One of my classmates, M, has a brother in the USMC who just returned from Iraq. I believe his tour was 18 months but honestly, for anything over 7 months what I hear is "way too long." So I don't remember exactly what M said.
So when M mentioned this to me in the hallway outside class I switched into sergeant mode for a few minutes. I gave M a quick list of reintegration issues that most returnees face. I could see M's eyes glaze as I prattled on. I kept going because I believe that even a little forewarning is better than no forewarning. M's a smart kid. I figured if her brother did have reintegration issues she'd be able to dust off my pocket sermon and apply it.
Well M's brother is in town. We were waiting for class to start the other day and she related how her brother had blown a fuse talking to some kid at a McDonald's drive-thru. M is beginning to understand what I was talking about.
Put your seat backs a tray tables in the upright position. It's gonna get bumpy.
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18 months of deployment?? That is so wrong. The Blue Star Mothers have some information (written by Moms) for those who are dealing with over-stressed returnees. The link to the file is on this page:
http://nmrgvbluestarmothers.org/ptsd.html
You might pass that on to M. My heart goes out to her and her brother. May they please find peace & serenity.
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