When one member serves, the entire family serves: Why armed forces families matter for defence

Across Europe and beyond, the international security landscape has become increasingly uncertain. Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, instability across multiple regions including the Middle East, rising concerns about cyber warfare, and renewed debates about defence spending have brought questions of military preparedness, war readiness and national resilience firmly into public discourse. Across NATO, governments are reassessing what it means to be militarily ready in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Amid discussions about military capability, technology and infrastructure, one critical component of resilience often remains overlooked despite being fundamental to military effectiveness: the armed forces families and communities who support military service every day.

Behind every serving person stands a wider network of partners, children, parents, carers and communities whose lives are shaped by the realities of military service. While military service is undertaken by the individual, its impacts are experienced collectively.

"When one family member serves, the entire family serves.” Far from being a rhetorical statement, it reflects an operational reality that defence can no longer afford to overlook.

The strategic importance of armed forces families

Defence capability is not forged solely through training, equipment or operations. It is also sustained in families who absorb many demands associated with service life: frequent relocations, repeated separations, disrupted careers, uncertainty, reintegration challenges and the everyday realities of service.

Across many NATO nations, recruitment and retention challenges have become increasingly prominent. The decision to join the armed forces is rarely made by an individual alone. Nor is the decision to remain. Family experiences sit at the heart of both.

A serving person worried about a child's education, a partner struggling to rebuild a career after relocation, or a family facing difficulties accessing support services cannot simply leave those concerns at home. Family stability directly contributes to morale, operational readiness, and long-term workforce sustainability.

Research and practice continue to show that the wellbeing of service personnel and the wellbeing of their families are closely connected. Family stability directly contributes to morale, readiness and performance.

Supporting armed forces families is therefore not simply a welfare issue. It is a workforce issue, a capability issue and increasingly, a national resilience issue. These are not isolated family concerns. They are defence concerns.

A Think Family agenda for defence

Significant progress has been made already across the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise made by the UK government on behalf of the nation, to ensure that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly. Nevertheless, the strategic importance of families is still not always reflected in how defence capability and resilience are discussed.

One of the most important conversations currently taking place across research, policy and practice concerns the need for a stronger Think Family approach in defence.

A Think Family approach, developed by University of Birmingham research, recognises that policies directed at serving personnel inevitably affect entire family systems. Rather than treating families as peripheral beneficiaries of support, it recognises them as integral stakeholders in military capability.

A genuine Think Family approach acknowledges a simple reality: family wellbeing and operational effectiveness are deeply interconnected. This means considering how decisions made across defence intersect with family life.

A whole-society approach

Armed forces families experience much of their support outside military settings. A child spends most of their time in a civilian school. A spouse seeks employment within a local labour market. Families rely on NHS services, housing providers, local authorities, communities and voluntary organisations.

This means strengthening support for armed forces families requires a whole-society approach, including greater awareness among civilian professionals and stronger partnership working across sectors. There needs to be increased recognition that responsibility for supporting armed forces communities extends beyond defence institutions alone.

The voices of military families being heard and valued in policy development, service design and research is critical if a Think Family approach is going to be effectively implemented.

Building bridges between research, policy and practice

Complex challenges require collaborative solutions, and achieving meaningful change requires stronger connections between research, policy, practice and lived experience.

These principles underpin the work of the Birmingham Military Families and Communities Network (BMFC), which brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, charities and members of Armed Forces communities.

The Network was established to create a space where evidence, professional expertise and lived experience can inform one another. Recent events hosted by the Network have explored themes including family-centred approaches to defence policy and support for children growing up in military families and reservist families. There has also been a focus on evidence-informed interventions and the role of wider society in supporting armed forces communities. Participants shared a common ambition: moving beyond discussion towards practical action that improves outcomes for armed forces families.

Looking ahead: Defence capability starts at home

The strategic challenge facing defence today is not simply how to recruit people into military service. It is how to enable them and their families to sustain that service over time.

The question is no longer simply whether individuals are willing to serve. It is whether families can continue to absorb the cumulative pressures associated with service life.

With national security high on the political agenda, there is an opportunity to broaden our understanding of what operational readiness and national resilience truly mean.

If we are serious about strengthening defence for the future, then we must move beyond seeing military families as peripheral to the mission. They are central to military effectiveness, workforce sustainability and national resilience.

Strong armed forces depend on strong families, and those families should not be solely thought of during moments of remembrance. Instead, they should be recognised as active contributors to defence capability and national resilience.

Because when one family member serves, the entire family serves.