GULFPORT, Miss. – Since the start of the global war on terror, DoD officials have put a significant emphasis on military members’ reintegration issues. The focus usually centers on the service members’ emotional well-being, and how they deal with the stress of re-entering their lives at home, especially if they are arriving back from a hostile area.
The Navy, traditionally, has a good track record with pre-deployment trainings as well as ensuring Sailors have a variety of resources available during deployments, but studies have shown there were additional needs with post-deployment trainings.
“Historically, the Department of Defense places a huge focus on combat-related post- deployments trainings,” said Capt. Lori Laraway, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) Warfighter Resilience Training manager.
“It’s become more and more evident, though, that stress happens no matter where the service member deploys. There’s increased workload, family separations, family issues such as births and deaths while the service member is away,” said Laraway. “We all need warrior transition.”
With these statistics in mind, NECC began looking closely at developing a program that addresses a more well-rounded view of post-deployment issues. The Warfighting Resiliency Program became NECC’s answer.
NECC developed the concept loosely around the Reserve Returning Warrior Weekend, which is a weekend retreat designed to honor the service and thank service members and their families for the sacrifices made during deployment. “The Reserve units that participated in the retreat gave great feedback,” said Lt. Cmdr. Bruce Yee, NCG medical officer. The retreats also emphasized another critical gap in the active duty post-deployment trainings.
“We realized that the two-six months post-deployment phase is where many issues tend to crop up,” said Laraway. “Sailors may find that they have a hard time adjusting to the workup cycle. Family struggles also tend to surface around this time.”
Naval Construction Group TWO (NCG 2), with the assistance of NECC, held the first of a pilot program in the Gulfport area Oct. 6-10. The one-day program enlists the help of local resources like the Fleet and Family Service Center, Embedded Mental Health, chaplains and even senior enlisted leadership to facilitate the training.
“The intent is to have a sustainable training platform that occurs locally,” said Yee.
“It makes sense to use the local resources,” said Laraway. “We want troops to have the names and faces of local resources, so they know who to call if they need help.”
Along with the use of local leadership and resources, the training departed from traditional post-deployment trainings in two distinct ways. First, NECC designed the training to include spouses. “We realized that most training just didn’t include spouses,” said Yee.
“So, we wanted this training to include spouses and significant others,” said Laraway. “Reintegration is not just a Seabee/Sailor issue, but it affects the whole Navy family. The more we [active duty members] understand what the other side goes through, the better for all of us,” said Laraway.
With spouses in mind, the second departure from traditional training is “ReEntry,” a full-length professional play written by Emily Ackerman and KJ Sanchez that is incorporated in the training. Ackerman and Sanchez based their original play on interviews conducted with Marines and their families. NECC’s Warfighting Resiliency Program worked with the playwrights to change the script to make it more Navy-centric, and uses professional actors for each part.
“We talk about reintegration on a cognitive level,” said Laraway, “but this play hits home on an emotional level. Our Sailors can see the actors actually portray the challenges of reintegration.”
“We got great feedback on the play,” said Yee. “Most attendees really liked the production because it portrayed a lot of issues Seabees face, even if it wasn’t to that intensity. It definitely brought to light family viewpoints and got everyone’s attention which resulted in great discussions.”
Due to the training’s success, NCG 2 plans on adding the workshop into battalion deployment and training cycles.
“We’re planning on offering the workshop for battalions once they fall into the two-six month window from deployment,” said Yee. “The goal is to have spouses as well as service members attend by showcasing what the training entails and offering daycare.”
“This training really takes the stigma off of the issues our Sailors and their families face, and lets people know where the resources are and how to get help if they need it,” said Yee.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2014 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 146179 |
| Location: | GULFPORT, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NCG 2 brings innovative reintegration training to Gulfport, by CPO Athena Blain, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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