Easing transition from battlefield to home front

The Barrientos family — from left, Sharon; her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Joe; and their children, Ciara, 11, and Quirt, 13 — attend the Guard drill weekend at Lincoln East High School on Saturday.

Easing transition from battlefield to home front
BY C. DAVID KOTOK AND TIM ELFRINK
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Published Sunday | August 19, 2007


LINCOLN — Sgt. 1st Class Joe Barrientos' children squirmed in their seats as he and his wife paid close attention to the clues that can signal problems for returning combat veterans.

Part of what Barrientos and other soldiers learned Saturday from Jon Kayne, a professor of psychology and human services at Bellevue University, was that the very traits that kept them alive in Iraq are the opposite skills they need as civilians.

"I wanted her to come along so she has an idea of what's going on," Barrientos said of his wife, Sharon.

Most of the soldiers in the Lincoln East High School auditorium raised their hands when asked whether they frequently speed when driving or get angry at slow-moving vehicles ahead of them.

In Iraq, they needed to keep their mouths shut and follow orders, Kayne said. Now they have to open up to family and friends. They needed to be suspicious of everyone as they rolled down Iraqi roads, Kayne said, and now they must become trusting.

Barrientos, of Grand Island, Neb., and the other soldiers are still on the "honeymoon" stage of their return from combat.


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uhc note: I'm glad that PTSD is being taken seriously.