What kind of things did you guys see in your FI's after the last deployment? I know about the basic signs etc...but how about the personal little things that you noticed.

FI had a shorter temper...and was just distant for a little.

I didn't really notice any differences in him, but while he was gone, I had such a tough time!  I didn't expect it to be that hard, but it was!

I noticed the DH was different in small ways, things like driving... he's more aggressive on the road.... it's weird because he wasn't a driver over there. He was also on a shorter fuse, I think that was the absolute hardest thing with reintergration, I was so used to a more laid back version of the man. It took 3 months for things to slowly shift back and start seeing more of the silly side of him again. The other part that made it challenging is as soon as he landed back home we were posted, so within days we were on our house hunting trip to a new city and within weeks we had moved. Silly us also thought renovating would be a great thing to do (you know, typical first time home buyers, biting off more then they can chew *wink*).... that's trying on anyone's patience. For 3 months we lived in a home that usually saw the coffee maker in the bathroom, stove in the livingroom and kitchen sink in the garage on the floor *LOL.

thanks for sharing your experiences.  my FI is being deployed to afghanistan next year for 4 months from mar/april through august (he is a Dutch Marine) and it will be his 3rd tour of duty there.  i am nervous to see what it is like for me while he is there living in the netherlands by myself and what it will be like for us when he gets back.  i know he will be different but i hope that i can help him with his reintegration. 

we have to plan the wedding between now and march since we are getting married in october.  i don't want him to be stressed out with wedding details when he gets back from his tour of duty.

FI was mostly the same, he just seemed a lot older. He was actually more patient in a lot of ways after he returned last time.

What I was not prepared for was the nightmares. He talks in his sleep when he is stressed, and it seemed to increase drastically after the deployment. Since we don't live together, I wasn't there very often, but there was a high number of nights that I was where he was having bad dreams. He doesn't remember the dreams in the morning, but from what I heard, they were not pleasant dreams.

Oh MH--sorry to hear that...that's very scary.  I agree Fi did seem Older, physically and also just so much more mature...even more than usual...

We'll see what happens when He comes home for good in JANUARY!!! WHOOOTT WHOOP

:)