Hey All, I found this list at military.com and thought it would be a good idea to post this as a resource. If you have a spouse, family member or friend currently deployed, you might want to read this. some say it's like reading the stages of grief. What do you think? The Emotional Cycle of Deployment Stage One Anticipation of Loss One to 6 weeks before deployment Underlying tension. Difficulty in accepting reality of separation. Frequent bickering. Much unexpressed anger, resentment, numbness,sexual withdrawal, irritability and restlessness. Stage Two Detachment and Withdrawal Last week before deployment Emotional release of service member. Detachment, despair, emotional distance, sexual withdrawal. Stage Three Emotional Disorganization First six weeks of deployment Withdrawal, numbness, mild shock, depression, disorganization. Stage Four Recovery and Stabilization Depends on individual New family patterns. Intermittent incapacitation physical symptoms and illness. Feeling of isolation, vulnerability, anxiousness, mild depression. Feeling of independence and self confidence. Stage Five Anticipation of Homecoming Six Weeks prior to Homecoming Excitement, eagerness, increased nervousness and tension, ambivalence and guilt. Purposeless activity and disorganization. Sleep disturbance and loss of appetite. Stage Six Renegotiation of Marital Relationship Six weeks after reunion Depressive symptoms: loss of appetite, weeping, irritability, sleep disturbance. Impulse to punish spouse. Increased tension, nervousness, excitement, arguments. Extensive renegotiation. Stage Seven Reintegration and Re stabilization Six to twelve weeks after reunion Depressive symptoms reduced. Relaxed, comfortable with spouse. Feeling of family reestablished. New routines adopted

I think that it is going to vary depending on how many deployments one has been on. I know my first deployment was like that, but the subsequent deployments weren't really like that. I didn't really experience many of those stages for my first deployment. I was scared for certain, I was a single mom at the time so it was a rush to find some one to take my son for about 179 days he was only 1 or so at the time. I remember missing my son a whole lot. I also had the unique position of being deployed to a classified area so I couldn't get "care packages" from my family because they didn't know I was gone. So my first deployment was the loneliest, but very shortly after I made great friends with allied forces. We had some Australian, British SAS and Polish troops there with us who ended up becoming better friends with me because of my European childhood. Maybe this will sound a bit silly, but I loved getting deployed. There were a -lot- of drawbacks. Don't get me wrong, I have some things that I will carry with me for the rest of my life that I'd rather not, but I have a lot of great stories and I made a lot of friends, and I can say that I've done something that not many people have in their lives. Deployments are most rough on the Reservist and National Guard soldiers who came to the desert. I was Active Duty Air Force so for me we were told every day that we could be called up at 3am to "pack up and go". We lived a military life 24/7. We weren't leaving a civilian life. Deployments weren't a rare thing they were an inevitability. This isn't the same for the Reserve or National Guard, they have civilian jobs, and civilian lives that they leave. It's harder for them.