There remains a paucity of research surrounding the potential long-term effects of parental military deployment. This article provides counselors with an ability to better understand the long-term implications of parental deployment on the parent/child relationship through qualitative interviews with the, now, young adults who experienced a parent’s deployment, using consensual qualitative research methodology. The study makes several contributions to the knowledge base. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, this study examined how adult children of deployed parents view their past and current parental relationships. Four domains emerged, including 1) factors impacting relationship with dad, 2) deployment cycle, 3) military culture, and 4) changes in perspective. Implications for both research and clinical work stem from the study’s results, including a proposed ecological developmental framework
