MARSHALL - Military deployment is a cycle, Kelly Wasberg said. You have to spend time mentally preparing to go, and time readjusting when you come home. And you can't expect either of those periods to be short, he said.
"I know I'm not all the way back yet," said Wasberg, a Marshall pastor and National Guard chaplain who returned to Minnesota this spring with the 1st Battalion 151st Field Artillery.
When it came to going back home to his family and children, he said, "You can't just pick up where you left off. You try to catch up as much as you can," and accept change.
Dealing with change was what brought members of the 1-151 FA and their families to Marshall High School Sunday morning. The soldiers were completing the first portion of their reintegration with a day-long workshop.
Reintegration events are held 30, 60, and 90 days after a unit comes back from overseas service. Sunday's event, the 30-day requirement for local Guard members, included workshops and resources on topics from managing a budget to communicating with loved ones.
"There's no doubt you have done something great," said Lt. Col. Barb O'Reilly, chief of deployment cycle support, in opening remarks to soldiers. The 1-151 FA traveled a total of 1.9 million miles on transport missions in the past year without an accident. But knowledge of those accomplishments doesn't take away the stress of going back to civilian life, she said.
"It's not necessarily a struggle," O'Reilly said of reintegration. But it takes a lot of work - for example, a soldier may need to search for a job, go back to school or get used to being a parent again.
"We just want to give them the skills," she said, to make the transition easier.
"They've got a lot of resources here for finding jobs, or helping people figure out what all their benefits are. That's good too," said Mark Schulz, a Minneapolis resident and a member of the Marshall Guard unit. One challenge facing a lot of returning soldiers, Schulz said, is "Probably getting back into work."
Family members attending the event said it was good for them to get to participate, too.
"I think it's very important, because we don't know what they've gone through," said Marshall resident Norma Gile of the reintegration program. She was attending workshops Sunday along with her son Paul, who was deployed with the 1-151 FA.
Norma Gile said the transition back to civilian life is different for every soldier, but "It helps to know what to say, and to let them do their own thing in their own time."
"When you come back, your job changes, your family has changed, you've changed," said Bonnie Wasberg, Kelly Wasberg's wife. There's a lot to work out, and the reintegration programs can help family members to support their soldiers.
The opportunity to gather area Guard units together for reintegration was also key, said Minnesota National Guard State Command Sgt. Maj. Edward Scott Mills. Mills was also present for Marshall's reintegration day.
"It's a good opportunity for them to share what they're going through," Mills said. Soldiers serving together build up shared experiences and a close bond. Leaving your unit to go home can be stressful, "almost like being separated from your family," he said.
Having everyone together also made it easier for the community to hold a formal welcome ceremony for the Marshall Guard unit later that afternoon.
There will be a formal program for the 1-151 FA in Montevideo Aug. 6, at the end of their reintegration period. Battalion commander Scott St. Sauver said the program will help serve as a formal farewell among members of the battalion, who have spent a year living and working together.
