Your deployment ended, and you got home. You have unpacked your duffel. You cleaned your uniforms. I stored my equipment in the closet. You returned to your "civilian" career. Back to the drill weekend you went to. You went back to your life.

But you didn't unpack the deployment from your mind.

The hypervigilance stayed. The nightmares stayed. The anger stayed. The numbness stayed. This feeling of not being understood remained. This sense of being an outsider in your own life persisted.

You were hoping time would make it better. It wasn't time that resolved that. Time made it worse. The memories weren't forgotten. The recollections became clearer.

Post-deployment stress is not a disease. Post-deployment stress is a normal response to an abnormal experience. The Debrief Protocol is your way of processing what you never processed.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:17-18

WHAT NO ONE TOLD YOU ABOUT COMING HOME

You were trained to deploy for the military. The military isn't responsible for training you for life after you leave.

Classes were held on IED recognition. You were trained in combat first aid. Classes were conducted on cultural awareness. You weren't given any classes on how to unpack your brain.

The military prepared you for the war overseas. The army has left you behind in the battle for a nation at war.

Why didn't anyone try to tell you?

It would be like another deployment when they got home. You would not be understood by your family. Your colleagues at work wouldn't know what you're saying. You would not be understood by your old friends. At home you would feel lonelier than you ever have overseas.

The Debrief Protocol is the homecoming training that you never got.

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THE ARIZONA FACTOR

Arizona isn't a place where one comes home at the end of the day.

The temperature is hot, hot! The sun never sets. The desert is vast. It is actual isolation. The Phoenix VA is inundated. The Tucson VA is flooded. Waitlists are long. The help is slow.

Everything is tougher in the Arizona desert. The hot weather leaves one exhausted. You are irritated due to tiredness. You are getting more irritable, which is causing your family to move away. The isolation pushes you to go further and further into yourself.

You reside in a state that has 600,000 veterans. You live in a state where there is help, but the help is difficult to come by. The Debrief Protocol is a protocol that is for use in Arizona. Not for a therapist's office. Living room decor ideas. For your truck. For the desert.

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THE DEBRIEF PROTOCOL

All missions are debriefed by the military. Each time you finished a patrol, you would sit down with your patrol team. You spoke about the incident. What went right. What went wrong? How you would change your approach.

You are not a deployer and never debrief your deployment. "Debrief" is the debrief protocol.

1. The Personal Debrief (Alone)

Before you tell others, you must tell yourself what has happened.

Sit alone. No phone. No TV. No distractions. Record all that you recall from your deployment. Not an official copy. Your version. The smells. The sounds. The moments that no one else saw. The unspoken things you have no idea about.

Complete in one session. Do not stop. Don't limit yourself to what you think is appropriate. Get the pen moving and write until you have no more left to write.

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2.  Battle Buddy Debrief (One Person)

One person was present. One person who is intelligent without a reason. One who witnessed what you saw.

Call them. Text them. See them at a Phoenix, Tucson, or Mesa coffee shop. Say these words: "I need to debrief the deployment. Are you ready?"

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3. Your Home Front (The Family Debrief)

Your family doesn't understand your experience. They cannot understand. They were not there. They need to be aware of what you're feeling now.

Sit in a circle with your spouse or your parents or your children. Repeat the following words: "I am experiencing post-deployment stress, which is not your fault or my fault; it is a normal response to an abnormal experience. I need you to be patient with me because there is nothing you did wrong, I'm not being silent about you, I'm not pulling away from you, and I'm not angry with you.

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4. The Professional Debrief (The Expert)

This is something that one is not capable of doing on one's own. Look for a therapist experienced with veterans of war. The VA has them. They are available at the Vet Centers. They have them in private practice. Call today. Make an appointment. Go.

The pro debrief is not a weakness. Professional debriefing is a resupply. A soldier wouldn't go into battle without bullets. Don't experience post-deployment stress alone.

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THE THREE POST-DEPLOYMENT REALITIES

Reality One: Time does not cure all

Combat wounds cannot be healed with time. Without processing, they will get worse with time. The memories don't go away. The recollections are cut clearly. Emotions don't become muted. The emotions get more intense.

Time is not healing! Action is the healing drug. The Debrief Protocol is the action.

Reality Two: Your battle buddy wants to talk

Your battle buddy is waiting for someone to go first. Your battle buddy is also struggling. Your battle buddy is also silent. Go first. Break the silence.

Your battle buddy is not your enemy. Your battle buddy is your debrief partner.

Reality Three: There is no timeline

There is no "should" for post-deployment stress. There is only where you are. The Debrief Protocol is how you move forward from where you are.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint." — Isaiah 40:31

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Conclusion

Arizona Army Reserve, you asked, "How do I navigate the effects of post-deployment stress?"

The answer is the Debrief Protocol.

The personal debrief. The battle buddy debrief. The family debrief. The professional debrief.

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The military debriefs every mission. Your deployment was a mission. Debrief it. You are not broken. You are an undebriefed soldier. The Debrief Protocol is your debrief.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." — Matthew 11:28

The Remnant does not transition. The Remnant re-enlists.

Spiritual Minded Military
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