Pentagon’s New Policies Aimed at Making Military More Family-Friendly by Jessica Mendoza, Christian Science Monitor
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on Thursday announced a series of new policies intended to support service members and their families, including expanding paid maternity leave and access to child care and family planning options.
“[O]ur calculation is quite simple,” Secretary Carter said. “We want our people to be able to balance two of the most solemn commitments they could ever make: a commitment to serve their country and a commitment to start and support a family.”
The initiatives – the latest out of the Pentagon’s “Force of the Future” program – bear out the military’s ongoing discussion about how to involve women more in the effort to strengthen the joint force, observers say. The new measures are also a nod to the need to be more family-friendly to compete for and retain the best talent, they note…
Comments
I think most of these measures are simply trying to compete in recruiting. I also think most of the younger troops see a pretty clear delineation between being in garrison and being downrange. In garrison, they don't see a reason to sacrifice family life. Deploy them, and they'll stay out there until the job's done, but they want to be sure someone's looking after their families until they get back.
Is it possible that the goal of satisfying service personnel's desire to be "middle class" or "improve family life" etc. is what makes winning a long term small war so difficult? Happy families and the commitment needed for armed nation building are diametrically opposed. What's next the common NATO six month tour with three week holiday in the middle on operations? Spousal interviews to see if they'd be sad if the spouse went away again and then removal from the tour?
If one was serious about building an army useful for expeditions marriage and single parenthood would be discouraged. If a military with happy families becomes the priority the goal then the National Guard & Reserves should become the central element of the army at least and dreams of sorting out the dark places with force should be shelved.