Author Archive

Reintegration: The Second Time Around

By • Dec 4th, 2009 • Category: Post-Deployment, Relationships

This is a post by Brittany, an Army wife who has survived her husband’s second deployment. You can read her blog here. This is SO DIFFERENT than last time. Different, and in so many ways, better. But different none the less. My husband is super-husband, a change from what I was used to the last […]



I became part of the Deployment…

By • Nov 23rd, 2009 • Category: Civilian Support, Combat Stress, Communication, Post-Deployment, Relationships

I received an email today from an Army Commander who had just learned that Paul and I divorced. He told me that he was planning a relationship workshop for his troops, who are currently deployed. I wrote back, telling him that I thought it was a wonderful – and much needed – idea. Then, as I mulled over […]



Military Tries to Predict PTSD

By • Nov 23rd, 2009 • Category: Combat Stress, Communication, In the Press, Relationships

Military Experiment Seeks to Predict PTSD By Alicia Chang / Associated Press Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images. Smiling kids embracing a soldier. A dog sniffing blood oozing […]



Can PTSD Be Eliminated?

By • Nov 18th, 2009 • Category: Combat Stress, Communication, In the Press, Relationships

The Sensitive Soldier: Can US troops be rewired to be impervious to trauma? In the wake of Fort Hood, Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum launched a groundbreaking program to eliminate PTSD. By Gail Sheehy / The Daily Beast “How am I going to get people to focus not on tragedy, but on resilience?” Brigadier General Rhonda […]



Nothing Could Stop This Day From Coming…

By • Nov 18th, 2009 • Category: Parenting, Pre-Deployment, Relationships

Here is a post from Michelle, who is sending her husband, Dave – an Air Force JAG officer – off to Afghnaistan. You can read her blog here. In the past 8 days, there has been a promotion, a diagnosis of developmental disorder, an ear infection, military paperwork, and Hurricane Ida, but nothing could stop this […]



For my Soldier Ex-Husband, on Veteran’s Day

By • Nov 11th, 2009 • Category: Combat Stress, Communication, Post-Deployment, Relationships

Today is Veteran’s Day. And your 33rd birthday. I guess there was no way to avoid thinking about you today. But the truth is, I think about you a lot. I think about you every time I update this blog. Every time there’s a story in the news about a soldier that was killed; or […]



Reach Out to Family/Friends for the Support You Need

By • Oct 27th, 2009 • Category: Civilian Support, Communication, Featured, Passing the Time, Relationships

Just because your spouse/partner is deployed, doesn’t mean you are totally alone. (Although, sometimes it can feel like it!) You do have a support system made up of extended family and friends; most of us just don’t take the time to access it when we don’t need it! My mom was an Army wife. Even […]



Preparing for Another Deployment

By • Oct 26th, 2009 • Category: Parenting, Passing the Time, Pre-Deployment, Relationships

Ideas from a Veteran Army wife about preparing for a deployment (This is her 5th!) You can read more from her blog here. You would think after 4 year long deployments, I would be an old pro at this, but every deployment is different, and so it’s time to start thinking about this next one. […]



We Have To Get Used To Him Being Gone Again

By • Oct 16th, 2009 • Category: Parenting, Passing the Time, Pre-Deployment, Relationships

Here’s a post from an Army wife counting down to her husband’s next deployment. You can read her blog here.   K.’s gear packed up in the barn a couple of weeks ago. GI Joe would sell his Kung Fu grip for all the stuff K. has stashed away in there! The closer he gets […]



I Didn’t Recognize My Own Need for Counseling…

By • Oct 13th, 2009 • Category: Civilian Support, Combat Stress, Communication, Guard/Reserve Issues, Post-Deployment, Relationships

Here’s some powerful testimony from SSG Eddie Black, a veteran of the Marine Corps (Desert Storm) and the Oregon National Guard (OIF2) about his return from combat. Eddie now gives free talks for veterans on PTSD. You can email him here.     “When I got back from Iraq, all I wanted to do was go […]




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