Does anyone know about this? Know anyone that deals with it? I think my DH is starting to suffer from it. How could he not after doing Samara/Balad in 04-05 and Baghdad 06-07 :( I want to know how I can help him over the phone, any advice would be tremedously appreciated.

I wish I knew how to help you...I'm really worried myself about DH's health - especially upon return. Really the only thing we can do is to "be there" and let them talk if they need to talk to someone. Like I said...I really wish I knew the answers...:hugs

My husband is an Education Facilitator in the Combat Stress Program here in Washington state. He said to be reassuring and supportive. Just being there, he is experiencing combat stress. It's undoubtedly going to affect him. You need to be supportive and reassuring but there's not a whole lot that you can do. There are resources available to him. There should be combat stress unit's there that he can go to, and it won't reflect badly on him or affect his career. Being affected by the stressors of combat is normal. You need to educate yourself, the more you understand about combat stress, stress reactions, and PTSD the easier his transition will be when he comes home. Don't let him ignore it, it only makes it worse. When he gets home, if he addresses any issues he's having, it may help him to avoid any long term problems by catching them early.

If he tells you something that shocks you, don't react negatively. He needs to talk to someone about it that won't be judgemental. If you do react negatively, he will close up, internalize, and it could cause other issues.