I, too, am an ex-service member, and what was drilled into my head at a young age was team work. My wife and children are my team, and I put off everything until the team was in a position to get along without me, meaning the kids were grown and out on their own, which just happened last fall. I am now free to tour when vacation time comes.

I feel very strongly about this. I am also an ex-teacher, my wife still teaches and shes sees broken families every single day. If you have a wife and children, do your utmost to keep the unit together and put off the long tour for another time in life.