A Phenomenological Study of the Perspectives and Experiences of Male Military Spouses

Although there has been a significant decline in the armed services’ overall enlisted forces, the number of women enlisting has tripled over the last forty-plus years, with many women joining the reserved forces. In particular, the ratio of women in the United States National Guard is higher than that of men, 52.9% compared to 47.1%. With this large increase comes an increase in military family members, particularly children and male civilian spouses, in need of assistance, especially during deployments. This phenomenological study examines the male spouses’ lived experiences within the District of Columbia National Guard military community, identifying the needs of male spouses to strengthen the readiness of the family and the military member. Narrative data were collected through structured interviews, and transcripts were loaded into NVIVO for the data analysis process. Themes that represent the findings were presented. Member checking and using expert reviewers ensured the trustworthiness of the study.