6 Genius Home & Personal Safety Tips During Deployment

Deployments are stinky and they’re stressful. And with all that stink and stress there’s real danger – for the servicemember and for their family left behind. While the home front is certainly no equal of the battlefront, service families are left with additional vulnerabilities in the absence of their loved ones. Here are just a few secrets to help you hold down your fort during deployment. 1. Put your spouse’s car in the garage or at least move it around. During one TDY or deployment, who’s keeping track anymore, my sister’s neighbors reported to her that they had confronted two men who were loudly banging on her door, looking in her windows and professing to be “meat salesmen” with an unmarked car. How do the crazies find us? They are looking for us. My brother-in-law’s car had remained parked where he’d left it for weeks, making it apparent to any would-be-meat-salesman or, more likely, robber that he wasn't home. 2. How long do we have to keep hearing about OPSEC? UNTIL PEOPLE STOP POSTING ABOUT DEPLOYMENTS ON FACEBOOK. That’s how long. Amen. 3. Make the kids allies before the become enemies. Yes, it can be difficult to keep my three year old from telling everyone in the commissary how I look exactly like the pumpkins out front (she’s not mean, I’m pregnant). But when the topic of public declarations turn from benign humiliation to her daddy being gone, how much we have in our bank account and the code to the garage door, then we’ve got problems. No one knows your kids better than you. Make it a game or an ultimatum; just do what you must to make them a part of your family’s security plan. 4. Protect your finances by becoming familiar with the SCRA. Thanks to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, your family is protected from several negative financial situations that may be brought on by deployment (or just active duty in general). The last thing your family needs is additional stress and worries while your loved one is away. A few of the covered areas include: credit card debt, mortgages, taxes and terminations of lease. Get familiar with the SCRA and get a power of attorney for your spouse (preferably before they leave) while you’re at it. You never know when you may to have to step up to protect your family here on the home front. 5. Dial up your paranoia. While both our husbands were gone, a friend and I hosted a joint garage sale. When we caught a man taking pictures of my son, my friend wisely snapped a picture of his license plate and I brought out my 80 pound golden retriever (who’s really a fluffy saint, but they didn't need to know that). Women are especially vulnerable while our loved one is away, which is why we have to do our best to make sure no one knows it. Never say your spouse is gone. They are in the shower or on an errand due back any second. Be more aware of your surroundings and be willing to take action and tell your husband’s command or local law enforcement if you feel a threat. Make a plan for home security, be it a monitored service or series of Home-Alone-style boobie traps (I don’t recommend the latter). 6. Consider toning down your displays of military affiliation I have mixed feelings suggesting this, because I love the U.S. military so much and I really love showing it. However, like it or not, in these times military families are targets. Did you hear this story about military families being harassed in their own homes? It really happens and one way to avoid having it happen to you is by taking the target off your back as much as possible. Connect with us on Facebook! photo

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