Coping With Deployments Joining the military means that a person will be basically turning his or her life over to a commitment that is the most serious commitment he or she will make in a lifetime. Whether it is the Marines, the Navy, the Army or Air Force, a member of the armed forces can expect to be sent into harm's way -- or sent to a foreign land where unknown dangers may await. In addition, the military person must deal with the separation from one's family, which creates a great deal of stress for the military member and his or her family. This paper relates to those stresses when deployment comes into play.

Deployments

Each person of course deals with deployment in a different way, just as everyone deals with stress and anxiety differently. On the one hand, an Army PFC knows when he joins that he might have a tour of duty in Afghanistan, but does that make it easier to leave his beautiful wife who is pregnant with their first child? The answer of course is no, it doesn't make it easier just because he knew when he joined the Army his life could change and might change dramatically.

As a person in the Army is on board a C-130 with many other troops, and the big plane gets closer to Afghanistan, in this case he must connect with others; he must learn to communicate effectively. After all, he has been trained to know how to solve problems, and the powerful emotions he may be experiencing can be turned into a positive if he follows the rules and even works to build resilience.
The ten ways to build resilience are worthy of following: a) make solid connections with others (become close buddies); b) don't view a crisis as an "insurmountable" problem (everything can be solved); c) change, any change, is just part of living; d) set goals and move towards them; e) be decisive, confront each day with positivity; f) look for ways for self-discovery;…