The Faith Community Recognizing & Responding To Those...

The Faith Community

Recognizing & Responding To

Those Who Have Served

Casualties of War

• Innocence is the first casualty of war

• Morality is the second casualty of war

• Truth is the third casualty of war

• Loss of combat friends is the fourth

casualty of war

• The fifth casualty of war is within

Thomas M. Rice Trial by Combat

Your Presenters • CAPT Tim Eichler, CHC, USN

• Force Chaplain

• Commander, Naval Air Force

• Timothy.eichler@navy.mil

• 619-545-2899

• Linda Walsh Garrison, BCCC

• +American Red Cross

• Service to the Armed Forces, CA

• Manager, Volunteer Partner

National/San Diego Spiritual Task Force

WalshGarrisonL@usa.redcross.org

917-597-6319 cell

Overview of Today’s Discussion

The Deployment Cycle

Your Faith Community’s Response

Spiritual Injury and Our Response

Developing One Pilot Project

The Environment: San Diego County

Commuter Military

Naval Medical Center San Diego

Demographics

San Diego County is home to the 8th largest City in the US

9 % of the population is Active Duty personnel

o95,000

o175,000 family members

Reserve / National Guard

Veterans

12% of all Veterans reside in California

13% of all Veterans in California reside in San Diego county

9/11 Veterans live in San Diego – highest in the nation

o28,000

The Environment: San Diego County

Deployments

Currently ranging from 7 ½ months to 13

months depending on unit

Deployment time does not include work-up

time i.e. getting ready to go

Example:

oCVN

• 72% of time at sea working up

• 7 ½ to 10 month deployment

• Over 2 years at sea time 80-85%

Impact • Service members and families experience stress

• Separation becomes a way of life

• Digital age has brought the front lines home

– Skype

– Facebook

• Draw down / Reduction in force

– USN 3,000 Navy-wide

– USA to reduce 100,000 to 490,000

– USMC to reduce to 182,000 from 202,00

The Big Picture

• Pre-Deployment

• Deployment

• Sustainment

• Post-Deployment

• Re-Deployment

• Living as a veteran civilian

Deployment – Families’ View

Percentage of Most Difficult Time

National Military Family Association Survey, 2005

Emotions, Roles, Adjustment

Pre-deployment

• Anticipation of loss vs. denial

• Train-up/long hours away

• Getting affairs in order

• Mental/physical distance

• Arguments

• Time frame: variable

13

STAGE ONE-ANTICIPATING THE LOSS

•Started when you heard the news •Tension builds

Worry, Irritable, Bickering, Anger, Crying/Sadness People handle tension differently

•Lots of Activity –Getting ready •Children act out the family tension

14

STAGE TWO-DETACHMENT & WITHDRAWAL

•Final days before departure •Increasing tension •Emotional distance •Your marriage is not in trouble •So much to do, so little time

Sample Projects: Pre-Deployment • Identify military personnel in congregation

• Home visits of support

– Identify stressors, provide referrals

– Include children

– Give couple a weekend alone

– Ask if they would like to be on prayer list

– Consider assigning a mentor

• Identify time to have special service near

deployment • Ritural/prayer/memento to go with service member

and stay with family

Deployment

(1 Month)

• Mixed emotions/relief

• Disoriented/overwhelmed

• Numb, sad, alone

• Sleep difficulty

• Security issues

• Time frame: first month

17

STAGE THREE-EMOTIONAL DISORGANIZATION

•The trucks/buses/planes pull out •Tension replaced by

feelings of loss and sadness •Service member feels ambivalent •The “Blues” •Single parenting •Children reactions

At home and at school •Lasts about 2 to 6 weeks

Sustainment

(2-13 Months)

• New routines established

• New sources of support

• Feel more in control

• Independence

• Confidence ("I can do this")

• Time frame: months two thru five

19

STAGE FOUR- RECOVERY & STABILIZATION

•About the 6th week •Settle into a routine •Activity important

Work, school, volunteer activities •Support group important

friends, church groups, other waiting spouses •If stuck, get help •Communication very important

“Keep those cards and letters coming” Children need to send and receive mail too Talk/write about what’s happening at home

20

STAGE FIVE-ANTICIPATING OF HOMECOMING

•Every deployment has an ending! •Starts about six weeks before end of deployment •Lots of activity (new dress, spruce up yard, haircuts) •Tension builds •Individual and family changes •Expectations •Changes vs. stayed the same •Prepare children •Preparation to become a couple/family again

Sample Projects: Deployment

• Take the Initiative

– Stay in touch with spouse/children

• Offer meals in early weeks

• Home visits:how are things – where is help needed

• Provide previously identified resources

• Offer prayer list, publish names in bulletins,

newsletter, but get permission first

• Identify house hold tasks, finances,

emotional/spiritual support needed

• Children tell the story; collect letters for parent

– Post picture on church display board

Sample Projects: Deployment

• Stay in touch with service member

– Emails

– Faith Community newsletter, bulletins,

sermons – with permission

– Send phone cards

– Ask what kind of care packages would be

welcomed, if any

– Advise of support being provided to family

– Pictures of faith community activities

Re-deployment

(Last Month) • Anticipation of homecoming

• Excitement

• Apprehension

• Burst of energy/"nesting"

• Difficulty making decisions

• Time frame: months five thru six

Re-deployment

(Last Month) • Anticipation of homecoming

• Excitement

• Apprehension

• Burst of energy/"nesting"

• Difficulty making decisions

• Time frame: months five thru six

25

Safe Returns and

Happy Reunions

26

Challenges for Servicemembers Returning

to Garrison and Home Life • Giving up the security of being surrounded by their buddies 24/7 • Giving up the security of being armed 24/7 • Learning that trash on the roadside back home is not going to explode as you drive by • Learning, not just in your head but in your heart, that people on the street do not want to kill you • Learning to adjust to the slower pace and lower excitement level of life at home • Relearning how to be around others without swearing or being offensive • Learning how to do the things you miss (like drinking, driving, or sex) in safe moderation • Figuring out how much to tell family and friends

27

STAGE SIX-REUNION

•Becoming a couple/family •Reunion day to 6 weeks •Strangers when we meet-intimacy grows •Different strokes for different folks •“Hold” the family reunion please •Time alone and time together •Quiet time/ noisy time •“I’m on the outside looking in” •Resuming the marital and parental roles •Responding to changes

Hey Mom/Dad I grew up! •Negotiating changes in the marital and parenting roles

Post-Deployment

(3-6 Months after deployment)

29

STAGE SEVEN- REINTEGRATION & STABILIZAION

•6 TO 12 WEEKS AFTER REUNION •Settling in •Our car, our house, our kids, our family •A functioning unit again •Stuck- Get help now

Sample Projects: Post-Deployment

• Offer welcome home ritual at church (be

cautious about setting person on a

pedestal)

• Offer couple a weekend alone

• Offer meals

• Offer ongoing child care

• Stay in touch

31

Possible Re-Deployment

• May make it difficult to fully come back • May be the “elephant” in the room • 43% of Families report fear of re-deployment

32

Living as a Civilian Veteran

• Military Service may have been one of the best/worst experiences of your life • You may yearn for your buddies even years later • You may have experiences that are difficult to share even with your closest family members • You may wish to be recognized but not seen as a hero

Injured Marines being evacuated from Hue City, Vietnam, 1968

Which of These Warriors Has

Been Injured by Combat Stress?

Wounds Resulting in Death

Note: Most returning

veterans are able to

make a satisfactory

adjustment to post-

military life. The Faith

Community can help

that happen.

Sample Projects: Civilian Veteran

• Offer annual recognition at church –

perhaps on Veterans Day or Memorial Day

(be cautious about hero worship)

• Offer Veterans the chance to tell some of

their story; ask that they share the impact

of war upon their faith

• Offer a special meal and fellowship for

veterans and families in your faith group

• Maintain a memorial wall for veterans

Stress Adaption versus Stress Injury?

• Injury

– May be more abrupt

– A derailment, a change in self

– Individual feels like not in control

– Very specific syndromes

• Adaptation

– A gradual process

– Can be traced over time

– Individuals feel like still themselves

– Limitless variability in appearance

When Adjustment Doesn’t Work

• Causes

– Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

– Combat Operational Stress

– Traumatic Brain Injury

– Other Physical Injuries

– Psychological and Spiritual Injuries

– Financial, vocational, marital issues

– Time to get professional help

The Results (For Some of Our Warriors)

TRAUMA GRIEF FATIGUE

Combat / Operational Stress

PTSD

Alcohol Drugs

Depression Anxiety Anger

Spiritual “Red Flags”

Loss of Faith

• Loss of faith during & following combat stress

• Difficulty reconciling faith with combat experiences

• N=100 Vietnam veterans in PTSD treatment

Spiritual “Red Flags”

Negative Religious Coping Question (somewhat +) OIF GP

I feel God is punishing me for my

sins or lack of spirituality.

53.1%

24.2%

I wonder whether God has

abandoned me.

53.1% 12.6%

* OIF (N=50 OIF/OEF veterans in PTSD treatment) * GP (N=654 males in Nat’l Rep. Sample)

Guard and Reserve Families

Where do They Get Their Support?

RAND Study Deployment Experiences of Guard and Reserve Families Implications for Support and Retention

Informal Resources

Military Resources

A Plan for the

Faith Community’s Response

• Be Aware of the Big Picture

• Assess the Need

• Assess the Resources

• Create a Pilot Project

Access the Need

• Get By-in of Leadership

• Conduct a survey

– Identify active service personnel

– Identify veterans

– Identify their families

– Identify felt needs

– Identify those who would like to help and the

help they could provide

Select a Pilot Project

• Compile Results of Survey

• Analyze your resources

• Select a pilot project

• Keep key leadership involved/informed

• Recruit those to make you project happen

Concluding Thoughts

• War is inherently a moral enterprise and

veterans in search of healing are on a

profound moral journey. Our veterans

cannot heal unless society accepts its

responsibility for its war making. To the

returning veteran, our leaders and people

must say, “You did this in our name and

because you were subject to our orders.

Concluding Thoughts

• We lift the burden of your actions from you

and take it on our shoulders. We are

responsible for you, and for what you did

(in our name), and for the consequences.”

• Edward Tick: Bringing Our Wounded Warriors Home.