Coffee in hand, I eagerly sat down to read the results of the Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle Survey, facilitated by Blue Star Families.

Blue Star Families (BSF) is one organization that is taking it’s mission to heart. Founded in 2009, this organization strives to empower military families to thrive as they serve.

On the cusp of their 10th year, Blue Star Families has their finger on the pulse and is more committed now than ever to strengthen military families by connecting them with their neighbors – individuals and organizations – and to create vibrant communities of mutual support.

Their advocacy sector leads the market in giving military families a voice to identify the key aspects of military life and facilitate in bridging the gap between military and community members/policy makers. Military families are able to identify areas of need….and even frustration.

This past week, top military officials, community leaders from the private and nonprofit sector, military spouses and more, gathered at the American Red Cross in D.C. for the live release of the Military Family Lifestyle Survey.

The largest of its kind, this survey is one of the most important resources for understanding the current state of the military community.

Over 10,000 respondents participated in the survey, taken from April-June of last year. Active duty members, as well as veteran families, voiced their opinions on topics of military pay, PTSD and spouse employment, just to name a few.

And the results are startling!

Turns out the Top 3 Issues are:

#1 Amount of time away was the top concern for military families for the second year

This was a top concern for both active duty military and spouses. Time away? How can that be healthy on any family? Even if the active duty service member feels passionate about their mission (as mine does…and many do), and even if we spouses justify their leaving by their need to serve their country, absence of a loved one is never easy. It can have rippling effects and strain on a marriage, on the relationship between parent and child and so much more.

#2 Military Spouse Employment

Raise your hand if you are a military spouse who has hit road block after road block in pursuit of meaningful employment? Here Here! (My hand is raised too). With financial issues entering the top lifestyle stressor for the first time among military family respondents, and the need for a two-income household, it’s about time that awareness is made to the struggles of full-time employment and that flexible employment opportunities become more available. We all know what the rat wheel looks like. We go to school and receive degrees or training in a field with the hopes of climbing the ladder to success, only to have the rug pulled out every time you move. Hello rude awakening! Starting a career over in a new community becomes all the more difficult when you have other mounting responsibilities like finding a suitable house (sometimes sight unseen), finding schools for the kids and dealing with a pending deployment.

#3 Military child education and impact of deployment on children

I can attest to the accuracy of this issue. As a spouse of a currently deployed soldier, I see the impact of separation on my children. I am there when my son is screaming with night terrors asking for his dad. I am there to wipe the tears from my daughter’s cheeks when she scrapes her knee but only daddy knows how to fix the boo boo best. Separation is never easy and we have yet to see the impact of ongoing and increased deployments on our children. And think of the spouse mental health during times of deployment. It’s no wonder that resources and community are needed now more than ever before.

I was intrigued by one more finding in the survey.

Military families feel disconnected from their communities! According to the survey, 48% of military family respondents indicated that they did not feel a sense of belonging to their local civilian community. This is HUGE because we all know the importance of community and a sense of belonging when at a new duty station. Furthermore, military spouse respondents felt a greater sense of belonging to their local civilian community the longer they resided there; however, the inverse was true with regard to their military community. Military spouse respondents residing at their current location for more than two years were significantly less likely to feel a sense of belonging to their military community than those who lived there for less than two years. Read more on this topic in the Comprehensive Survey here.

Do you know what this means? It means that military spouses work in a time continuum of 2 years. With most PCS moves taking place within 2-3 years, spouses feel the need to get to a new duty station and hit the ground running, feeling a part of the community from the start.

The fix you ask? Respondents suggested increasing the availability of military spouse jobs as the top recommendation for improving a sense of belonging to their local civilian community.

Are we losing our sense of community? That’s where Spouse Connexion comes in! A place like Spouse Connexion can provide a sense of belonging, if you are looking for a place to learn about military spouses/businesses and connect with others. Resources are available and we have to connect the dots for our families!

Now, all this data is well and good, but it’s what we do with this information that matters most! Are you excited to take action? Our voice is so crucial to affecting change. If there’s one thing we need to do more of, it’s speaking up for the things that matter most to us. People are listening. Change is possible if only you take action!

I, for one, am hopeful the results of this survey will strike a chord with lawmakers to make measurable improvement to the lives of our armed forces. We serve alongside our service member and we all deserve a good quality of life. Agreed?

Share these results with all everyone you know, especially your military friends. It’s important that they know what is taking place and how it can affect their future in the government as a military family. Read Military Spouse’s Can You Find Yourself In This Picture? Why Not? below to see why you should care about these results.

Can You Find Yourself In This Picture? Why Not?

For a snapshot of the results, read the Executive Summary. Thank you Blue Star Families for providing a platform for awareness and change and thank you to the military families for speaking up on issues affecting our community.

Interested in joining Blue Star Families? You can find chapters and programs in your area here. Volunteer! Get involved! For questions about the survey results, please contact survey@bluestarfam.org.

What did you think of the survey results? What is your top concern as a military spouse? Post your comments below and share these top concerns with all your military friends!