Are You Ready For Deployment? By ANNIE GARDNER
T
he only thing that stays the same is that everything changes. It’s a cliché, but for the military, this statement often rings true. Some believe those in the military and their families get used to constant change and flux; we ‘knew what we were getting into’. However, after 23 years as a military family, I can assure you that change remains hard, and it doesn’t get easier. The good news is we learn to be masters of flexibility and adaptability. We hone our coping skills. We covet community. We find and utilize resources. We become resilient. And we become ardent champions for each other. Is it easy? No, but is it manageable? Absolutely - and it is certainly rewarding! Our hero recently embarked on his 10th deployment. As he sailed into the sunset, I found myself reflecting on where we started and how far we have come. Deployment is still a word that is charged with heavy emotion. It means separation. It means uncertainty, anxiety, and stress. It means wearing multi-
ple hats. It means just ‘getting through’. In military towns, like Coronado, deployment is woven into the fabric of the culture and can sometimes fade into the background noise of everyday life for those not going through it. It can feel very overwhelming, lonely, isolating and depressing. But this deployment feels different for us. I realized that this time, those really big emotional swings feel manageable. In fact, as a family, we have faced this deployment with strength, confidence, and calm. What changed? Time and experience have helped. But the biggest thing is we have built a deployment resiliency toolbox. What is a deployment resiliency toolbox? Think of it this way: a toolbox is there for you to collect necessary items to be successful at a specific task. Over the years, you work on different projects, collect new tools, and add them to the box. The next time you face something similar, you grab the correct tool to make the job easy and successful. Sometimes you pick up something new not knowing what you’ll use it for, but you add it to the box anyway. Or perhaps someone gives you a random tool that you don’t need right now, but in it goes. Then, N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 | 45
