G.K Chesterton, an English writer once wrote in his autobiography, “the true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” Chesterton’s autobiography was published on the eve of World War II. Only in retrospect can one understand that Chesterton’s words would ring true throughout the course of history even until modern day. The United States armed forces currently operate under a strictly voluntary basis, but in an approximately thirty year time span, there was a draft of men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five to serve and protect. In the mid 1970’s, the United States military switched to an all-volunteer force. The impact of this switch is still being studied today. Once enlistment…show more content… After deployment, the emotional and behavioral responses of soldiers can range from short-term readjustment to permanent and progressing mental illness. The symptoms that parents return home with can have a long and lasting effect on the child as well as the parent. For example, when a child is glad to have their parent return home, some children of younger ages expect the parent to resume normal behavior, but soldiers who return home with PTSD or posttraumatic stress disorder have acute emotional or behavioral disabilities. In severe cases, PTSD can present itself in a dangerous way. Some soldiers return home and react in ways they would in a war zone. Science certainly reveals that the early exposure to circumstances such as these are reactions that cause fear in children can cause chronic anxiety. These circumstances can have lifelong consequences that could disrupt a child’s brain…show more content… Test scores can be utilized to show just how severe the effects of housing relocations and general disruptions. According to the U.D. Bureau of the Census in 2001, the instance that has the greatest negative effect on test scores of children are when both parents are absent and frequent household relocations. An important fact to point out is that relocation is not just specific to military families. Many civilian families move around frequently. These civilians are following job opportunities or extended family. One key difference in civilian relocations is that according to the previously mentioned census data 6% of civilian families relocate to a different country each year where the likelihood of a military relocating to a different country remains much
