Maintaining a strong relationship while one or both partners are deployed can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. With intentional effort, you can strengthen your bond, preserve a loving relationship, and maintain emotional closeness no matter the distance. Uniformed Services Benefit Association® (USBA®) is here with some resources tailored to military couples.
Protect Your Relationship with These Tips
- Set clear expectations—Before deployment, discuss how often you’ll communicate, how you’ll handle finances, and how to manage potential challenges. Clear agreements can reduce misunderstandings and provide a sense of stability.
- Stay connected—Schedule regular time to talk via phone, video calls, or messaging apps and send letters or care packages if you can. Share photos, play online games together, or use apps for synchronized activities. Celebrate milestones, like anniversaries or promotions, even if it’s virtual.
- Be transparent and honest—Openly share your feelings, even the tough ones. Honest communication fosters trust and prevents misunderstandings, helping you feel emotionally connected despite the distance.
- Build a support network—Stay in touch with friends, family, and military community groups for emotional support. Having others to talk to can ease stress and help you feel less isolated.
- Plan for the next reunion—Create something to look forward to by planning activities or trips you can enjoy together after deployment. These plans can help maintain hope and excitement for the future.
Get Support When You Need It
Every couple faces tough moments, and you don’t have to face them alone. Know the military has your back with numerous resources to help strengthen relationships. Military OneSource, offers free, confidential counseling, 24/7, for couples and families, plus additional resources like OurRelationship, a flexible, interactive program for military couples. It allows service members and their partners to work through relationship challenges together with evidence-based online activities, with or without a coach.
The Military and Family Life Counseling Program (MFLC), offers short-term, non-medical counseling for service members and their families, and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Programs, organizes recreational activities and events that help couples reconnect and bond. Strong Bonds for Couples is a weekend retreat designed to strengthen relationships or start the journey of healing.
Other options worth considering are your base’s chaplain services, your unit’s deployment readiness program, and online support groups like the Military Spouse Advocacy Network (MSAN), a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen military families through education, empowerment, and support.
Stay Close, Stay Strong
Navigating a relationship during deployment can be difficult, but it’s possible to maintain a loving resilient relationship. By fostering emotional connection, taking intentional actions to deepen your bond, and seeking help when you need it, you can emerge stronger.
Remember: You’re not alone, and resources are available to help you along the way.
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
Photo by Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker
Follow us on social media @USBAInsurance
Follow us on social media @USBAInsurance