Australian military personnel perspectives on family, service, and deployment: An analysis of open-ended survey data

LAY SUMMARY Most research on military family health has involved talking to spouses, but what do personnel think? Personnel may identify different issues that have not had the attention of armed forces. This study used “Any other comments?” question in a survey get their thoughts. Australian Defence Force regular and reserve who were army, navy, or air force completed survey. There 264 talked about families, key views identified from responses. These included challenge living away families for service reasons feeling “talk, action” work balance. Responses revealed non-family-friendly practices affected families. They also caused leave altogether. Armed forces should match with policies. shows how open-ended-comment questions surveys are useful give chance say.