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Soldiers back from Iraq get help for domestic battles

by Staff Sgt. Marcia Triggs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 7, 2003) - Paratroopers who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom returned today to Fort Bragg, N.C., and others who will soon come home are going through re-integration training.

About 250 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's Task Force Falcon were greeted by a massive crowd of family and friends at Fort Bragg, as about 4,000 other soldiers from the post (including those in Afghanistan) await their redeployment.

The paratroopers who arrived home today were not only met by family and friends, but by a host of organizations ready to help them ease back into a life of normalcy.

Fort Bragg termed it "reconstitution training," and it includes briefings from unit ministry teams, family advocacy counselors, financial counselors and medical and dental screenings.

"Our goal in the Chaplain's Office is to make sure that soldiers are spiritually and emotionally ready for reunions," said Lt. Col. Larry McCarty, a chaplain for Fort Bragg's Mobilization and Training division.

The soldiers already have chaplains traveling with them, McCarty said. But they are given group briefings and the opportunity to talk one-on-one with a chaplain.

"Powerpoint presentations built around humor and group discussions give us the chance to walk around the group and observe body language," McCarty said. "We look to see if we're communicating with the audience and for signs of stress.

One of the things the chaplains go over with the soldiers is a list of dos and don'ts, McCarty said. Do spend time with every member of the family; do make homecoming a special event and do keep the channels of communication open, are among the one-liners the chaplains discuss.

Making the don't list is: don't try to solve problems overnight and don't over-schedule homecoming activities.

A redeployment date for the 3rd Infantry Division has not been announced, but the soldiers have already started undergoing critical incidence stress debriefings to prep them for a return to Fort Stewart, Ga. This will help them know when it's time to stop acting like a soldier, said Maj. Tim Patterson, an Army psychiatrist currently in Iraq.

"You can't solve your home problems with an M-16 or violence," Patterson said during an NBC news interview. "We don't want them to respond like they're going into battle."

Soldiers who endured some of the fiercest fighting in this war revealed moments of grief, anger and guilt, which Patterson said is part of the healing process.

The reunion and reintegration back into family life can be some of the most difficult times for soldiers, said Susan Wilder, the mobilization and deployment manager for Fort Stewart's Army Community Service.

"We're taking an aggressive approach to reunion, re-integration education for both the soldier and the family members," Wilder said.

Not only are the 3rd ID soldiers being debriefed in the Iraqi theater, they will have the opportunity to talk with a chaplain after deplaning at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., Wilder said. Within two weeks of arriving home, the soldiers will attend a couples-reunion class. Also six weeks after their return date home, the Family Advocacy Program will administer stress management tests, she said.

"The Army has always aggressively approached reuniting soldiers with their families," said Holly Gifford, the family assistance director at the Army Community and Family Support Center. "Major players at all installations will be Army Community Service, chaplains, mental health professionals and rear detachment commanders."