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Q. What inspired
Carol Vandesteeg to write this book?
Q. How does
When Duty Calls help military families?
Q. Will this
book affect or help the military mission?
Q. Why are
all military components included in this one book?
Q. Is When
Duty Calls only for the military? Why should civilians
be interested in reading it?
Q: What
inspired Carol Vandesteeg to write this book?
A: When Carol Vandesteeg's
husband was on active duty in the Air Force, he was
deployed to Desert Storm on a two-hour notice. The next
time she saw him was 215 days later. They didn't feel
prepared for family separation, but found their way
through the challenge. In an assignment after he returned
from Desert Storm, Carol's husband was an instructor
at the Air Force Chaplains' School. He prepared new
chaplains for deployments, and enlisted Carol and another
chaplain's wife to present the spouse's perspective
on deployment to his classes. During those presentations
and in the following years, Carol realized that many
military families lack adequate preparation for deployment
and duty-related family separation. As she researched
information available to members of each component of
the military, Carol discovered that information within
the military system can be incomplete or hard for a
spouse to find. Even if military members have access
to family deployment information, they don't necessarily
bring it home to the family. So, Mrs. Vandesteeg wrote
When Duty Calls to help fill the gap.
Q: How
does When Duty Calls help military families?
A: When Duty Calls provides
checklists and discussions that families of all military
components can use to equip themselves for duty-related
separations. Ideas are presented to make a Family Deployment
Guide that can be tailored to each families' needs and
preferences. Practical lists and suggestions arranged
in a format that is easy to refer to when needs arise
make this a unique reference book. The presentation
style enables readers to draw information out and apply
it for personal use. The book prepares families for
separation, enables them to go through it with efficiency,
to reunite afterward with a minimum of stress, and to
face the possibility that the military member may not
come home. When people know more about what to expect,
it is easier for them to go through times of personal
challenge or hardship.
Q: Will
this book affect or help the military mission?
A: Definitely! When families
are prepared to deal with military duty separations
and have support systems to depend on, military members
don't have as many worries about their families back
home. When Duty Calls gives specific ideas that enable
families to live apart and helps spouses understand each
others' feelings related to deployments. Knowing their
families are cared for and equipped to run their households
on their own, military members are better able to concentrate
on their mission and carry out their work.
Q: Why
are all military components included in this one book?
A: Every military family
needs the information in When Duty Calls. Deployments
and assignments bring personnel from different
components of the armed forces together. The families
of each component have common concerns and needs. When
Duty Calls addresses the universal issues military families
face, and also provides component-specific resources.
The author hopes to bring families together, help them
understand other components and that each is part of
the military community that can be thought of as a family.
Each family member may not be the same, but can understand
and be there for the other.
Q: Is
When Duty Calls only for the military? Why would civilians
be interested in reading it?
A: When Duty Calls
definitely has a military cover and emphasis, but it
offers helpful and practical advice that anyone will
find valuable. Many categories of civilians will be
interested in the book, and as they find it useful in
their own situations, they may also find that they gain
appreciation for what military families go through to
enable our country to remain strong and secure. Extended
family members of military personnel will find helpful
suggestions about how to stay in touch, understand,
and support their loved ones in the armed forces.
Missionaries and businessmen and women who live outside
of the United States experience some of the same
challenges that military families do. They often live
very far from extended family, and have to find creative
ways to communicate from a distance, prepare and adapt
their family financial plans, deal with legal matters
and important papers, adapt the household to changing
situations, and understand how to reunite with families.
When Duty Calls provides tools to help them navigate
those things. Those who travel on business frequently
will find resources and ideas to help their families
communicate from a distance, and well as practical issues
relating to household management. Geographically
separated families will find a wealth of ideas to
enable them to step up to the challenge of living apart
and thrive. |
