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OCS Connect > Wellness Support
Wellness Support
This pillar focuses on mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Parents will learn how to support their child’s transition into military life, manage stress, and navigate deployments. It covers topics such as resilience, mental health resources, family communication, physical fitness, peer support, and adapting to military culture. The goal is to ensure enlistees thrive both personally and professionally.
Navigating Deployment with Confidence: A Guide for Parents and Service Members
Deployment is a key part of military readiness. Deployments take place to support various missions. The missions can be combat operations, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, and maintaining a military presence in specific world regions. This article looks to help relieve some of the anxiety that may arise when your service member tells you they are being deployed.

Understanding the Chain of Command: How to Support Your Service Member's Role
When your young service member joins the military, they become part of a structured organization with clear rules and ranks. As a parent, understanding the military's chain of command can help you support them better. But what does that mean? And why is it important? Let's break it down in simple terms.
Helping Your New Service Member Transition from High School to Military Life
Making the shift from civilian life to the structured discipline of military life can be quite the transition for a young high-schooler or recent graduate. It is not uncommon for individuals undergoing such a transition to feel some levels of anxiety. Helping to alleviate this anxiety is crucial in ensuring your new service member successfully adapts to their new environment.
Resilience Training: Helping Your Young Service Member Thrive in the Military
Resilience is an essential soft skill for every member of the military. Not only do service members need to be physically resilient to withstand the physical toll of military life, but they must also be mentally and emotionally resilient to handle the stress, anxiety, and challenges that come with serving in the armed forces.

Handling Limited Communication During Deployments: A Parent’s Survival Guide
Experiencing communication issues with your service member is a typical occurrence during deployment. During this period, keeping in touch can be challenging due to your service member's demanding schedule, time-zone differences, operational security restrictions, and limited access to communication technology.

Tips for Families Dealing with the Emotional Struggles of Basic Training
Your son/daughter tells you they are joining the military — and it’s an exhilarating moment, but as a parent or caregiver, there is a rush of uncertainty. Basic training is the first major change in their lives as a service member. For parents, this is both a difficult and an emotional time. This guide is meant to provide you with encouragement, tips, and support as you embark on this new chapter.