JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- As part of the Year of the Air Force Family, the Air Force sponsored the DePLAYment Program, which ended July 31. Reports indicate that more than 10,000 families participated in the program with free access to base classes and sports programs for children of deployed military members as well as free and discounted family programs for the deployed members' entire family. Locally, some of the benefits enjoyed by participating families of deployed military members included:

· Ten hours of free child care at the Child Development Center

· Free annual Youth Center membership worth $30

· Up to $50 per child in free Tae Kwon Do or dance classes

· Up to $50 per child in free team sports

· Free Starlifter Lanes quarterly family bowling night

· Free family ready golf clinics

· Free family arts and crafts events, including pottery classes and scrapbooking classes

· Free bicycle tour of historic Charleston

· Free family canoe trip on Edisto River

· Free family day trip to Darlington Motor Speedway's "Nationwide 200"

In my experience, both as a physician and as a military member who has recently deployed, many families do not recognize the significant stress that a deployment will put on each person in a family - including the spouse and each child. Families are already busy with school, sports, and community activities and may plan to continue all their normal activities without considering the additional stressors associated with the deployment.

A significant body of medical research exists which shows the physical and psychological impact that stressful life events can have on an individual. Most people recognize that traumatic events such as the death of a spouse or a divorce are stressful events that can lead to depression or physical illness. However, we often fail to recognize that a combination of less stressful events may also result in similar physical or mental symptoms.

During a deployment for example, family members may experience stress related to separation from the military member, changes in responsibilities at home, and changes in recreation because the deployed family member is not available to participate. These stressors may not seem intimidating by themselves, but taken together and over a period of months, they begin to have an effect on the individual - and on the family.

Each individual responds differently to stress in their life. Some children will be able to "soldier on" through a deployment with little apparent effect on their physical or psychological health. Other children in the same family may struggle at school or in relationships, have sleep difficulties or even physical illness while trying to cope with the stress of their parent's deployment.

A good approach to a pending deployment is for the family to plan a variety of fun activities during the deployment - try including at least one activity for each family member. Ideally, the military family member will help plan these activities prior to the deployment and make sure that the family is connected to the on-base and community resources they will need.

Even though the DePLAYment Program ended on July 31, many activities and events are available to families every day. Take advantage of these activities to help all members of the family cope with the inevitable stress of a deployment and make homecoming day happier and healthier for everyone.