After The War Zone Summary

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Pages: 7

With over 2.7 million service members from all five branches of the United States military including the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard having been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, Dr. Laurie B. Slone and Dr. Matthew J. Friedman’s book After the War Zone: A Practical Guide for Returning Troops and Their Families is a great resource for military families, friends and even the general public. This book sequentially follows the deployment cycle from the day that the orders are given to a year after the return home, providing information about what to expect at each stage and complications that may arise at any given point in time. While there is not an abundance of information regarding resources for extended family …show more content…
This is a time of internal conflict for the troops because, while they are excited for the opportunity to do what they have trained for and are motivated by a sense of patriotic duty, they also struggle with leaving their friends and families behind. However, regardless of the feelings these soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors are experiencing, many of them adopt the attitude of “this is how it is, so let’s get on with it” (Slone & Friedman, 2008, p. 6). During this time of emotional turmoil, it is recommended by the authors, that a household management plan be created in preparation for what will happen during this long period of separation. This plan should include the updating of legal documents (e.g. wills, powers of attorney, a health care proxy), pet care, educational needs (e.g. determining whether or not their tuition needs to be paid for or financial forms need to be filled out), financial affairs (e.g. how the bills should be managed), childcare (e.g. discipline strategies, what their routines are, contingency plans for taking care of them when something unexpected happens) and household responsibilities (the day-to-day of household maintenance, how routine tasks are to be performed throughout the