happy they’re home, but there’s a lot that comes along with that reunion. Read more

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!