By Sue Schulzetenberg-Gully
The Visitor
Returning home from Iraq in 2005, Major Jeff Howe of the Army National Guard was asked to participate in a new reintegration program called “30-60-90.”
“We were the guinea pigs,” he said of the program that helps returning soldiers at 30, 60 and again at 90 days. “I thought if we could go through combat and survive, going home would be easy.”
But it wasn’t. Adjusting back to civilian life turned out to be more difficult than he expected.
During the 18-month deployment, he was a company commander of 250 soldiers in a transportation company. They drove on bomb-laden roads, and he knew there was a chance that when he sent the soldiers out, they might not survive. Still, they had a job to do. By the end of his deployment, one soldier died in the line of duty and 15 others were wounded.
Returning home from the deployment, Howe said his nerves were “shot.” But trips to the Veterans
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Affairs office and speaking opportunities helped him function.
Life at home was completely different than in Iraq. He no longer lived with his “military family” that experienced the trauma of war firsthand. He was back with his wife and children in Rockville. Back home he was faced with culture shock.
“You feel overwhelmed,” Howe said. “I’ve got to decide what I’m going to wear; I’ve got grocery shopping to do; there are bills to pay; you have to pay for gas. There, everything was provided. I had to buy clothes because nothing fit anymore. It was overwhelming because everything came at you so fast. Nothing was structured as over there. There everything had structure. This seems much more chaotic.”
Across the St. Cloud Diocese, many families are welcoming soldiers home. This April and May, 2,700 soldiers of the First Brigade Combat Team, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division returned home from deployment.
Pastors can be of great assistance to soldiers returning home, Chaplain John Morris, chief of Chaplains for the Minnesota National Guard, told 25 pastors and religious leaders at a clergy forum sponsored by the Central MN Warrior to Citizen initiative May 3 at Love of Christ Lutheran Church in St. Cloud.
Acknowledging the challenges
Chaplain Morris described the typical soldier returning home. He encouraged pastors and parents not to jump to the conclusion that returning soldiers saw people blown up every day and now have mental disorders.
He said the portrayal of war on television is misleading because many of the soldiers never shot their weapons, never saw human life taken and experienced more days that were boring than traumatic. Those who experienced human life taken do not willingly talk about it, he added.
“Most people bragging about combat weren’t there and didn’t do it,” he said.
Morris said 6 to 9 percent of returning combat soldiers do have post-traumatic stress disorder. Soldiers with the disorder will need help from trained professionals, he added, although not everyone who experiences post-traumatic stress has the disorder.
“There’s a lot of post-traumatic stress that dissipates overtime if people return to a wholesome family, welcoming faith community and gainful employment or education,” Chaplain Morris said.
Returning soldiers could benefit greatly by a pastor taking them out for lunch once a month, he said. The soldiers might not talk about the war, but the pastor could be a stable person for them. Paying for marriage retreats and offering family care and counseling can also be very beneficial for soldiers, he said. Pastors can also help soldiers with finding a job.
“You all can help me with this because you do life guidance,” Chaplain Morris told the pastors at the clergy forum. “[You can] sit down with us and say what are your strengths, your vocational gifts? What did God put you on the planet to do? Nobody asks us that.”
Chaplain Morris said soldiers often experience spiritual growth after combat. Many of the world’s peacemakers were in wars and wanted to find better solutions.
“Your next pastors are wearing uniforms, your next missionaries, your Christian educators, your next church administrators. You don’t know that because you haven’t called for it,” said Chaplain Morris. “After every war, there’s been a crest in vocations and missionary service by combat veterans. It will be really true in this generation if you just call for it. We’re idealistic, we’re volunteers, we’ve been to third world nations, and we want to see a better way of solving problems. Call us to mission and service. We will respond.”
Staying connected
Some churches already offer ways to reach out. St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sartell, for example, is planning an evening meal for returning soldiers and their families.
“When they return, we want to keep connected and let them know we are with them,” said Franciscan Sister Cordy Korkowski, staff liaison for the Advocates for Military Families Committee at St. Francis Xavier.
Sister Cordy sees the church’s role as listening, praying, reaching out, supporting and recognizing the soldiers as people with dignity and in need of healing.
For Howe, calls from Chaplain Morris helped him adjust. The chaplain asked Howe to speak to groups about his experience checked up on how he was doing.
“That’s what helped me get out of the fog, Chaplain Morris asked me to give a Lessons Learned,” said Howe.
The speaking engagement helped Howe, who worked in the firefighting field, to connect with people, he said.
Howe also found the 30-60-90 program to be more helpful than he imagined. The program has been revised since Howe participated in it but continues to be very valuable. Other initiatives, such as Warrior to Citizen, also help returning soldiers.
Major Howe was deployed again in 2009, but when he returned home the second time, it was not nearly as difficult to adjust. He had foot and knee surgeries after he returned and so he was able to transition to society more slowly.
He also returned to his job as a fire and emergency management coordinator in Waite Park and then worked in the Minnesota Army National Guard as an operations chief in the mobilization section until recently retiring.
His advice to churches is to reach out to families.
“When those families do retract, you just need to connect with them,” Howe said. “Come and have a cup of coffee or take them out to lunch to keep them involved. That’s the key, keeping them involved in the church and what goes on. Say, ‘We’re going to stop over and bring some cookies.’”
By Sue Schulzetenberg-Gully
The Visitor
Returning home from Iraq in 2005, Major Jeff Howe of the Army National Guard was asked to participate in a new reintegration program called “30-60-90.”
“We were the guinea pigs,” he said of the program that helps returning soldiers at 30, 60 and again at 90 days. “I thought if we could go through combat and survive, going home would be easy.”
But it wasn’t. Adjusting back to civilian life turned out to be more difficult than he expected.
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