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Thank you to @alyson1drlnd for spurring the thread and countless others like @MaggieCaroline1 , @DruRho @AWarriorScholar and others for their insights while I was writing the article this thread previews https://twitter.com/alyson1drlnd/status/1346610742917664768
How is our current system structured? It’s built around a planning assumption that every Army family is a single-income family.
How do we know this? Well, a few ways.
How do we know this? Well, a few ways.
First, the PCS cycle. No civilian career maps with a military PCS cycle. Every PCS will force a change in a civilian spouses’ career timeline. Most (according to the Chamber of Commerce Foundation) will force a spouse to lose 4-6 month of work… every PCS.
Second, the enormous amount of “volunteer” work EXPECTED of spouses. An FRG program is required of every company-level commander, but expected to be filled out with unpaid family members.
Sure, uniformed members can be tasked to perform the required functions of the FRG, but this not only muddles the intent of an FRG, but adds more duties to an Army that KNOWS we have more requirements and additional duties than we have time to do them. https://warontherocks.com/2015/03/lying-to-ourselves-the-demise-of-military-integrity/
So what’s the problem? If the commander and a sufficient number of Soldiers are married Soldiers in a single-income families, the system “works.” The FRG is well-staffed by excited volunteers and they do great things for a unit. Great, but completely unpaid things.
BUT, and here’s the problem, this 1950s Army-Utopia doesn’t exist. The majority of officers (60%) have working spouses. For women in the service, their spouses nearly ALL work or are full time students.
So when the Army PCSs a Soldier (and hence their family) nearly 60% of the force loses significant income because on average the spouse won’t ANY employment for 4-6 months
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Military%20Spouses%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Military%20Spouses%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf
Many (over 70%) are underemployed based on their education and experience levels. Many having to settle for part-time work when they'd prefer full-time and 63% in positions that are a step DOWN from previous employment.
This figure can be higher for professionals who require license-transfers (as @alyson1drlnd mentioned), but other factors bake in more time out of work. Like daycare availability (good luck job hunting or starting work during the 3-9 month waiting period) or simply location
It isn’t a revelation to anyone that most operational Army posts are in locations where real estate is cheap. And there simply aren’t the same opportunities in outside Fort Polk LA or in Lawton, Oklahoma as there are in cities like Atlanta or Charlotte.
What does this gap in employment translate to? Well, studies that looked at the effects of work gaps due to pregnancy provide a clue.
Studies have shown that the REAL effect of a gap in employment is typically 4-5 times the loss in income. https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2019/01/14/thinking-about-a-career-break-heres-why-you-should-consider-flexwork-instead/?sh=29e684ee2ace
Studies have shown that the REAL effect of a gap in employment is typically 4-5 times the loss in income. https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2019/01/14/thinking-about-a-career-break-heres-why-you-should-consider-flexwork-instead/?sh=29e684ee2ace
This factors in the loss of an actual paycheck, but also loss of savings and investments, employee benefits like 401k matching, and decreased future salaries due to skill atrophy/future negotiations. It’s a stiff hit.
That means, if you make $50k a year (around the national average), you could really be losing $125k every PCS for 6 months off work… If you get sent to a location where there isn’t a job in your field, you could lose years of income.
If you looked at this hypothetical spouse, and estimated the real cost of their parallel service, it would be between $400k to $1.2 million over the course of their servicemember’s first 10 years of service. (more about that in @War_Room_Eds soon)
So finding work in your field can be a long, difficult, and EXPENSIVE process. Self-employed spouses are at a disadvantage too. While the PCS process may be smoother since hiring/transferring isn’t an issue, self-employed careers rely on building a professional network.
It’s hard for, say, a professional photographer, to rebuild a customer base every 2-3 years.
It’s so difficult for military spouses, 8 in 10 military spouses report that difficulty in finding employment was among the TOP reasons they discussed leaving the Army with their servicemember.
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Military%20Spouses%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Military%20Spouses%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf
Since the demographics of the Army are changing and the rise of dual-income families creates immense difficulties, we need to rethink our structures.
I propose one step in my forthcoming @War_Room_Eds article, but we examine the issue using our #PeopleFirst lens
I propose one step in my forthcoming @War_Room_Eds article, but we examine the issue using our #PeopleFirst lens
By understanding hour our promotion, retention, PME, and other structures impact Army FAMILIES' decisions to stay or go, we can focus on providing the level of support the Army Family Covenant promises.
Importantly, we can also retain the best and brightest.
Our future wars will require diverse and intelligent warfighters.
Our future wars will require diverse and intelligent warfighters.
Structures that only “work” for a small subset of the population (narrowly 1950s stereotype, single-income families) make our Army weaker. https://twitter.com/GStrategerist/status/1344296553041825797?s=20
Thank you to @alyson1drlnd for spurring the thread and countless others like @MaggieCaroline1 , @DruRho @AWarriorScholar and others for their insights while I was writing the article this thread previews
