Active duty military members and their families feel the effects of war and deployment, both home and away. Thousands of soldiers are deployed every year, and as tensions rise in Syria, this number may increase.
The 55,862 military personnel in Florida face the struggles of war daily. This affects thousands of people every year when these brave men and women deploy to defend the United States. These husbands, wives, children, siblings, and parents have to live without their loved ones for months at a time. Ms. Covanni Calabrese, Biology instructor, has a significant other who is an active duty pilot in the Air Force. “Not being able to see them would be the hardest. It’s been now almost five months, so that part gets really difficult. Not being able to see them as often as maybe I could before,” Calabrese said. Her significant other can be deployed for up to a year, with time back every few weeks. She experiences the difficult parts of having a loved one on the other side of the world constantly. Not only can she not see them consistently, she also faces struggle with time differences and not having overlapping free time to talk to each other. She does say, however, that she is lucky that they can communicate more compared to other loved ones she has had who got no communication opportunities when deployed. The thousands of Florida’s active service members being deployed can take a toll on their families. Many children go without their loved ones for extended periods of time which only increases in time of unrest. “The hardest part of my dad being in the Navy was that when he was deployed I didn’t have a father figure which is important for a young kid,” Quincy Williams, senior, said. Most people never have to worry about being far away from their parents for extended amounts of time. “I definitely missed my dad a lot when he was gone and I’m glad I get to spend time with him now that he’s retired,” Williams said. The soldiers also miss their families and the hardship is felt on both ends.
In times of war, deployment rates drastically increase. As the American government faces high tension in Syria the deployment rates may rise quickly. This rise will affect thousands of soldiers and their families. The struggles of military families like those of Covanni Calabrese and Quincy Williams will only get worse as families are forced to split just because their loved ones are willing to give their lives for their country.