When you find out a deployment is on the horizon, everything begins to be filtered through a new lens—the lens of deployment.

I’ve had the great opportunity to go through three deployments in my marriage: the first we were married for six months and had 30 days notice, the second we had six months of notice, and the most recent, I had a whole total of a week’s notice. I’ve experienced that prepping for a deployment can look different depending on how much time you have, and truthfully, how long your service member will be gone.

There are countless resources for those facing a deployment. I have consolidated a number of them here for you. However, if you feel like you’re missing something specific to you, then take the reins and do a little digging. There is a good chance that someone else has asked that question and has posted about it online!

Deployments are seasons. Just like military life has seasons, deployment is one of those. Within deployment, however, I like to think of them as almost micro-seasons. There are a lot of ups and downs that come along.