Much of the research on military families has focused on active duty service members. Little is known about informal and formal supports that National Guard service members use. Using an ecological systems perspective, this exploratory pilot study assessed awareness, access, use, satisfaction, and perceptions of effectiveness of informal and formal supports in a small group of National Guard service members. Results indicate that although service members are aware of many formal and informal supports, use of many of the supports is limited. Additionally, satisfaction and perceptions of effectiveness of many supports is neutral. The implications of these results are discussed.
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have a long tradition of military service, allying with Western forces in North America since the 1700s. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that AI/AN veterans experience higher rates of overall disability and service-related disability than veterans of other races and ethnicities. It is not clear, however, that AI/AN veterans with disabilities are receiving effective, culturally informed rehabilitation services. This article examines the incidence of disability among contemporary AI/AN veterans, considers barriers to effective treatment, and points out model programs tailored to the particular needs of this population, with attention to the historical and cultural context of AI/AN military service.
This article contributes to existing scholarship related to resilience in families with members with disabilities by first using a disability studies orientation to "unbound" existing definitions of resilience, then by providing empirical illustration of this unbounding. Using family as our unit of analysis, we present data from 3 families who navigate successes and challenges related to disability. Three themes of honoring relationships, family member expertise, and standing in one's power emerged. We suggest that more nuanced understandings of resilience, which account for fluid, localized perspectives and encompass contradictory meanings and processes (e.g., stress and joy), have implications for policy and practice.