Photo By Sgt. Jordan Johnson | Soldiers and spouses answer questions about their self and significant other during a...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas - Army Community Service workers held a Post-Deployment Resilience Training for Spouses/Couples class at the 1st Cavalry Division Family Readiness Center here Sept. 28.
“The class is designed to help soldiers and spouses come back together after deployment,” said Doris Arnett, mobilization and deployment specialist, ACS and Wilson, Okla., native. “The reintegration phase is difficult.”
After being gone for a year, soldiers have many questions regarding how to fit back into their family’s life, Arnett said.
“[Soldiers say] ‘How do I fit back in here? My spouse was independent. They were able to do things on their own the entire time I was gone, so how do I fit back into the equation?’ Sometimes it’s difficult for them to get back together,” stated Arnett.
In efforts to bring the spouses back together, the ACS staff held discussions and led different activities.
“This is an interactive class,” said Stephanie Mellow, mobilization and deployment specialist, ACS and Alamogordo, N.M. native. “You’ll be doing some work groups with your spouse, with yourself and with your table. We want you to have fun with this, but it’s also a learning experience.”
The purpose of the different exercises was to accept the changes both the soldier and the spouse experienced while living separately for 12 months, Mellow said.
“There are a lot of challenges. You have changed; you have grown,” Mellow said. “We are preparing you for the battle you are going to face here, which is coming back to being a Family.”
Before the soldiers deployed, they were accustomed to a certain way of living with their family. However, it’s important for the soldiers to realize things will never fully revert back to how they were, said Arnett.
“Their relationship won’t be exactly like it was before, but it helps them to know it’s normal to have some ups and downs and bumps along the way,” stated Arnett.
To cultivate discussion and make the families feel at ease talking about their ups and downs, Mellow stressed the importance of the confidentiality in the class room.
“You guys face a lot of challenges,” stated Mellow. “If you have the courage to bring them forward, you should not have to worry about if they are going to go anywhere outside this room. We know some of this will be touchy stuff, and that’s all right. We want you to feel comfortable. If you don’t feel comfortable, just let us know, and we’ll work it the best we can.”
Soldiers in the course noted it was helpful to hear their brethren were experiencing the same problems they were and to have a venue to talk about marital issues, said Spc. Jeffery McCloud, multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment and Lake Elsinore, Calif. native.
“Sometimes you have a hard time thinking of things, but with this, other people shared things they’ve experienced and we kind of shook our heads like ‘yeah, we’ve experienced that,’” McCloud said.
Not only did the class offer McCloud and his wife the opportunity to discuss current issues, but also gave them tools to handle future situations, McCloud stated.
“If we think back to this class some day when we are having an argument, and we can’t get past it, this class might help us get past that argument, or at least cool down enough to think clearly,” McCloud said.
By giving service members the tools needed to maintain and grow their relationships, the ACS staff is working towards keeping families together. The life of a soldier is hard, but the people at the ACS want to do what they can to make life easier, Arnett said.
“We want them to be able to work things out. Military life is hard. Deploying is hard. It’s hard on the soldier and hard on the family,” said Arnett. “If we can do anything to make it easier for them when they come home, make it easier for them to come back together to the new norm, we will. By helping them, we are going to have stronger Army families, which makes stronger soldiers. It’s a win-win.”
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.02.2012 16:45 |
| Story ID: | 95608 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | ALAMOGORDO, NM, US |
| Hometown: | LAKE ELSINORE, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 124 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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