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Penny Monetti- From Loading Artillery to Loading the Dishwasher: Part Two

From Loading Artillery to
Loading the Dishwasher:

Military Transitions

2

By Penny Monetti

copyright_jeffreyworthington2012-027.jpg - 528.54 Kb

After interviewing numerous military members for our upcoming book, “Called to Serve II,” I was perplexed at the high number of veterans yearning to return to the combat theater. The reason they wanted to redeploy is because they felt out of control at home.

They were accustomed to the tense deployment structure and constant adrenaline surges. Family members could not relate to their stressful experiences. The veteran’s desire to redeploy inadvertently inflicts invisible wounds to the confused home-front spouses, causing them to feel unworthy and unloved. Although these veterans loved and missed their families immensely while deployed, they felt compelled to return to an identifiable structure where they related to others, so they felt torn. Retuning reserve soldiers feel
especially isolated. Unlike active duty members who return to a military community, the reservists return to civilian jobs, and co-workers cannot even relate to military life, yet alone, combat.

According to research, one in five returning veterans exhibit symptoms of PTSD (1). Female soldiers are twice as likely to exhibit
PTSD symptoms then men and up to three times more likely to experience divorce then their male comrades, according to Pentagon statistics.

Transitioning to the home-front from the battlefront, especially for warriors with PTSD, can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to
be if three words are put into action: education, education, education, and then applying those words at three crucial times: before, during, and after deployment.

Act. Don’t react. Experience smooth transitions through education.

Calledtoserveministry.com lists numerous sites to proactively educate and receive support through all military challenges. You will find
thoroughly researched military support sites for: anonymous online counseling, connecting with fellow veterans, PTSD, strengthening marriages, and many other helpful sites.

1 http://www.rand.org/news/press/2008/04/17.html

Copyright © 2011 by Penny Monetti (Work in Progress) All
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