Military family support emerged as a retention strategy, not philanthropy

Evidence

The Pentagon realized that a major reason personnel were leaving the military before retirement was the poor quality of life for families. Unhappy families mean unhappy troops, and unhappy troops mean not enough troops to fight. Family support thus became a significant labor issue for the military. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 442

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to the book’s broader argument that bases are built around keeping troops contented and retained, connecting to chapters on base politics and cost.
• ADDENDUM: For the Sacrifice article: family support as institutionalized care-for-troops raises the question of what ‘sacrifice’ means for family members as dependents.