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Announcements

Hiring Our Heroes Caregivers Event - Silver Spring, MD, May 18

On May 18, Hiring Our Heroes will be hosting a Wounded Warriors Caregivers Hiring Fair and Career Forum from 10am-3pm.

All caregivers of wounded Warriors are welcome, including spouses, parents, siblings, and loved ones. For additional details, see the attachment.

To register, click here: http://bit.ly/KiVW6e. Drop in and out according to your schedule! more

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Caregiver Support Program

A Message from Ms. Margaret Kabat, Deputy Director, VA Caregiver Support Program:

VA has long recognized the crucial role that Family Caregivers play in helping Veterans recover from injury and illness and in providing for their daily care in the community. VA values the sacrifices Caregivers make to enable Veterans to remain at home. Caregivers are truly p ... more

Hiring Our Heroes Veterans Event - U.S.S. Intrepid, New York City, Mar 28

If you are in New York City or able to get there on March 28, be sure to attend the Hiring Our Heroes Veterans Event being held on the U.S.S Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum from 7am-3pm.

See the attached flyer for more details! As always, please forward to anyone you know who may be interested.

Any questions, please contact HiringOurHeroes@uschamber.co ... more

Spouses and Partners: Loving Someone in the Military

National Guard spouses and partners play an important role in the health and wellbeing of their Service member. Whether it’s maintaining a household or providing emotional support, being a partner to a Service member may present greater challenges as well as greater opportunities to be close to one another. Below, you’ll find information about:

What to expect when your partner is deployed

How to cope throughout your partner’s service

How to support your loved one

 

When Your Partner is Deployed

Being apart from your National Guard Service Member, whether they’re on a weekend drill or away on deployment, can disrupt your family routines, place emotional distance between you and your spouse or partner, and create feelings of loneliness, fear, or anxiety. You may also experience a pattern of emotions and behaviors that correlate with the stages of your loved one’s deployment – also known as the “Emotional Deployment Cycle”.

Phases of the “Emotional Deployment Cycle”

  1. Pre-Deployment. At first indication of your partner’s imminent deployment you may experience:
    • Fears of life without your partner
    • Confusion, depression, or anger about the future
    • Resentment at being left alone
    Immediately prior to departure, you may also experience:
    • Feeling detached or withdrawn from your partner
    • Impatience, irritability, like you’re “ready to get it over with”
    • Emotional and/or physical distance between you and your partner
    • Heated arguments with your partner
  2. Deployment. After your loved one departs, you may experience:
    • Mixed emotions – numbness, sadness, relief
    • Increased feelings of independence and freedom
    • Difficulty transitioning into new routines and tasks without your partner
    • Loneliness, hopelessness, mental and physical exhaustion
    • Trouble sleeping
  3. Sustainment. Once you’ve adjusted to your loved one’s absence, you may experience:
    • A sense of accomplishment and strength
    • More control over your situation
    • Anxiety about missing or not receiving communication from your partner
    • A change in children’s behavior
    • Anticipation for your partner’s homecoming
  4. Post-Deployment. After your Service member returns, you may experience:
    • A honeymoon period
    • Feelings of being smothered, or loss of independence
    • Difficulty adjusting to your partner’s reintegration into your life
    • Emotional distance due to experiences your partner had while deployed

Remember, you may not experience any/all of the steps listed above. No matter how you react, or how that changes, over your partner’s deployment, be sure to seek support when you need it.

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How to Cope with your Partner’s Separation

  1. Create a support network. Find local resources on the JSS Resource Finder, connect with your local church, synagogue or mosque for support, and connect with members of your immediate and extended family to ensure that you receive emotional and household support while your loved one is away.
  2. Prepare for your loved one’s separation ahead of time. If possible, collaborate with friends, family and your Service member to set up routines, tasks and payments before your partner leaves for their duty assignment. This will ensure a smoother transition into life while your spouse is away.
  3. Attend a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event. One of the best ways to learn about benefits and entitlements your family is eligible for as a result of your spouse’s service in the National Guard Is to attend a local Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event. Find a event near you on the events listing.
  4. Rely on your State/Territory support program staff. The National Guard Bureau sponsors a number of programs to support Service members and their Families. Peruse the program sites available through the Joint Services Support (JSS) System, and locate your state/territory staff in the JSS Resource Finder.
  5. Get connected. Write, email or send care packages to your loved one to help you feel connected while they’re away. For your own support, social networks are a great way to find other military spouses who may be experiencing the same things you are. The JSS system offers a number of tools and features that help you get connected, including forums, resource directories, and groups features. Join JSS or [get more information].

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How to Support Your Loved One

If your Service Member is showing signs of emotional distress, help is available. Call your Director of Psychological Health and, in the meantime, follow these basic tips:

    • Be sensitive to your Service member’s desire to discuss what they experienced during their deployment.
    • If they do want to talk, be a patient, receptive listener.
    • Encourage your partner to seek the counsel of a trusted advisor, spiritual leader, or respected peer/family member.

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