WHAT IS DEPLOYMENT?
What Does Deployment Mean For my family?
A Soldier's deployment for a combat operation may depend on his or her's Military Operational Specialty (MOS), or Army job. Nurses and doctors, for example, are needed to perform roles that are relatively removed from a fighting situation. However, there is no way to predict whether or not a Soldier will see combat during the course of his or her Army career.
Soldiers are occasionally asked to serve in dangerous situations. However, every Active Duty Soldier, regardless of rank, job or unit, will undergo intense, focused training to prepare for the rigors of deployment, and the specific mission they will be expected to perform once they arrive in their area of operations. Deployment length within the Army can vary from 90 days to 15-month deployment contracts.
What Services Are Available For Soldier Families?
The Army offers dozens of services to help Soldiers and their families cope with military deployment, whether through counseling programs, financial management services, or support groups. Here is a short list of services available:
Family Readiness Groups (FRG)
- An FRG serves as a direct link between families and units, providing official news of the unit, support groups and other counseling services.
Family Training Programs
- Family Training Programs help enhance deployment readiness through resilience-building training courses and other services.
Chaplains
- Installations and unit Chaplains are always available to help families in times of emotional need.
Army Community Services (ACS)
- ACS is a community center found on most Army installations that offers support programs for Soldier families.
“You always get a little worried when your child is off in a land that isn’t a very nice land. But I felt that Ryan was doing something that, if it was up to me, I’d probably be doing the same thing.”
— David, father of Staff Sergeant Ryan Yates
deployment for reserve soldiers
The deployment phase for Soldiers in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is similar to that of Active Duty Soldiers, but there are a few variations, including a phase in which the Soldier’s unit demobilizes, or returns back to reserve status.
Once activated and deployed, Army Reserve Soldiers receive the same pay as Soldiers of the same rank on Active Duty. Additional types of pay, including Incentive, Special Pay and a Family Separation Allowance, are available to those who qualify. Federal law also protects the civilian jobs of deployed Army Reserve Soldiers.
Want to experience life on an actual Army base? Take the goarmy.com virtual tour, which will give you a first-person view of the locations you will visit every day as a Soldier on post.
“I think what helped me is Ryan was very confident in himself, and he really believed in what was happening. So that helped me get through it.”
— Kathy, mother of Staff Sergeant Ryan Yates
