thedrifter
02-26-06, 07:40 AM
Marines' families ready for landing
Sunday, February 26, 2006
By STEPHANIE BARRY
sbarry@repub.com
CHICOPEE - There are changes in store for Marine Cpl. Carlos Hernandez-Garcia when he returns home after nine months overseas.
His wife, Marisol Reyes-Hernandez, 24, has a new job, a new apartment, a new pet. Their 3-year-old daughter has transitioned from baby to toddler over the last seven months.
"We were only married three weeks before he left," Reyes-Hernandez said yesterday. She was one of dozens of family members who attended a "reunion briefing" at Westover Air Reserve Base yesterday.
Around 70 reservists, mostly members of the TOW Platoon, 25th Marines Combat Unit, will be returning from Fallujah, Iraq, in April.
Military and civilian counselors yesterday said reuniting after a long absence with wives, parents, girlfriends and children often prompts joy. But homecomings can also trigger angst.
"The most dangerous and vulnerable time for Marines is when they get back," Capt. Jose Vengoechea told family members. "They're going to think they're invincible."
Problems such as excessive drinking, bar brawling, driving while impaired or other risky behavior could erupt, Vengoechea said. In addition, other more mundane challenges can arise over child-rearing, money, and the personal changes undergone by both military members and the families they leave behind.
"In that time away, you have changed ... your Marine has changed, too," Marine Corps Chaplain Sean O'Brien said.
Rebuilding intimacy and respecting the returning Marine's adjustment period are critical to a fulfilling return, O'Brien said.
"We had a really hard time after he came back home from Peru," Reyes-Hernandez, of Hartford, says of her husband's previous deployment in 2004. "We didn't communicate as much as we did this time around."
Maj. Dan R. Dachelet said overseas deployments can often be worse for reservists than full-time military personnel.
"It's so much more traumatic for them because they leave their regular jobs and their families aren't in the mindset," Dachelet said.
Debbie DelMastro of Naugatuck, Conn., has been wringing her hands since her oldest son, Anthony, 20, was deployed with the 25th. But her anxiety level ratcheted even higher when he told her of his plans to buy a motorcycle when he returns home.
"I don't want him to get a motorcycle. It's unsafe. There are so many accidents," she said yesterday. "But he's strong-willed."
Combat missions often make Marines (average age 21) more stubborn, several counselors said.
"Chances are your Marine will come back bigger, faster and very, very cocky," said Vengoechea, who returned from Fallujah a bit early after his wife gave birth. Yesterday, he still had Iraqi sand in his boots. "Evil sand," he called it.
The Marine Corps provides family support services for all military personnel. Massachusetts residents may even be entitled to grant money to ease financial troubles while on active duty.
Ellie
Sunday, February 26, 2006
By STEPHANIE BARRY
sbarry@repub.com
CHICOPEE - There are changes in store for Marine Cpl. Carlos Hernandez-Garcia when he returns home after nine months overseas.
His wife, Marisol Reyes-Hernandez, 24, has a new job, a new apartment, a new pet. Their 3-year-old daughter has transitioned from baby to toddler over the last seven months.
"We were only married three weeks before he left," Reyes-Hernandez said yesterday. She was one of dozens of family members who attended a "reunion briefing" at Westover Air Reserve Base yesterday.
Around 70 reservists, mostly members of the TOW Platoon, 25th Marines Combat Unit, will be returning from Fallujah, Iraq, in April.
Military and civilian counselors yesterday said reuniting after a long absence with wives, parents, girlfriends and children often prompts joy. But homecomings can also trigger angst.
"The most dangerous and vulnerable time for Marines is when they get back," Capt. Jose Vengoechea told family members. "They're going to think they're invincible."
Problems such as excessive drinking, bar brawling, driving while impaired or other risky behavior could erupt, Vengoechea said. In addition, other more mundane challenges can arise over child-rearing, money, and the personal changes undergone by both military members and the families they leave behind.
"In that time away, you have changed ... your Marine has changed, too," Marine Corps Chaplain Sean O'Brien said.
Rebuilding intimacy and respecting the returning Marine's adjustment period are critical to a fulfilling return, O'Brien said.
"We had a really hard time after he came back home from Peru," Reyes-Hernandez, of Hartford, says of her husband's previous deployment in 2004. "We didn't communicate as much as we did this time around."
Maj. Dan R. Dachelet said overseas deployments can often be worse for reservists than full-time military personnel.
"It's so much more traumatic for them because they leave their regular jobs and their families aren't in the mindset," Dachelet said.
Debbie DelMastro of Naugatuck, Conn., has been wringing her hands since her oldest son, Anthony, 20, was deployed with the 25th. But her anxiety level ratcheted even higher when he told her of his plans to buy a motorcycle when he returns home.
"I don't want him to get a motorcycle. It's unsafe. There are so many accidents," she said yesterday. "But he's strong-willed."
Combat missions often make Marines (average age 21) more stubborn, several counselors said.
"Chances are your Marine will come back bigger, faster and very, very cocky," said Vengoechea, who returned from Fallujah a bit early after his wife gave birth. Yesterday, he still had Iraqi sand in his boots. "Evil sand," he called it.
The Marine Corps provides family support services for all military personnel. Massachusetts residents may even be entitled to grant money to ease financial troubles while on active duty.
Ellie