PITTSFIELD – Andrew Gibson sits comfortably in his Army National Guard fatigues, every inch a soldier from the leather boots to the black beret and the short haircut.

But the patch on his desert-tan shirt gives away his special mission: chaplain.

In his role as the full-time support chaplain for the Maine Guard, Gibson has a unique perspective. Not only is he the father of an Iraq war veteran, he has served in Afghanistan and Bosnia himself. He has tended to young men killed or wounded by explosives, mourned soldiers who committed suicide, dealt with personal flashbacks, disorientation and the often difficult event of coming home. He has assisted with death notifications to Maine families.

Using those experiences as tools, Gibson is now responsible for reintegrating Maine’s soldiers and their families after service in Iraq. “I help them learn and accept the new normal,” he said.

When asked what returning soldiers need the most, his answer is quick and precise: time.

“Time is the great and immediate need,” he said. “Folks are anxious to get on with their life. We often throw parties [for returning soldiers], and this can be very disquieting to have a lot of people come up and hug and kiss you. You are so tired. It’s not uncommon for soldiers to come home and sleep for days.”

Gibson recalled an incident about 10 days after he returned from service in Afghanistan when he awoke in his Pittsfield home, in his own bed, and struggled to remember where he was.

Soldiers can feel very detached and aloof and expend a lot of energy just trying to care, he said. They might have a heightened or inappropriate startle reflex. They can suffer from nightmares.

Gibson said the soldiers have spent a year carrying a weapon that saved them, wearing body armor that protected them and a uniform that allowed them to recognize comrade from foe.

“When they see everyone in civilian garb, they are conflicted,” Gibson said. “One part of their brain says, ‘That’s Aunt Zelda. That’s Uncle Jim,’ while another part of their brain is screaming, ‘Enemy! Enemy! Enemy!'”

The most important thing returning soldiers and their families need to know, he said, is that everything they are feeling, all their reactions, are normal. Knowing that their reactions are normal, Gibson said, is 50 percent of the battle toward recovery.

“I have a three months, six months and one year theory,” Gibson said. “At three months, they are feeling weird and looking weird. At six months, they start feeling better but are still looking weird. By one year, they are adjusting to the new normal. There is a huge misconception out there that once they return, everything will be as it once was. That is never going to be true.”

Gibson said it is absolutely normal for people to go through changes. “But the soldiers don’t always understand the profundity of those changes. While they were gone, stores have closed. Governments have changed. Infants are now walking. There have been first dates, proms and graduations. The idea that things can somehow revert is a fallacy,” he said.

Once soldiers and their families accept that the feelings, flashbacks and emotions are normal, healing and recovery can begin. “There are some soldiers that will need some extra help, and my advice is to get help early rather than later,” Gibson said. It is so important, he said, to put the problem in perspective. “People forget that after World War II, we had 800,000 psychological casualties.”

Gibson said, “If your family is saying you are drinking too much, believe them. If they say you are acting aloof, believe them. Or acting morose, believe them. Touch base with somebody.

“The Army has come so far in the area of mental health, just in my career. I remember sneaking a soldier in one door of the chapel and a nurse practitioner in the other door just so the soldier could get his medication. Now, the Army is using cutting-edge treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.”

Families, Gibson said, often deal with all the usual problems once a member has been deployed. “It’s a lot of normal stuff – the roof tiles blow off, the hot water heater fails, the screen door falls off. It’s just that the urgency and seriousness of everything is magnified for them,” he said.

“We have a network of volunteers that work with the seven Family Assistance centers. There is also a 24-7 hot line -1-888-FMLYCTR.”

Gibson said that one of the emotions that families have difficulty with is pity. “Many people don’t understand the military mind-set, and combat service is not something evil or bad.”

Gibson said Maine is at the forefront in providing a network of providers and programs for returning veterans.

Maine’s MAP – Military Adjutant Program – combines the resources of the Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services and Maine Veterans’ Services along with private clinicians, including brain injury experts, psychologists and psychiatrists. “The idea of involving civil clinicians is novel,” he said. “It’s unusual for the military to cede control.”

Maine also requires a baseline brain scan before military deployment and a mandatory 15-minute counseling session almost as soon as returning vets deplane. “We are leading the pack,” Gibson said. “I have not seen a program like MAP anywhere else.”

Maine is in the top 10 states as far as the percentage of National Guard deployments, even though there are only 2,100 servicepeople. Despite the long war, Gibson said, recruitment and retention is at an all-time high.

“There is a great sense of pride, honor and of doing the right thing that is so powerful,” he said. “We’ve got a generation now that is not in the military because of a draft or joining just for the college benefits. They are joining to serve our country.”

bdnpittsfield@verizon.net

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