Special Operations and the Impact on Children

[DadLife_Tactical]

Hello,

I’m reaching out to any former or current Air Force Special Operators who have gone through the pipeline while balancing family life. Specifically, I’d like to hear about your experiences managing the challenges of raising kids during your career. I'm a husband and father of three gathering as much info as possible before making a decision on enlisting.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in relation to your children, and how did you persevere through those? I’m particularly interested in hearing about how your children handled the long periods of time spent apart, and how you managed to stay connected.

Additionally, what were the positives and negatives you observed for your children during this time? Did your children ever resent you for the time apart, and if so, how did you navigate that? How did they adapt to the demands of your career and the lifestyle it required?

Your insights would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

 

[Gunz]

Your questions could apply to anybody in the military who has children. Any military member who is separated for extended periods from their family, not just AFSOC or SOF.

Whether you’re SF/SOF or conventional military, the impact on children will be the same.

 

[Marauder06]

I recognize that your post was AFSOC specific, and I have no expertise in that area. But if you want to know the impact a career in SOF can have on kids… here you go.

In the Shadow of JSOC • The Havok Journal

 

[Marauder06]

Here’s another one by the same author.

Humbled by the River • The Havok Journal

 

[TLDR20]

Hello,

I’m reaching out to any former or current Air Force Special Operators who have gone through the pipeline while balancing family life. Specifically, I’d like to hear about your experiences managing the challenges of raising kids during your career. I'm a husband and father of three gathering as much info as possible before making a decision on enlisting.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in relation to your children, and how did you persevere through those? I’m particularly interested in hearing about how your children handled the long periods of time spent apart, and how you managed to stay connected.

Additionally, what were the positives and negatives you observed for your children during this time? Did your children ever resent you for the time apart, and if so, how did you navigate that? How did they adapt to the demands of your career and the lifestyle it required?

Your insights would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

I did not have kids that I know of while in SOF. I am thankful for that.

 

[amlove21]

Hello,

I’m reaching out to any former or current Air Force Special Operators who have gone through the pipeline while balancing family life. Specifically, I’d like to hear about your experiences managing the challenges of raising kids during your career. I'm a husband and father of three gathering as much info as possible before making a decision on enlisting.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in relation to your children, and how did you persevere through those? I’m particularly interested in hearing about how your children handled the long periods of time spent apart, and how you managed to stay connected.

Additionally, what were the positives and negatives you observed for your children during this time? Did your children ever resent you for the time apart, and if so, how did you navigate that? How did they adapt to the demands of your career and the lifestyle it required?

Your insights would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

If you're looking for AFSOC specific information (and specifically to your point lots and lots of content about family, kids and the like) check out Ones Ready.

If you're more of a YouTube guy- here you go. Happy hunting, use the search function.