Thank you for your service and for bringing these challenges into the awareness of the the general public. You are all an inspiration!!!

 

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Posted from the Home Town Clipper April 2010

Last month, I Corps arrived back at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Main. Over the next six months, the 3rd, 5th and 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Teams will follow suit. The base will be busy again; the homes within our communities will be full and the families complete. While this homecoming is nothing short of joyous, the waiting families and return-
ing soldiers need to appropriately prepare for the re-integration. Re-integration is defined as the restoring of something to a condition of unity, which is exactly what families expect to happen when deployments end.
More often than not, however, it is a process that is far from instantaneous. Dr. Bridget Cantrell runs Hearts toward Home International in Bell- ingham, which is a non-profit specializing in the issues that arise from
deployments, like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“It is very important that family members, be it spouses, parents or other relatives, not take a passive role during deployment,” said Dr. Cantrell. “The time leading up to a soldier’s arrival back home can be used to initiate an easier return.”
One of the primary concerns for families enduring a deployment is how the children will cope with the situation. While their deployed parent is away it is best to explain where that parent is by using a map or globe and even to teach them about the culture of that area. Removing the mystery will make things less frightening and more familiar, and will also allow the child to feel knowledgeable when the parent returns.
Likewise, keeping a calendar handy so that kids know what they are looking forward to can lessen the fear of a parent’s absence. Obvi- ously firm dates for a soldier’s R&R or redeployment cannot always be given, but an approximate timeframe can help them handle what is truly a daunting length of time.
Counselor Geri Magee (M.A.), of Accountability Counseling Ser- vices in Lakewood, believes that it is vital to advise children of what things will be like once mom or dad is back home. Explaining that the parent will be around more often is good, and following that with statements like ‘Dad might be tired for a bit’ or ‘He still has to work, but he will be here and not far away’ can ease the transition for kids.
For spouses and partners, this is a time to renew the bond they shared prior to deployment. Some couples may find that taking a communication or therapy course together can help them to readjust. For this, Magee recommends tools like the Receiving Love workbook (by Dr. Helen Hunt and Dr. Harville Hendrix) to facilitate honest com- munication between partners that may have become estranged.
For couples with children, remember that when there is tension and anxiety between parents, children will exhibit their own anxious tenden- cies. All couples need to reconnect, and often, that does not involve the entire family unit. A night or weekend either alone at home or away from home provides an opportunity to talk openly about changes that have oc- curred as well as what they’d like to happen in the future. An unpopular recommendation, but one made by both Cantrell and Magee, is that in- laws and extended family take a step back and wait until couples have had a chance to reconnect before overwhelming the soldier.
“Often the returning warrior is unsure how they will fit back into the family,” said Cantrell, who advised that the best tactic is to take things slow. “Start talking about things before they are home,” she advised.
Spouses at home need to honestly think about their expectations for the homecoming and evaluate if they are set too high, whether in regard to basic household issues or even intimacy. Furthermore, they need to communicate about these things with their soldier now, rath- er than later. It is imperative that the soldier’s wishes are respected. If they want to spend time alone without the kids at first or do not want a big welcome home party, abide by those requests.
Any one close to a service member needs to be aware of the symptoms of PTSD. Things like self-medicating with drugs or alcohol, violent nightmares or withdrawing emotionally are red flags and should not be ignored. Cantrell’s published books, Down Range, to Iraq and Back; Once a Warrior, Wired for Life; and Souls Under Siege are excellent resources that can aid in understanding the difficulties facing a soldier as they shift from the battlefield to the home front.
At the end of the day, families should take comfort in the fact that help is readily available for any problem they may face. Both Cantrell and Magee actively promote counseling for families and soldiers, though their services do come at a cost. JBLM Main’s Army Family Team Building and Family Advocacy Program will be unveiling a new schedule of free classes focusing on re-integration issues. To find out more, visit www.jblmmwr.com/acs/ and look under Family Support.
“Just remember that every deployment is different,” added Cantrell. “Do not compare your soldier to any other soldier. There is no tool for measuring how he or she will be affected.”
So as we say welcome home to each unique soldier, keep that in mind.

Home Town Clipper Article 2010

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Welcome to our new website. Please bear with us as we update the content and make minor changes. Hearts Toward Home International and Dr. Cantrell appreciate your continued support.

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Some Stuff goes here

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Watch this clip on TV tonight at 5

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A short memorial will be held Saturday night, Dec. 5, for the four Lakewood police officers who were killed Sunday, Nov. 30. The memorial will start at 7:30 p.m. and run until about 8 p.m. at Maritime Heritage Park here in Bellingham, WA. Local law enforcement would like to encourage everyone to attend.

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Oldest Female Marine Laid to Rest
November 18, 2009
Marine Corps News|by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton

NEW YORK — The oldest living female Marine died on Veterans Day and was buried in the Cypress Hills National Cemetery.

Miriam Cohen was one of the oldest females to enlist in 1943, at 35 years old, said Debra Allee, the 101-year-old’s niece. Cohen answered her nations calling twice, serving during World War II and the Korean War.

Cohen, a graduate of the Girls High School in Brooklyn (since renamed to Boys & Girls High School), moved to Tuscan, Ariz., when she was 92.

During their eulogy, her friends and family remembered Cohen’s energetic life and attachment to the Marines.

Rabbi Deborah Hirsch told the story of the five-foot, elderly Cohen pushing wheel chairs around the veteran’s clinics after she moved to Tucson, Ariz, well into her 90s Cohen continued working with veterans throughout her life, and in that her loved ones found meaning in the timing of her passing.

“She died on Veteran’s Day, that makes that day an even more sacred moment,” said Hirsch.

Allee said Cohen was a vanguard for women service members. Cohen was one of the first females to serve in a command post, along with being in the first group of female Marine enlistees.

One of the proudest moments of Cohen’s later life was her appearance as the grand marshal for the local Tucson, Ariz., Veteran’s Day parade in 2006, said Dennis Mincieli, Allee’s husband.

Apart from the friends and family gathered for the small grave-side ceremony, a group of local Marine Corps League and Women Marine Association members came to pay their respects and salute a fellow Marine laid to rest.

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