Operation Military Family: How Military Couples are Fighting to Preserve their Marriages

Finally, there is a wonderful book that I can fully recommend to military families that can and will promote both spiritual and emotional health! Michael J.R. Schindler has complied what amounts to a basic literary lifeboat for those facing issues that are sometimes unique only to those in the military - like deployment and family separations. "Operation Military Family" is built on sound advice and principles and offers not just lip service, or superficial advice, but actually delivers something of great value. Words like "impressive" and "informative" come to mind when telling others about this book. The subtitle of this book tells of a much deeper goal and what this author is gifting to his readers - "How To Strengthen Your Military Marriage and Save Your Family". This book is a must have for all military families. It contains a treasure chest of information on organizations within the military and outside of it where families get help, assistance or information to help them selves. The book presents some good sound advice. As a minister who has been dealing with military and ex-military families for 3 decades, I strongly urge them to buy and keep a copy of this book in their home. This book receives the MWSA's highest book rating of Five Stars - and more importantly - my personal stamp of approval!

The military life has a certain appeal to those seeking adventure, excitement, new worlds to explore, and that sense of belonging of esprit de corps. That is the idealistic goal of men and women who join to serve as soldiers, sailors, and airmen but the reality is quite different when you add a spouse and a family. Long periods of separation, brief homecomings, and the uncertainties associated with being involved in armed conflicts all take their toll on even the strongest marriages. How does anyone's marriage survive in today's rapid deployment military life? Communication, commitment, and hard work are the key to any relationship and especially important in the military. Today's armed forces are not the same as when our parents and grandparents served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The military's attitude toward families once was, "if we wanted you to have a family, we would have issued you one!" Those days are long gone and senior leadership recognizes today that Strong Marriages + Strong Families = A Strong Military (Member). The Department of Defense has a system of support in place for service members and their families that provide counseling and support for the issues unique to the service lifestyle. Each branch has multiple avenues of support groups and counseling services to deal with a variety of issues facing deployed and reunited families. They do care and they do want their troops and families supported and they do it very well. What the military does not do well is market their support information and networks. Schindler's book, Operation Military Family: How to Strengthen Your Military Marriage and Save Your Family provides a guide that puts resources at your finger tips. It is an insightful book listing services and support that are available to all branches of the military. More than a handbook, Operation Military Family: How to Strengthen Your Military Marriage and Save Your Family presents the emotional and physical struggles of several military couples as they prepare for deployment, are separated by deployment, and the reunification process of the couples and families upon return. Schindler's work presents vignettes of the raw emotions and the internal struggles each marriage dealt with through the process as these couples strengthened their marriages despite the odds. As an editor and literary coach, it is not often that I get the opportunity to work with an author whose message is positive and potentially life changing. Schindler's work engages the reader in the subject from the start and keeps them hooked, reading for information and insight presented in a relaxed, non-confrontational, supportive format. Operation Military Family: How to Strengthen Your Military Marriage and Save Your Family is a "must read" as well as an invaluable "at your fingertips" resource for chaplains, counselors, commanders and others who provide support to military members and their families. Poignantly written with excellent insight