Military Culture: A Guide for Extension Professionals

The well-being of families in the military is essential to the Department of Defense (DoD) and its goals for service readiness (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019).

Historically, DoD programs and resources were designed for the service member, but research shows that family-related factors play an important role in service members’ readiness. An approach to support families in the military and strengthen both formal and informal networks off the installation is through Cooperative Extension. However, many community providers are not trained or experienced in supporting this unique military community (RAND, 2014).

Cooperative Extension has a yet untapped opportunity to serve families in the military with our practical, applicable education as members of the communities in which they live, work, and play. Cooperative Extension can meet the needs of the military community by sharing its knowledge and bringing value to build the skills and practices of families in the military. This course provides an overview of military culture and the unique needs of military families to help Extension professionals better understand how to recognize, engage, ask, and deliver education in the community.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine personal, Extension, and military cultures.
• Describe the military organizational structure, rank, branches of service, core values, and demographics.
• Identify characteristics of military transitions from active duty, deployment, and reintegration to civilian life.
• Identify best practices and resources in working with military service members, veterans, and families.
• Create an action plan to offer Extension programming to military families.

• Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE):  This course has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLE. Eligibility for CE credit will close 3/26/26
• Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting professional development training activities.