Summarized by the Alliance for Fort Gordon
Published July 17, 2026
For generations, military families have been among the military’s strongest advocates. They understood the sacrifice, accepted the moves and deployments, and often encouraged their children to follow the same path.
Today, that confidence has weakened.
Only 37% of military families now say they would recommend military service to their children or another young person, according to Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. The figure had fallen to 32% the previous year before rebounding slightly after recent quality-of-life improvements approved by Congress.