Lessons Learned Inside the Pentagon

Abstract

The hallmark of America’s armed forces is the ability to recruit and retain the best men and women—service members needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country (Presidential Study Directive 9, 2001). In 2001, the 9/11 terrorist attacks shocked the nation, considerably altering generational agendas and ideologies, and shattering the sense of insulation and invulnerability. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a roadmap for future generations of military community and family policy leaders, who, when faced with conflicts, can meet goals related to the recruitment, retention, morale, and operational readiness of the United States Armed Forces by analyzing the Department of Defense’s (DoD) challenges and responses to 16+ years of post-9/11 deployments. Within the chapter, we concentrate on describing information and operational flows within DoD. The development of an empirically informed understanding of military families’ critical impact on service members’ readiness and their resilience is part of the Department’s mission. And, with this knowledge, DoD has the responsibility to establish programs and policies that support military family members’ resilience and well-being as a matter of national security.