Fort Bragg families need to prepare for return of thousands of delpoyed

Tens of thousands based in N.C. coming home

By Estes Thompson - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 28, 2007 16:53:50 EST

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — For much of 2007, this normally bustling post — home of the U.S. Army’s airborne infantry — was quiet: all four combat brigades of the storied 82nd Airborne Division were deployed overseas. Ditto at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, where the resident II Marine Expeditionary Force was fighting in Anbar, Iraq.

That changes in 2008, as more than 22,000 troops based in North Carolina are set to return home from their latest deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“As they come back, other infantry battalions are going to head out the door again,” said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, a Marine Corps spokesman at Camp Lejeune.

About 10,500 Marines who are assigned to the 2nd MEF — including aircraft pilots, infantrymen, and support troops units — are expected to return to the Corps’ main East Coast base in 2008, Hill said.

Glenn Mayberry, deputy family readiness officer with the 2nd MEF, said those returning Marines will get more concentrated attention now than at any point in the 12 years he has worked in the Corps’ family programs.

Mayberry said conflicts during the transition from life on the battlefield to life at home don’t have to be dramatic to be troublesome. Even the mundane — such as deciding which spouse gets to go out by themselves to shop: the stay-at-home spouse who watched the family’s children for months or the Marine who was in a combat zone all that time — can cause tension.

To help, returning troops are given plenty of time off. The Marines also compare results of pre-deployment examinations with later reviews to look for problems, and family members are also are asked to report anything they notice among the returned.

“They’re seeing mental health (professionals), chaplains and the doctors,” Hill said. “We’re relying on the Marines to tell the truth. There’s the pride thing and sometimes they’re not going to do it. What we’re trying to stress is just because you have an issue and you tell us, that doesn’t mean your career is over.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_nccominghome_071228/

All family members need to learn the signs of PTSD to be ready for them to come home. If the family and friends don't know what to look for, they will not know what to do to help them.

Go to the right side of this blog and watch the videos on PTSD to know what to look for and understand what they just came home from.