It’s happening.
Several years ago as the drawdown of American forces in Iraq became a reality, large non-profits began discussing the inevitable turn of public attention that would come with it. With no troops deployed to high profile locations, the donations, they feared, would dry up.
Leaders in the industries that help care for military families were right to be concerned. They knew that even though the deployment might be over, military families are far from over it, and in fact, may need more help than ever.
Now, the military itself is beginning to turn away and march on.
At the beginning of the Iraq War, the Army created hundreds of new civilian jobs as part of the family readiness support assistant program. These new hires were tasked with helping military units establish family readiness programs and provide support to volunteers, spouses and military members.
In some communities, these networks of support worked brilliantly. In others, they failed miserably.
Either way, by 2015, more than half of this support staff will be gone. Nearly 200 FRSAs will be pink-slipped by next year leaving one FRSA for every 1,000 FORSCOM soldiers, Northwest Military.com reported.
The reason is simple. Combat operations are drawing down. Thousands of soldiers too are being sent packing back to civilian life. The face of the Army is changing.
But the damage done by a decade of war has gone nowhere. In fact, many may argue, families are suffering more now than during any deployment.
And they may quickly find that there will be little help.
Major commands are rushing to train volunteers to fill the void left by paid FRSA staff members. Military families will be required to again rely only on each other in many situations.
When they look outside the gate for assistance, they may find none there either.
Private nonprofit groups that service military families exploded onto the scene in force between 2001 and 2012. Now nearly 7,800 organizations have registered with the federal government to help service members, reports The New York Times.
The effort is there, but the money is not. The Times reported that the non-profits cannot keep pace with the growing demands of caring for veterans and their families.
So, where will we go when the going gets tough? Who will help us in our darkest hours?
We will.
It’s time to take back our military neighborhoods, help, reach out, love each other and be present for all of our sisters in arms. Volunteer, take a younger spouse under your wing, sit and just listen.
The rest of the nation may have moved on, but we will forever have each other’s backs.
