Health of the Army Family

​ARMY FAMILY MEMBERS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE READINESS AND RETENTION OF OUR FIGHTING FORCE. Family member health and satisfaction are critical to a Service member’s plans to remain in the military. Spousal support is a good predictor of a member’s intentions of staying on active duty—up to 20 percent of spouses do not support their Service member staying on active duty.1 The health and satisfaction of Army Families today directly impacts the future fighting Force of our Nation—61 percent of Soldiers are from families who have served in the military.2 We must better understand the health needs and concerns of Army Families and take action to keep the Army strong.

What’s next?

Many programs and initiatives across the government and within communities support the Army Family. The aim of the present effort is to improve coordination among agencies with an interest in Army Family well-being by developing long-lasting partnerships and collaborative opportunities. The U.S. Army Public Health Center and partners will identify gaps in data, areas in need of additional support, and recommendations for improving the health of the Army Family across all domains.

Some known gaps and directions for the future of this initiative include:

• Injury rates for Army children

• Heat risk for Army Family members

• Air quality of Army installations

• Obesity rates of Army Family members

• Asthma rates of Army Family members

• Walkability of Army installations

• Spirituality of Army Family members

…and others!