So far almost 700 Army personnel have come home, and the remainder who left Hawai'i bases are expected back by the end of July. Even when all of Schofield's soldiers and the bulk of deployed Marines from Kane'ohe are home, there will still be more than 2,500 National Guard troops who are just beginning their yearlong deployment.

At least for the Army, the programs and support systems that will track soldiers from the battlefields to the quiet streets of their Hawai'i homes will be the most comprehensive effort ever launched to give soldiers and families emotional tools to handle issues that may arise as the result of the separations that lasted a year or more, battle stress, and even serious injury.

The majority of military men and women returning from a war zone experience adjustment problems of one kind or another — mostly minor, according to the military.

But as many as 17 percent could face moderate to severe problems, according to recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And the prevalence of returning soldiers experiencing depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder could still show up as much as 120 days after their return.

For Lt. Col. Jeffrey Eckstein, 41, battalion commander of the 84th Engineers, which returned Jan. 13, simply having gone through a previous deployment eases some of the impact. Nonetheless, he said the Army is doing a far better job of preparing soldiers and families for the changes.

"Fifteen years ago, they released you with no transition. It was three days off and back to work again," said Eckstein.

Not anymore. There are classes in Iraq before soldiers leave, then a multitude of briefings when they get home. Even when they're back to work it's often half days for a while to give families a chance to take things easy.

"When you come back, just go slow," said Eckstein of how he has melded back into his family, which includes three young children — ages 2, 4 and 7.

"Don't try to be in charge," he said. "Ask 'What do I do now?' The hardest thing is just not trying to discipline them. Let them go. I'm giving them a two-week period to let them go."

One of the most emotional moments was walking his 4-year-old into her preschool classroom Tuesday and having her cling to his hand.

"If your life for a year is oriented around managing fear, the transition into a safe environment of a family is quite an adjustment," said Chaplain (Maj.) Lance Sneath, with the 45th Corps Support Group, whose mission is to discuss psychological issues with soldiers as part of their reintegration.

In a war zone, "fear becomes a dominant emotion and a lot of emotional energy is used managing it," Sneath said.

He said there are some people who have been in a combat zone but have seen very little of the effects. "For those people, the primary impact will be the separation," he said.

"But others may have had exposure to a great deal of combat. That might come out in sleeplessness, more anxiety than normal, being bothered by things that never bothered them before, like loud noises."

The Army plans to keep close watch on returning soldiers for at least 90 days after they come home, particularly in extreme cases of combat stress.

The Army learned from Vietnam and Desert Storm how important it is to focus as much on reintegration as deployment for both soldiers and their families.

"We're doing as much as we possibly can and still learning a lot," said Eileen Godinez, director of Schofield's Army Community Services, which is designed to link families with needed resources.

"An important aspect of taking care of soldiers is also taking care of families. During the Vietnam era, families were not really on the radar with the Army. That has changed 180 degrees. Families are an important part of the soldier's experience and retention in the Army, and the Army absolutely cares about the family component," said Godinez.

With only a few weeks more to wait, Saundra Griffith is both excited and a little nervous thinking about the return of her husband, Andrew, and already has attended a Ready for Reunion session organized by Army Community Services.

"To me, it's like does he think that I did a good job the whole time?" Griffith said. "Will he look at me differently because maybe I've put on a few pounds?"

But she believes the homecoming will be smoother because they've been communicating constantly by e-mail and phone, and she has been sharing major problems as they arise, including an unexpected car repair bill that hit $1,000.

"He doesn't like to be surprised about things," she said. "You don't want to come home and have an avalanche."

In looking at smooth transitions back to home life, soldiers are receiving mandatory briefings and classes before and after they leave the war zone. Additionally, they'll receive two days of classes that are also open to their spouses. After that, they can also sign up for marriage retreats and marriage workshops.

Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Thomas, 47, who also returned Jan. 13 with the 84th Engineers, was grateful for one particular piece of advice. He had been dreaming about a getaway with his wife as soon as he was home, but was advised against it.

"They said 'Maybe it's not a good idea right away,' " Thomas said. "They said the reason you don't want to do that is maybe the kids will get the wrong idea — 'Dad's back and he doesn't care about us.' "

The getaway is still planned, said Thomas, but after things settle down a bit.

Families are being offered — on a voluntary basis — a package of workshops that revolve around understanding what the soldiers have been through, re-establishing comfortable roles within the family, and realizing that relationships have evolved.

"There's a good chance the way the family functions will have changed," said Lt. Col. Carroll Diebold, chief of psychiatry at Tripler Army Medical Center.

"The service member may have been the one balancing the checkbook, paying the bills, and the spouse now has to take over and that fosters more independence in the spouse."

Part of the reintegration also includes screening questionnaires designed to pick up those who need additional emotional counseling from the staff at Tripler.

Diebold remembers one particular soldier who came into a mental-health clinic and told him about being uncomfortable in a milling crowd at a craft fair he attended with his wife.

"He started to sweat, his heart started to race and he said he was searching for an avenue of escape," said Diebold. "He'd been in several firefights, and with all that noise and chaos he felt uncomfortable and had to leave."

While reintegration is a major focus of the Army, there also has been a wealth of support in other sectors of the community, including churches. For instance, at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church near Pearl Harbor, with a congregation that includes almost 100 military members who were deployed, a monthly support group was established for the families left at home.

"We don't want the moms to have to worry about anything," said Sonja Byrdsong, a social-worker volunteer who leads the monthly group. "We do dinner, have prayer and sit around and talk about whatever's going on. One month, we did an activity with the kids and sent pictures to all the dads."

Byrdsong has seen wives grow stronger by going to school, or picking up the reins of the family for the first time. But those changes bring trepidation, too.

"They're afraid that's going to interfere with life as it was," she said, "and wondering if everything is going to be the same. We want them to see life is going to be a little different, but it doesn't have to be a bad difference."