When you’re in the military, you often have the chance to deploy again and again. Sometimes this isn’t a choice; sometimes it is. In either case, after two or three tours, deployment might start to get a bit old. If you have the option, you are then faced with a huge decision: do you stay in the military and deploy once again or do you get out while the gettin’ is good?

And that’s a question I can’t answer for you. The military transition to the civilian world can be just as difficult as deploying once again. In fact, my ex-military men and women find that they truly miss the military after they leave. For most people, family and other career goals eventually overcome the draw of the military, but there is always the option to remain enlisted for the rest of your working life.

If you decide to continue deploying again and again, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Who will take care of your children? If your spouse is in the military as well, this may be of especial interest, but even if he/she is not, will raising the children alone most of the time work for your spouse? Will you have enough time to spend with your children? Will there be a surrogate mother/father, to act as a male/female role model in your place?

• What will you do with your car and house? If you decide to deploy again and again, does it make sense to own these things? Do you have someone to watch over your possessions while you’re overseas? What can you take with you?

• Who will pay your bills and collect your mail? You may need to have things forwarded to you, which the post office does for up to a year if you fill out the forwarding form. However, it is also important to have someone such as a spouse, sibling, or parent be in charge of your finances from the United States end of things.

• Do you have a will? This is very important. Although writing a will may seem a bit morbid, your job is dangerous. If you don’t have a will, there could potential be a messy legal battle among loved ones if you should die. If you plan to deploy again and again, a will is necessary.

Taking care of these things doesn’t mean that deploying still doesn’t get a bit old. It’s hard to be away from friends and family. It’s also difficult to live in another country, where you may not know the language or be appreciated. After you’ve taken care of the above things, here are a few more points to consider to keep the military transition from home to overseas as fresh and exciting as possible:

• Pack well. Don’t forget to include pictures of your loved ones and keepsakes. This might seem mushy and silly while you’re packing, but these items can be very comforting if you feel homesick.

• Advertise that you’re deploying again so that your friends and family make time to say goodbye

• Give out your address to local organizations and loved ones. Getting mail can be very exciting, and sometimes places like elementary schools and churches will send care packages full of goodies!

• Buy a camera. During your stay overseas, take lots of pictures that you can send to loved ones back home. It will be kind of like they’re with you on the journey!

To deploy or not to deploy, that is the question. Only you can make that choice, but if you decide that the money and adventure is worth deploying again, use the above tips to keep deployment from feeling stale!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Career Change, Overseas Jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.