How do you tell your civilian friends and family what deployment is really like? Thanks to the powerhouse spouses behind Legacy Magazine, you might not have to actually tell them at all. A new video they've produced, "'Deployment' Is Not a Casual Word," might do the work for you.
Inspired by a feature that ran in their magazine, the mini-documentary is only five minutes long, but packs powerful insight into what deployment is really like.
From the opening scene of a daddy kissing his baby goodbye to listening to the first-hand accounts of spouses who are living and have lived deployments, you'll find yourself tearing up and nodding in solidarity all at the same time.
The video is beautifully done with a mix of interviews, photos and videos that not just tell the story of deployment but also offer helpful advice for those friends and family you've been trying to guide. For example, "do not say, 'I don't know how you do it,'" one spouse says in the film. "Instead say, 'Can I help you with something.'"
Another spouse shared, "If you see a military wife and she seems like the strongest person in the world, I promise you there is some struggle there."
Preach.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Legacy Magazine, Abi Ray, explained the impetus of the video in an email: "Our hope for this video is that it raises awareness, encourages conversation and shines a necessary light on the military family experience so that our nation has a more clear, collective understanding of deployment and what it truly means for those with service member ties so it's not as hard to talk about. As a military spouse myself, this is the video I wish I was able to show my family and friends many years ago."
November is the month of the military family. We can't think of a better way to shine a light on what life with a service member is really like than this incredible portrayal of deployment.
Deployment Is Not a Casual Word
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