Today's Army Spouse Experiences in Garrison

The U.S. Army provides many resources to help soldiers and their families cope with major life events associated with Army service, such as moves associated with new assignments or deployments, as well as resources that can help meet the daily needs of military families. These resources are available to all Army families, and they are administered at the local level through community-based services or Army garrisons, but families can have difficulties finding and accessing those resources. The authors examine the experiences of Army spouses in navigating the resource system to find the help they need. Because the Army community can serve an important role for Army families, the authors focus on whether these experiences vary across garrisons and according to the connections that spouses make with each other and the Army community as a whole, as well as how these connections foster better resource navigation and resource use. Through previously collected survey data and recent qualitative interviews, theauthors explore the experiences of Army spouses in navigating the resources available to them, thereby illuminating the challenges that many spouses face. The authors note that spouses typically learn about resources through word-of-mouth recommendationsfrom other Army spouses rather than through program outreach efforts, and they suggest that the Army could do more to both get the word out about available assistance resources and highlight the one-stop shopping" features of existing but underutilized resources, such as Army Community Service and Military OneSource."--Publisher's description.