The document discusses skills and strategies for soldiers to build resilience during post-deployment reintegration. It outlines skills soldiers gained during deployment, such as cohesion, discipline, and emotional control, that can help with reintegration. The document recommends actively reconnecting with relationships through techniques like active constructive responding and praise. It also provides signs that a soldier may be struggling with reintegration, such as changes in sleep, anger, or relationships. The overall message is that soldiers have skills from deployment that can help with life challenges if applied to reintegrating successfully at home.

1. Post-Deployment
Resilience Training
for Soldiers
(Reintegration)
CARY MCENTEE
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2. Resiliency
Resiliency is the ability to overcome
challenges of all kinds–trauma, tragedy,
personal crises, plain 'ole' life problems–
and bounce back . Using the obstacle or
challenge for opportunity!..
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3. BLUF
You, as deployment veterans, have the
learned skills to overcome the obstacles
of reintegration and life!..
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4. Takeaways
• Skills and experiences to building
resiliency
• Reestablishing relationships
• Identifying soldiers struggling with
reintegration
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5.  Optimism
 Hunt the good stuff
 Practice humor
Optimism and Humor
– The dream vs. the reality
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6. Welcome Home
 You have skills that helped you throughout
the deployment
 These same skills will help you to
transition home
 However, adapting these skills for home
can be challenging
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7. Combat Veteran’s Paradox
After returning home, Soldiers are
usually happy to be back home but
they may feel edgy and pissed off…
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8. Deployment Skills
 What combat skills did you use during the
deployment that helped you be resilient?
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9. Deployment Skills
 Cohesion: My buddies and I are there for each
other; I built relationships that will last a lifetime.
 Sharing Experiences: I can talk to my battle buddies
because they know what it was like.
 Discipline: I can be relied on to give and take
orders.
 Being Responsible: I take personal responsibility for
failures and credit successes to the team.
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10. Deployment Skills
 Accountability: I maintain control to make sure
things are done correctly.
 Targeted Aggression: Focused aggression keeps
me alert so I could handle danger
 Tactical Awareness: I am alert to dangers in my
environment
 Emotional Control: I am in control of my emotions
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11.  Cohesion (Teamwork)
 Sharing Experiences
 Discipline
 Being Responsible
 Accountability
 Targeted Aggression
 Tactical Awareness
 Emotional Control
Deployment Skills
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12. Strength
Strength: Cohesion
 My buddies and I are there for each other;
I built relationships that will last a lifetime
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Re-establishing relationships back home
takes time
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13. Strength
Strength: Sharing Experiences
 I can talk to my Battle-Buddies because
they know what the deployment was like
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Friends and Family can support you better
if they know something about what you’ve
been through
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14. Strength
Strength: Discipline
 I can be relied upon to give (& take) orders
and complete a task
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Family and friends make decisions
together
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15. Strength
Strength: Being Responsible
 I take personal responsibility for failures
and credit successes to the team
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Recognize that when bad things happen,
there are many contributing factors
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16. Strength
Strength: Accountability
 I maintain control to ensure things are
done correctly
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Accepting that others do things differently
and I can’t control what they do
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17. Strength
Strength: Tactical Awareness
 I am alert to dangers in the environment
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 The level of threat is different at home; it
takes time to learn to relax
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18. Strength
Strength: Targeted Aggression
 Focused aggression kept me pumped up
and alert so I could handle danger
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Anger is normal after deployment and I
know how to keep it in check
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19. Strength
Strength: Emotional Control
 I am in control of my emotions
During the
Deployment
Back Home
 Showing a range of appropriate emotions
lets others know you care
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20. Identify Strengths in Self
What other personal strengths and skills do
you have to help you transition home?
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21. Re-Connecting
 Watch out for the iceberg of always
needing to be in control
 Apologize when needed
 Use Active
Constructive
Responding and
Praise
 Show appreciation
and gratitude for
each other
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22. Active Constructive Responding
• Active Constructive Responding (ACR) helps to
build Connection.
• You can strengthen your relationships by
responding actively and constructively to others’
positive experiences.
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23. Build Strong Relationships through ACR
• There are four ways people tend to respond
when others share good news, talk about a
positive experience, or describe a success.
• Only one of the four styles leads to stronger
relationships.
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24. But… how the other person responds matters.
Constructive Destructive
Authentic
interest,
elaborates the
experience;
person feels
validated and
understood
Squashing the
event, brings
conversation to a
halt; person feels
ashamed,
embarrassed,
guilty, or angry
Quiet, understated
support;
conversation
fizzles out; person
feels unimportant,
misunderstood,
embarrassed, or
guilty
Ignoring the
event;
conversation
never starts;
person feels
confused, guilty,
or disappointed
Passive Active
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25. Your face is worth a thousand words…
Constructive Destructive
Passive Active
Joy Multiplier Joy Thief
Conversation Killer
Conversation Hijacker
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26. Ask these Questions
• Why should we care about how we respond and how it
makes others feel?
• When is it difficult to choose Active Constructive
Responding style?
• When did someone use a style other than Active
Constructive with you in the past? How did it make you
feel? Did it change how you viewed yourself or your
abilities?
• What have you tried that seems to help you respond
more actively or constructively?
27
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27. What are your patterns?
• Make a list of the key people in your life (family
members, friends, colleagues, Platoon
members, etc.).
• Think about which box indicates the style of
responding that is typical of you with that
individual (consider what you say, how focused
versus distracted you are, your body language,
etc.).
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28. Praise & Criticism
• Effective criticism identifies what wasn’t working
and creates a path forward, frequently leads off
with “it is my understanding that….”.
• Effective Praise identifies what was working and
creates winning streaks.
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29. Praise
• Effective Praise names the specific strategy,
effort, or skill that led to the good outcome.
• Praise and criticism are opportunities to shape
behavior, enhance motivation, and build optimism
and resilience.
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30. Resilience Checks
 How do you know if you, one of your
buddies, or those you lead are struggling
with the transition?
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31.  Driving
 Alcohol
 Revved up
 Sleep
 Over-controlling
 Over-reacting
 Angry
 Detached or numb
Resilience Checks (1 of 2)
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32.  “You’ve changed”
 Intrusive memories
 Guilt and grief
 Relationships
 Weapons
 Risk taking
 Adrenaline highs
 Future focus
Resilience Checks (2 of 2)
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33. Takeaways
• Skills and experience to building
resiliency and overcoming life
challenges
• Reestablishing relationships
• Identifying soldiers struggling with
reintegration
• Deployment is a lifetime event use
the skills learned to your
advantage!.
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34. Warrior Training Web Page
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35. “However long the night, the dawn will
break.” African Proverb
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36. Welcome Home!
Questions?
Come talk to me!..
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