Homefront May 2026

The historical Homefront taught us a brutal lesson: In total war, the line between soldier and citizen vanishes, but so does the line between security and tyranny. Today, for the 2.4 million military spouses and children in the United States, the Homefront is a very specific, very lonely place.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called for the nation to become the "Arsenal of Democracy." On the Homefront, this meant converting Detroit’s auto plants into tank depots and typewriter factories into rifle assembly lines. The keyword became sacrifice . Homefront

Rationing books (nicknamed "war books") controlled sugar, gasoline, meat, and rubber. Victory gardens sprouted in vacant lots and on the White House lawn. The civilian was no longer just a spectator; the civilian was a combatant armed with a ration card and a welding torch. The historical Homefront taught us a brutal lesson:

Since the advent of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973, the burden of war has shifted from the general population to 1% of the nation. For most Americans, the War on Terror was a scrolling headline. For the military Homefront, it was 20 years of deployments, missed birthdays, PCS (Permanent Change of Station) moves every 24 months, and the quiet terror of a chaplain or officer knocking at the door. Roosevelt famously called for the nation to become