According to DoW, military families move on average every two to three years, requiring military children to change their schools and support networks regularly. At Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), the Navy command responsible for sustaining and maintaining the nation’s Trident II D5LE strategic weapon system, several teammates within the command’s workforce have lived through this unique experience, as a parent and as a child.

“I deployed five times and was in and out of sea for three years at a time,” said a retired Sailor and now supporting contractor at SSP. “The experience never got easier. One of the primary challenges I faced during these times was maintaining communication with my child and coping with the sense of separation. Many military children face this challenge, but they are incredibly resilient.”

When servicemembers receive orders to move for a new assignment, they often have to uproot their home and start anew in support of the national defense mission.

“My dad was a submariner on a fast-attack submarine, which meant when he was on deployment I wouldn’t see him whatsoever,” a federal employee said at SSP. “My family typically relocated every one or two years, so by the time my dad retired from the Navy, I was already in my sixth house. In this environment, the two challenges for me were the big chunks of time I didn’t see my father at all and the difficulties in maintaining a more permanent social life.”

Military children, however, constantly show their resilience and adaptability to frequently changing environments. For example, a former Sailor and current supporting contractor at SSP pointed toward community as a key component in helping military children navigate through their parents being away on duty.

“Having a strong network of family and friends is crucial,” the former Sailor said. “Since my son is an only child, I made an effort to connect with my peers who were also on active duty. We would organize activities for our children, which helped my son build relationships with other kids his age who understood the unique challenges of having parents in the military. This sense of community was tremendously beneficial for him; and having him involved with sports provided a healthy outlet and a constructive way to channel his energy.”

Another thing she described was the difficult feeling of a parent being away from their kid for extended periods, including the challenges that come along with the separation.

“When my son was younger – around two years old – the separation was particularly tough,” she said. “It was probably more tough on me than him because he couldn't understand my absence. When I called, he would often cry for me, but not want to talk on the phone, which was heartbreaking. As my son got older, the challenges evolved. He was more independent, but he was also more aware of my absence, especially when he saw his friends' parents together at school or sports games. To help him understand my life at sea, I would give him tours of the ships I was stationed on, which allowed him to visualize where I was when I was away.”

Although military children may have to relocate frequently, it does offer them a chance to see the world with their parents, opening doors to new environments and people across the country and around the world. One of SSP’s teammates, for example, had the opportunity to live in Hawaii before swapping coasts and eventually setting roots in Virginia.

“My dad was always deployed within the U.S., so our houses weren’t always on military bases, with the exception of one of our houses in Hawaii that was located in a military-only neighborhood,” the SSP employee said. “I was homeschooled at the time, so the only friends I had were other military kids who lived in the neighborhood, who I just happened to meet while playing outside.”

While our nation’s heroes valiantly stand watch at home and abroad, their military children await their return. Though their environments may change, traveling state-to-state or country-to-country, military children press forward – just like our nation’s heroes – under incredibly difficult circumstances. For the warfighters, their children’s support serves as critical fuel, especially when they are far from home or out on the frontlines.

SSP is responsible for sustaining the strategic weapon system (SWS) on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and supporting the integration of the D5LE weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. Looking to the future, SSP is actively modernizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad through the development of the D5LE2 SWS and pioneering regional strike capabilities of the future through development of the nuclear-armed sea launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike system (CPS).