During the 1990s, studies consistently identify social support as a buffer against combat-related distress in military families, with perceived support from spouses, relatives, and communities moderating adverse outcomes. Deployment-related stress persists through separations, shaping parenting and couple functioning; coping resources and readiness frameworks emerge as key moderators during Operation Desert Shield/Storm and Gulf War contexts. Evidence links wartime exposure to longer-term mental health trajectories and family satisfaction, indicating lasting effects for veterans and their families and underscoring the need for family-centered policy and structural supports. Historical Significance: Key innovations during this period include deployment-focused stress reduction interventions that formalized family-centered practice and policy guidance for resilience-building among military households. Ethnographic and child-focused studies highlighted gendered labor, separation experiences, and the developmental ripple effects on children, shaping social work and education policy. Together, these works spurred the integration of family stress theory with wartime contexts, catalyzing policy shifts toward readiness, family centers, and recognition of family concerns within military support systems.