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When the going gets tough . The tough get help Transition program offers guidance for troops returning from combat zones

Marine Corps News

Story Identification #: 2004113191858
Story by Cpl. Trevor M. Carlee

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Nov. 1, 2004) -- All personnel returning from either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom are required to attend a Warrior Transition session within 60 days of returning to Okinawa.

The program started today in an effort to assist Marines and sailors in their transition from combat zones to garrison environments, according to Cmdr. Lawrence P. Greenslit, the chaplain for 3rd Force Service Support Group.

Marine Corps Community Services, III Marine Expeditionary Force chaplains’ offices and 3rd Marine Division Psychiatry are working together to ensure the program’s briefings are successful, according to Greenslit. The briefings will be held on the first and third Friday of each month, starting today, from 8 a.m. to noon. The Camp Courtney Chapel will host the program on the first Friday of each month, and the Camp Kinser Chapel will be the host facility on the third Friday of each month.

“The Warrior Transition working group does not assume that anything is ‘wrong’ with those returning from combat zones,” expressed Greenslit, a Baltimore native. “Rather, the emphasis is simply on recognizing that returning from (combat) carries with it a unique set of challenges. In addition, we want Warrior Transition to be a way of saying ‘thank you’ to those who have served.”

The program has four aspects: a confidential questionnaire, a return and reunion brief, a discussion among troops on the positive and negative aspects of combat, and a presentation on effective communication.

“I think this program will be extremely effective in helping people recognize that their experiences during the war, both positive and negative, are shared by others,” Greenslit said. “We want Marines and sailors to return from a wartime environment as well equipped as possible to be productive in their jobs and healthy in their relationships,” Greenslit said.

Personnel coming back from a combat zone may experience thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are unsettling and difficult to understand or accept, and the severity of those reactions will vary from person to person, according to Greenslit.

However, many people will have no problem transitioning back into their normal lives, according to Greenslit.

“I kept in touch with my family a lot when I was in Iraq, so the transition wasn’t that difficult,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jake E. Schanz, the Network Operations chief for Communications, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. “My family was very excited when I returned, and it’s just great to be back with my family.”

While the Warrior Transition program was made available only for Marines and sailors, similar programs are available for Army and Air Force personnel as well, according to Greenslit.

“(The Army and Air Force) have access to the same information that we provide to people,” Greenslit said. “Personnel from other services who are interested in such a program should contact their chaplain’s office or other helping services within their commands.”