South Carolina National Guard Will Need Help Back Home

SC Guard prepares to transition soldiers back to community, jobs
By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER - Associated Press Writer


COLUMBIA, S.C. --Almost half of a state's National Guard soldiers need mental health treatment after they return from fighting, Pentagon studies show. That has South Carolina military officials gearing up for the springtime return of its 1,800 soldiers in Afghanistan.

"They've seen some bad things, and left untreated, that could create some problems down the road," says Lt. Col. Taube Roy, the officer in charge of a new program designed to ease the transition of the members of the 218th Brigade Combat Team from wartime wariness to hometown normality.

Last summer's deployment of the Newberry-based unit ranks as the state's largest such troop movement since World War II.

"We have to help the soldiers who had to become 'warrior-citizens' turn back into 'citizen-soldiers,'" Roy explained recently to a military group organizing the soldiers' welcome home. "In combat situations, they had to have a 'battle mind' at all times - always carry their weapon, be alert for the enemy. Back home, it isn't like that. There are no enemies."

Dubbed "The Road Home," the Guard program invites family members, employers, government leaders, health care providers, law enforcement officials and local clergy to a series of briefings and celebrations designed to teach them how to ease the soldiers' transition - and understand what problems might crop up.

Pentagon studies show about 44 percent of a state's National Guard soldiers may require mental health treatment some three to six months after they return. About 14 percent of those will be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

While there may be a euphoric homecoming, Roy said problems often don't crop up for weeks or months.

"We're getting into what's known as the 'collateral damage,'" Roy said, using the military term for unintended injuries accompanying a military operation.
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