It is important to recognize the tremendous service our troops offered in Iraq but it is equally important to acknowledge the significant demands that deployment places on the people at home.

Your Service Member may have just returned or will be returning soon. Although homecoming is typically joyous, it is often helpful to be aware that a return to daily routines may take some time and be accompanied by some unexpected feelings and challenges.

Military families that have experienced the deployment of a family member are aware that a transitional period occurs before it feels that life is back to normal. They also come to appreciate that "normal" will not necessarily be the same as before; but rather represent a "new normal" as family members and routines may have changed to adapt to the demands of deployment.

The length of and difficulties encountered through the transition will vary greatly among families with many families experiencing no or few problems. Most families do proceed through common phases. Events or tasks associated with these phases are described further in the Restoring the Family Unit section of this web-site.

Other sections of this web-site address concerns frequently expressed by family members, such as:

• Helping the returning Service Member adjust to changes (physical, emotional and/or behavioral) that may have emerged following deployment
  
• Addressing family member’s own emotional responses to the war and re-connection with the Service Member
  
• Dealing with children’s re-adjustment, fears, and questions
  

An overview of these concerns and some guidance in addressing them is provided in the following sections: