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PB TO HOST SOLDIER RETREAT NEXT WEEKEND

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, February 28, 2009 11:52 PM CST

A group of soldiers who returned to Arkansas from Iraq in December will gather at Pine Bluff next weekend for a time of retreat and reunion.

A weekend retreat for El Dorado-based National Guard soldiers will be held March 7-8 at the Ramada Inn & Suites to provide the guardsmen assistance in readjusting to civilian life, Major Brenda Cluck said.

“It’s a good time for them to reconnect. Many of them haven’t seen each other since December,” Cluck said. “We will offer break-out sessions including stress management, anger management, financial and savings planning and we will have spousal forums.”

Representatives from the Department of Labor and area schools will also be present so that interested soldiers may learn about civilian opportunities available to them, Cluck said.

“I feel like it’s good for the soldiers,” Sgt. Gregory Massey said.

Sgt. Travis Harden and Massey, Pine Bluff-based soldiers who returned from Iraq during December, attended a similar retreat last weekend at Little Rock.

“It was a nice relaxing setting with no uniforms or anything. They just want to check to see that we’re doing all right,” Massey said.

The National Guard holds retreats for returned soldiers about 30 days after their return home. Similar retreats are then held at the 60 and 90 day marks, Cluck said.

Susie Madsen, group travel services manager for the Pine Bluff Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she and others at the Pine Bluff Convention Center will begin Monday preparing welcome bags for the soldiers filled with items donated by local businesses.

Another retreat will be held at the Ramada March 21-22, Madsen said, for soldiers based at Monticello and Camden.

Counselors and chaplains will be available to work with families struggling to adapt to changes, Cluck said. The unit consists of fewer than 100 soldiers.

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