# Military Dad Blog > The homefront field guide for military dads — deployment goodbyes, PCS moves with kids, solo bedtimes and gear worth mailing. Restored from the original 2011 milblog. Written by Reed Fletcher. I'm Reed — a Reserve-component military dad of two kids under six who has done the goodbye-and-homecoming cycle more than once, from both seats: the parent with the duffel and the parent holding down bedtime alone. Everything here is checklist-practical, tested on my own kids, and written with the humility of a man who once packed the sound machine in the checked bag. ## Deployment - [Deployment Activities for Kids: Crafts and Connection](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-activities-for-kids/): Deployment activities for kids that actually get used — countdown crafts, connection games with the deployed parent, and a weekly rhythm that holds. - [Deployment Welcome Home Ideas Kids Can Help Build](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-welcome-home-ideas/): Deployment welcome home ideas kids can help build — signs, countdown finales and first-hug plans, plus keeping big-day expectations kid-sized and calm. - [Explaining Deployment to a Child: Age-by-Age Scripts](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/explaining-deployment-to-a-child/): How to explain deployment to a child, age by age — plain-word scripts from toddler to school-age, the questions kids actually ask, and what to skip. - [Deployment Care Package Ideas: A Theme-a-Month System](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-care-package-ideas/): Deployment care package ideas organized as a theme-a-month system — twelve box themes, a family packing rhythm, and how to stay personal without burnout. - [Deployment Countdown Ideas Kids Can See and Touch](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-countdown-ideas/): Deployment countdown ideas kids can see and touch — paper chains, kiss jars, map trackers and more — plus how to pick one your kid will actually keep up. - [Deployment Guide for Dads: The Full Cycle, Start to End](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-guide-for-dads/): A deployment guide for dads covering the whole cycle — the prep weeks, goodbye day, the long middle, and reintegration — with run-books for each stage. - [Deployment Letters to Kids: Open-When Letters That Land](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-letters-to-kids/): How to write deployment letters to kids — open-when letters, milestone letters and audio backups — with prompts, examples and the mistakes worth skipping. - [Military Care Package Ideas That Are Worth the Postage](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-care-package-ideas/): Military care package ideas that survive shipping and get used — food, comfort, morale and from-the-kids categories, plus packing and mailing basics. - [Deployment Goodbyes With Kids: How to Do the Hard Day](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-goodbyes-with-kids/): How to handle deployment goodbyes with kids — age-by-age scripts, a goodbye-day run-book, what to skip, and the small rituals that shrink the hardest day. - [Family Movie Night During Deployment: A Ritual That Holds](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/family-movie-night-during-deployment/): How a weekly family movie night holds the house together during deployment — the setup, the snack rules, ways the deployed parent joins in, and why it works. ## PCS & Moves - [Bedtime at a Relative's House Between Duty Stations](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/bedtime-staying-with-relatives-pcs/): Staying with family during a PCS gap? A bedtime plan for someone else's house: what to ask your hosts for, the safe-sleep line, and briefing grandparents. - [Extended-Stay Lodging: Bedtime When TLF Runs Long](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/extended-stay-lodging-bedtime/): When TLF, a hotel or billeting stretches from two weeks to two months, stop camping: rebuild a real sleep corner, restore naps, unwind an accidental bed-share. - [PCS Bedtime in Temporary Lodging: Surviving the Gap](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/bedtime-in-temporary-lodging-pcs/): Bedtime in TLF or a hotel between duty stations: a portable sleep box, one-room rules, time-zone shifts and what to do when the gap runs longer than planned. - [Bedtime After a PCS: A Week-by-Week Sleep Reset](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/bedtime-after-a-pcs-week-by-week/): Bedtime after a house move, week by week: rebuilding the room first, restoring the sequence, fixing the clock, and holding the line when the test arrives. - [Military School Transfer Checklist for a PCS Move](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-school-transfer-checklist/): A school transfer checklist for military families — records to pull, enrollment paperwork, IEP and 504 continuity, and how to hand off a kid mid-year. - [New Duty Station: The First 30 Days With Kids](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/new-duty-station-first-30-days/): A week-by-week run-book for your first 30 days at a new duty station with kids — check-in admin, medical and school, routines, and finding your people. - [OCONUS PCS With Kids: Passports, Pets and Flights](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/oconus-pcs-with-kids/): An OCONUS PCS with kids, step by step — no-fee passports, pet import timelines, what ships versus flies, the long flight, and the first weeks overseas. - [PCS With a Toddler: Moving Without Losing Bedtime](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-with-a-toddler/): How to PCS with a toddler without wrecking sleep — the go-bag that rides with you, pack-out day tactics, hotel nights, and the first 72 hours in the new house. - [PCS Purge Checklist: Cut Weight Before the Movers Come](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-purge-checklist/): A room-by-room PCS purge checklist for families — what to dump before pack-out, how to get kids to let go, and what to keep no matter what the scale says. - [PCS Checklist: A Printable Run-Book for the Whole Move](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-checklist/): A pcs checklist built to print and run — 90/60/30-day timelines, moving-week musts and arrival tasks, plus the family add-ons most checklists forget. - [PCS With Kids: The Playbook for Moving the Whole Crew](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-with-kids/): PCS with kids without losing the plot — how to tell them, age-by-age tactics, what to pack where, and settling in, from a dad who has run the route. - [PCS Move With a Baby: Protecting Sleep Through the Chaos](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-move-with-a-baby/): How to survive a PCS move with a baby — protecting naps and bedtime through pack-out, TLF stays and the new nursery, with routine as your one constant. ## Homefront Dad - [Bedtime When a Military Parent Comes Home From Hospital](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-parent-home-from-hospital-bedtime/): A run-book for the week a military parent comes home from a long hospital stay: keep the temporary routine, hand back one step, and plan for night three. - [Mid-Deployment Regression: Why Kids Crash in Month Four](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/mid-deployment-regression/): Some kids do fine at the goodbye and fall apart in month four. What a mid-deployment regression looks like, why it lands mid-tour, and how to reset it. - [Early Waking on a Duty Schedule: Your Alarm, Not the Sun](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/early-waking-on-a-duty-schedule/): A kid who wakes at 0430 on duty days but sleeps past sunrise on leave is waking to your alarm, not the light. How to break the cue chain and hold bedtime. - [Duty-Night Bedtime: When One Parent Is Away Overnight](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/duty-night-bedtime-one-parent-away/): The bedtime that works every night until one parent has duty. How to find the two-adult steps hiding in your routine and rebuild it so one person can run it. - [Military Night Shifts: A Bedtime for a House on Two Clocks](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/night-shift-bedtime-two-clocks/): When one parent works nights, the house runs two clocks. How to protect a kid's bedtime, defend the day sleeper's rest, and handle the 2200 and 0700 handoffs. - [TDY Bedtime: When a Parent Is Home Half the Week](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/tdy-bedtime-when-a-parent-travels/): A bedtime that survives a parent who leaves Monday and comes back Thursday — one fixed sequence, a visible week, and rules for departure and return nights. - [Solo Morning Routine for Dads When Mom Deploys](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/solo-morning-routine-military-spouse-dad/): A solo morning routine for dads running the house while mom is deployed: the night-before setup, a staggered wake-up order, and a drop-off that holds. - [Deployment Sleep Problems in Kids: Causes and Fixes](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-sleep-problems-kids/): Why kids' sleep falls apart when a parent deploys, how to tell a separation wobble from an ordinary regression, and the fixes that work for each age group. - [Geo-Bachelor Dad: Staying Present From Another State](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/geo-bachelor-dad-guide/): A geo-bachelor dad's field guide: building a weekly rhythm with little kids, handling the re-entry every trip home, and protecting the parent who stays put. - [Homecoming Bedtime: Rejoining a Routine That Changed](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/homecoming-bedtime-reset/): You're home and bedtime is unrecognizable. How to rejoin a routine that changed while you were deployed — one step at a time, without blowing it up. - [Keeping Kids Connected to a Deployed Parent](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/keeping-kids-connected-to-deployed-parent/): Rituals that keep kids connected to a deployed parent — recorded stories, video messages, mail and calls that work when bandwidth doesn't, by age group. - [Reintegration After Deployment: A Dad's First 30 Days](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/reintegration-after-deployment/): A reintegration-after-deployment plan for dads: what week one looks like, how kids actually behave, taking jobs back slowly, and when to ask for help. - [Shift-Work Bedtime: A Rotating Routine for Duty Nights](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/shift-work-bedtime-routine/): When both parents work shifts, build a rotating bedtime — a fixed sequence, a published roster, and handoff rules that survive duty nights and swing shifts. - [Dad-Led Bedtime: Splitting the Sleep Load, Military-Style](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/dad-led-bedtime-routine/): How a dad-led bedtime routine works as a duty roster — the written plan, the handoff protocol, and why it survives deployments and shift work. - [Solo Parent Bedtime During Deployment: A Dad's Run-Book](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/solo-parent-bedtime-during-deployment/): A workable solo parent bedtime during deployment — one dad's exact routine, scripts for the hard questions, sleep-regression triage, and tools that help. - [Temporary Stay-at-Home Dad: Lessons From the Home Front](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/temporary-stay-at-home-dad-lessons/): What a military dad learns as a temporary stay-at-home dad between assignments — a week-one run-book, the standards trap, and lessons earned the loud way. - [What Military Life Gives Your Kids: The Honest Upsides](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/what-military-life-gives-your-kids/): The real benefits military life gives your kids — resilience with receipts, wider maps, built-in community and rituals that hold — without pretending it's free. ## Military Family Life - [Military CDC Waitlist: How to Get a Child Care Spot](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/cdc-waitlist-guide/): A practical guide to the military CDC waitlist: when to request care, how anticipated placement time works, keeping your request alive, and covering the gap. - [Military Child Care Costs: How CDC Fees Are Set](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-child-care-costs/): How military child care costs work: income-based CDC fee bands, what total family income includes, fee assistance off base, and pricing it before a PCS. - [One-Income Military Family Budget: How to Build It](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-family-budget-one-income/): How to build a one-income military family budget: reading the LES properly, three-bucket banking, budgeting the PCS and deployment cycle, and who to call early. - [New Baby in the Military: DEERS & TRICARE Checklist](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/new-baby-while-in-the-military-checklist/): A new-baby checklist for military dads: the paperwork order that works, DEERS enrollment, TRICARE steps, leave and duty realities, and the resources to use. - [Books for Military Kids: Deployment and Moving Stories](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/books-for-military-kids/): The best books for military kids — picture books that handle deployment, moving and homecoming honestly, how to read them well, and where to start first. - [Guest Room Setup for Military Homecomings & Visits](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/homecoming-guest-room-setup/): A military dad's guest room setup for homecomings and deployment support visits — real bedding, not the air mattress, when family stays weeks not days. - [The Military Extended Family: Build Your Support Network](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-extended-family-support-network/): How to build a military extended family — grandparents, neighbors, unit families and friends who show up during deployment — before the day you need them. ## Gifts & Gear - [Deployment Journals and Countdown Kits Worth Buying](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-journals-and-countdown-kits/): Deployment journals and countdown kits compared: guided journals for kids, pass-back-and-forth books, kiss jars, paper chains and counters that survive a slip. - [Homecoming Signs and Outfits: What to Buy, What to Make](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/homecoming-signs-and-outfits/): Welcome-home signs and homecoming outfits without the last-minute panic: what to buy, what to letter yourself, what Etsy is for, and what photographs well. - [Military Dad Shirts and Army Dad Merch Worth Wearing](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/military-dad-shirts/): Army dad shirts, proud-parent tees and military dad merch: which designs to buy, what fabric survives, and the one line of merch nobody should wear. - [Daddy Dolls: A Buyer's Guide for Deployment Families](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/daddy-doll/): A daddy doll is a soft photo doll of a deployed parent. How Hug-a-Hero, Amazon photo pillows, Etsy makers and the DIY version compare, and when to order. - [Care Package Ideas by Month: 12 Themes for a Year](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/care-package-contents-by-month/): Twelve care package themes, one per month, so boxes stay varied over a long deployment — plus what the post office restricts and how to pack one that survives. - [Deployment Gifts for Dads: What's Worth Packing](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-gifts-for-dads/): Gifts for a deploying dad that earn their space in a bag — sleep kit, socks, power, something to read — plus what to give him on homecoming day instead. - [Deployment Gifts for Kids That Actually Get Used](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/deployment-gifts-for-kids/): The deployment gifts kids still use in month five — photo dolls, countdown objects, recordable books, cameras and maps — plus the ones that end up in a drawer. - [Recordable Storybooks for Deployment: Which to Buy](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/recordable-storybooks-for-deployment/): Hallmark books, the Record a Story series, clip-on recorders and DIY voice modules compared for deployment — plus how to record one so a kid will play it. - [PCS Gear That Earns Its Weight Allowance](https://militarydadblog.com/posts/pcs-gear-that-earns-its-weight/): The PCS packing gear actually worth buying — a hanging scale, a drill, trackers, latching totes and the kids' sleep kit — plus the stuff to leave behind. ## About - [About Military Dad Blog](https://militarydadblog.com/about/) - [Work with us](https://militarydadblog.com/work-with-me/)