What you should know

Just like before deployment, there are things to be taken care of when you return from deployment.

If you are a Reservist or National Guardsman, you should expect to be going through a lot of post-deployment medical checks and other things with your unit at a redeployment post inside the United States before you are able to return home to your family.
 

Things you need to Check

• Locate the important personal documents you have stored away before deployment, such as the family's shot records, personal bank records, insurance policies, birth certificates, and the like.
   
• Check any paperwork that might have gone outdated while you were away. Especially make sure your insurance policies are all current and that your finances are in good order.
   
• Check your personal identification cards (military and driver's license) to make sure they are all current. If they are not, get new ones. Driver's license renewal may not cost you anything if you have your military ID card and a copy of your deployment orders.
   
• Check your vehicle insurance policy, license plates, and base decal to see if they are current.
   
• If your vehicle has been stored or sitting idle, check it thoroughly to make sure all fluid levels are adequate and that the car is still mechanically sound. Check the radiator hoses and fan belt, as well as all the tires (including the spare). If you have a vehicle checklist in your owner's manual, use it as a guideline.
   
• If you have set up a will before deployment, you may want to review it and make changes, if necessary.
   
• If you have any Power of Attorney forms that you've given to family members or friends before you deployed, and they are still active, you may want to review, and if necessary, destroy them.
   
• If tax day came and went while you were deployed, you will need to check into what you need to do and how you need to go about paying your taxes. You can find more information on combat zone exclusions and the Military Family Tax Relief Act through the IRS's website at www.irs.gov. You can also get help with your taxes through your local JAG office.