For Airmen returning from a combat deployment, arriving home does not necessarily mean the transition is over.

Following the recent return of members of the 823d Base Defense Squadron from the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, leaders across the 93d Air Ground Operations Wing implemented a deliberate reintegration effort designed to help Airmen transition from deployment back to home station, while supporting long-term mission readiness.

The effort included support from a Deployment Transition Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, followed by continued human performance and reintegration support at Moody Air Force Base.

Lt. Col. Samuel Oldham, 93d AGOW Human Performance Office, served as the primary liaison between DTC leadership and 93d AGOW personnel. He also led a team of six wing volunteers who augmented DTC staff, allowing the 823d Base Defense Squadron to participate in the process as a unit.

The DTC provided returning Airmen time between the deployed environment and home station to begin transitioning from the demands associated with combat operations. Reintegration training included mental reframing, identifying normal combat stress responses, breathing techniques, grounding and encouraging an open approach to post-deployment concerns.

“This gives a returning deployer mental bandwidth to prepare for homecoming and family reintegration,” Oldham said, “without being overshadowed by powerful survival-related emotions that are necessary in a combat environment.”

The transition was intended to help Airmen recognize and manage reactions that can occur after combat operations, including hypervigilance, sleep disruption, increased startle or fear responses, mood changes and shifts in family or relationship dynamics.

For some 823d BDS members, the structured reintegration process differed from what they had experienced following previous deployments.

Master Sgt. Steven McCoy, assigned to the 823d BDS, said his previous returns generally involved meeting the unit at the airport, completing several days of in-processing and scheduling medical or mental health appointments later if necessary. “This is the first time in my career,” McCoy said, “where there seemed to be any kind of reintegration.”

His perspective provided leaders with firsthand feedback on what worked and what could be improved as the wing develops future reintegration efforts. McCoy said he viewed the effort at Moody as the most effective part of the reintegration effort.

McCoy said, “I think the reintegration at Moody was put together well and you could tell there was thought put into it.”

Lt. Col. Jordan Richardson, 93d AGOW director of human performance, said the team screened several members of the 823d BDS for musculoskeletal dysfunction following their deployment, with approximately 10% requiring additional screening.

The assessments allowed providers to prioritize care and identify members who needed additional evaluation. Richardson said the Human Performance Cell was also able to offer several service members appointments within 24 hours of their return.

The effort went beyond identifying physical injuries. The cell considered an airman’s physical, mental, spiritual and cognitive state when determining readiness to return to basic unit training.

The 823d BDS return also provided lessons that may shape how the 93d AGOW approaches reintegration at home station in the future. Oldham said the wing may not always have access to a DTC for recurring squadron-level reintegration events. As a result, the 93d AGOW is working with Integrated Operational Support teams and Moody resilience organizations to incorporate lessons and materials from the DTC into longer-term home-station efforts.

Those efforts could include immediate, short-term and long-term touchpoints with returning Airmen, along with resilience-focused events, preventative education and continued wellness support throughout training and readiness cycles.

Other units across the 93d AGOW are already developing similar home-station approaches.

Staff Sgt. Jamelle Dalton, 13th Air Support Operations Squadron resilience program manager, said his unit’s reintegration process is designed to begin before an Airman returns and continue through multiple phases afterward. Those phases include family preparation, immediate reset, screenings, rebuilding routines, reconnecting with the unit and preparing members to move forward in the readiness cycle.

“The biggest improvement is that this process is deliberate and phased,” Dalton said. “Instead of treating reintegration as a checklist during the first few days home, we are building a continuum that starts before return and continues through Reset into Prepare.”

The 20th Air Support Operations Squadron has also incorporated practices such as family preparation, individual human performance assessments, physical training adjustments, concussion and mild traumatic brain injury screening, off-site discussions and continued follow-up with returning Airmen.

Across those efforts, the goal is to move beyond treating an airman’s arrival home as the end of the deployment process and instead view reintegration as part of restoring overall force readiness.

For the 823d BDS, that meant combining a transition period away from the deployed environment with continued assessment and support after returning to Moody.

The lessons learned from that process are now helping inform how the 93d AGOW can support Airmen and their families through future deployment returns, while preparing them for the missions ahead.