Return From Deployment:

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Return From Deployment Warrior Transition Brief
Version Date 06 March 2007
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General Conway, June 06
its important, at the command level and at
every subordinate level, that people understand
that we will treat the mind just as certainly as
we treat a body wound to get our Marines and
Sailors back into shape. And it is no
embarrassment. There should be no stigma
associated with the fact that youre having
problems from something you have done or
experienced or seen in a combat zone.
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Deployment Review

• What was our mission?
• What did we come here to do?
• What challenges did we face?
• What sacrifices did we make?
• What good did we do?
• How did we make a difference?

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What Are the Challenges of Retraining to Garrison
and Home Life?

• Giving up the security of being surrounded by
  your buddies 24/7
• Giving up the security of being armed 24/7
• Learning that trash on the roadside back home is
  not going to explode as you drive by
• Learning, not just in your head but in your
  heart, that people on the street do not want to
  kill you
• Learning to adjust to the slower pace and lower
  excitement level of life at home
• Relearning how to be around others without
  swearing or being offensive
• Learning how to do the things you miss (like
  drinking, driving, or sex) in safe moderation
• Figuring out how much to tell family and friends

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The Greatest Dangers You Will Face Back Home

• Accidents from taking risks
• Alcohol and drugs
• Getting irritated and getting into fights

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Healing from Wounds The Other Transition
Challenge
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How Many Marines Are Affected By Stress?

• ALL Marines are affected by the stress of
  operational deployment
• MANY Marines grow in positive ways from their
  deployment experiences
• MOST Marines have no lasting stress problems
  after deployment
• SOME Marines are injured by stress, through no
  fault of their own
• SOME Marines will benefit from help as they heal
  from their stress injuries
• ALL Marines must be watchful for stress injury
  symptoms that dont get better within 30 days

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Three Types of Stress Injuries
COMBAT / OPERATIONAL STRESS
TRAUMA
GRIEF
FATIGUE

• An impact injury
• Due to events involving terror, horror, or
  helplessness

• A loss injury
• Due to the loss of people who are cared about

• A wear-and-tear injury
• Due to the accumulation of stress over time

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Combat/Operational Stress Injury Signs and
Symptoms

• Sleeplessness trouble falling or staying asleep
• Physical reactions uncontrollable pounding
  heart, sweating, or trouble catching your breath
  for no reason
• Irritability, anger, or rage outbursts, sometimes
  with little provocation
• Repeated disturbing thoughts, images, or memories
  of a terrible or horrifying experience
• Repeated disturbing dreams of a stressful
  experience
• Isolating yourself from other people, or having
  an unusually hard time being around others
• Being hyper-alert even when there is no danger,
  or too easily startled
• Feeling physically and emotionally drained
• Not being able to enjoy activities or people you
  used to find enjoyable

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Healing from Injuries The Four Pillars Of
Health
COGNI T I V E
EMOTIONAL
SPIRITUAL
PHYSICAL
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Imbalance In the Four Pillars of Health
SPIRITUAL
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Physical Pillar of Health
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Emotional Pillar of Health

• Helpful emotions need to be strengthened through
  practice
• Unhelpful emotions need to be recognized and
  changed
• Painful feelings from events you cant forget
  need to be faced and talked through with someone
  you trust

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Cognitive Pillar of Health

• Everyone has self-talk in their minds all the
  time
• Self-talk can be helpful when you encourage
  yourself
• But self-talk can be harmful if you blame or
  criticize yourself

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Spiritual Pillar of Health

• For some, being spiritual means being religious
• For others, being spiritual means something else
• War can challenge your faith and beliefs
• It also make them stronger

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Successful Warrior Transition Includes

• Health as a whole Marine
• Physical health
• Emotional health
• Cognitive health
• Spiritual health
• RESETTING and RESTORING our
• Bodies
• Feelings
• Thoughts
• Relationships and Beliefs

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Where to Seek Assistance
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Conclusion
Combat and arduous deployments affect
everyone Most Marines and Marine spouses are
resilient and bounce back quickly, but some,
through no fault of their own, will
not Transitioning back to garrison and home life
involves both retraining and healing from stress
injuries Support from the members of your unit
and family and friends is important Its OK to
ask for help
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Return From Deployment Warrior Transition Brief
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The Greatest Dangers You Will Face Back Home

• Accidents from taking risks
• Alcohol and drugs
• Getting irritated and getting into fights

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Healing from Wounds The Other Transition
Challenge
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Three Types of Stress Injuries
COMBAT / OPERATIONAL STRESS
TRAUMA
GRIEF
FATIGUE

• An impact injury
• Due to events involving terror, horror, or
  helplessness

• A loss injury
• Due to the loss of people who are cared about

• A wear-and-tear injury
• Due to the accumulation of stress over time

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Three Types of Stress Injuries
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Physical Pillar of Health
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Emotional Pillar of Health

• Positive emotions need to be strengthened through
  practice
• Negative emotions (like useless anger) need to be
  weakened through stopping them
• Bad feelings from events you cant forget need to
  be faced

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Cognitive Pillar of Health

• Ask yourself how your thoughts might be making
  you feel bad
• Ask yourself if those bad thoughts are reasonable
  and fair

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Spiritual Pillar of Health
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Successful Warrior Transition Includes

• TOTAL health
• Physical
• Emotional
• Cognitive
• Spiritual
• RESETTING and RESTORING our
• Bodies
• Feelings
• Thoughts
• Relationships and Beliefs