ABSTRACT
People who join the U.S. military enter an institution in motion. They are required to relocate for basic training, education specific to their military occupational assignments, and postings to military bases across the county and around the globe. This typically means a long-distance move every two to three years. In earlier generations, this level of spatial mobility primarily affected active-duty service members, who tended to be unmarried men. However, in the All-Volunteer Force era, this rapid migration tempo increasingly impacts spouses and children as well. Additionally, a nascent body of work suggests that those who have a history of U.S. military employment—veterans—exhibit migration patterns across their working lives and into retirement that differentiate them from the civilian population.
