Deployment comes in many forms and serves many purposes. Any separation from loved ones is an emotionally difficult time for all concerned, especially when children are involved – but separation is now a modern day military reality. Those unfamiliar with the military may not understand the nuances of short term versus long-term deployments. Those that do rarely gain exposure to successful strategies for handling deployments when family, such as young children, disabled or other special circumstances, are also involved. As a result, military families must learn to adapt to long-distance relationships, as well as how to adjust and positively cope with separations for various training deployments and real-life exercises. The Deployment Toolkit: Military Families and Solutions for a Successful Long-Distance Relationship covers the basic challenges military families may face before, during, and after deployment.

At times the added stresses of military life often make things seem overwhelming. Luckily, the military is a huge family with scores of support groups, both official and unofficial, to help families prepare for separation and the stresses associated with the long absences. Janelle Moore and Don Philpott provide an easily accessible self-help guide to dealing with and understanding deployment. The authors identify the different types of separations and deployments, emotional adjustments involved, and resources available to families in the military.

The Deployment Toolkit is essential reading for those families who need a guide through the modern day reality of military deployment and separation.