Almost half of military families do not feel connected to their local civilian communities, according to a new survey by Blue Star Families.
“Military family respondents identified increasing the availability of military spouse jobs as their top recommendation for improving a sense of belonging to their local civilian community,” Blue Star Families writes in an overview.
Spouses were the group most likely to feel disconnected from their communities but tend to feel more comfortable there they longer they live there, the results indicate.
For the second year in a row, “time away from family” was families’ top quality of life concern, cited by 51 percent of service members, 52 percent of spouses and 34 percent of veterans.
This is the ninth year Blue Star Families has conducted the survey.
Airmen and their families on Family Day at Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base, Birmingham, Ala. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Bentley
Snap of the Week
Naval Academy plebes climb the Herndon Monument, a tradition symbolizing the successful completion of the midshipmen’s freshman year. The class of 2027 completed the climb in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 11 seconds. Navy photo by Stacy Godfrey
