ABOUT OPERATION MILITARY EXPERIENCE
Operation Military Experience (Operation ME) is a nationwide study to learn about adolescents who, as a young child, had a parent deploy after 9/11. We are speaking with a nationally representative sample of families with two adolescents who had this experience. As always, participation is completely voluntary.
A team of trusted researchers led by the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI)
at Purdue University is conducting this research. We have received funding from both the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense for this study. In addition, several advocacy and support groups support Operation ME.
What we’re seeking to accomplish
The mission of Operation ME is to learn from the unique perspectives of military families like yours.
Military kids experience a parent’s deployment in different ways, and their response depends on a variety of factors. We want to understand how early exposure to deployment challenges and opportunities as children may influence the choices they make as adolescents.
With this knowledge, we can recommend better support programs for military families.
Why we created Operation ME
Since 9/11, military service has been significantly different from previous time periods.
Operational Tempo (OpTempo) — defined as the speed and intensity of actions in relation to unfolding events — increased rapidly in the last two decades. As a result, many military families with young children experienced extended deployments, with more mothers being deployed than ever before.
We designed this project to learn how adolescents who had a parent deploy when they were younger are doing today. That information will help organizations like MFRI improve the lives of military families like yours in the future.