Having been on the same tour as "PPCLI MCpl", I tend to lean the other way. I personally believe that the 5-day "decompression" period in a "third location" (eg. Guam) was both prudent and necessary. Notwithstanding any good intentions to the contrary, there is no way that soldiers can adequately relax and readjust to civilian life in the very same threat environment that they have been serving in. Using OP APOLLO as an example, how could we have "decompressed" in 55C heat, eating the same combat rations, sleeping in the same crew tents, and on "dry" status in Kandahar? It simply wouldn't have happened. At least not with the same degree of effectiveness that Guam offered as a "waypoint" on the road to relative normalcy....
3 PPCLI BG's 5-day lay-over in Guam offered a host of tangible and intangible benefits that are easily overlooked. First and foremost, it provided members of the battlegroup an opportunity to become reacquainted with everything from flush toilets to restaurants and shopping in a very North American environment prior to being foisted upon their loved ones. Secondary, is the fact that the lay-over gave most folks (myself included) a chance to indulge in a tremendous post-tour piss-up, and "blow-off" of built up stress, the likes of which would have undoubtedly alarmed my wife and children. All in a secure and surprisingly supportive civilian atmosphere. The government and citizens of Guam were 110% behind the BG for what we'd been doing during the previous 6 months, and they repeatedly demonstrated it. Then there were the little things, like allowing your body to adjust to the need to process real food again - a 36 to 48 hour process which would have been decidedly unpleasant for any family without an extremely well-ventilated bathroom.
Yes, there were social workers and padres floating around, and mandatory reuinification/"back to reality" briefings to attend. Firm timings, the rigid morning briefing schedule, mandated tours and social activities, etc, were a necessary evil in my humble view. The schedule was designed to inculcate members of the battlegroup back into a fixed daily routine after 6 months of patrols and other shift-related work on a 24/7 basis. The schedule quite deliberately started out rigid, and was then relaxed somewhat over the course of the 5 day reintegration program to foster individual responsibility for one's own actions/decisions after 6 months of living in a rather directive bubble.
Above and beyond the structured aspects of the program (which were not onerous), there were many valuable opportunities for members of the BG to unwind and relax in a non-threatening environment with their peers who had shared the same experiences. There were good reasons for placing sections, platoons and companies in the same hotels (and often on the same floor). Two out of the 5 nights that I was in Guam, I was woken up at 3 or 4 AM by Senior NCOs knocking on my hotel room door after last call. Both times, those NCOs wanted to head down to the beach and "shoot the crap" with me over a 6-pack. Soldiers who need to do that type of thing to get their "head-space and timing" sorted out before going home, cannot do so if they leave the theatre of operations one day and are back with their sympathetic but clueless families the next. At the end of the day, even if we overlook the innumerable benefits of a post-mission relaxation period in a controlled, safe, and hospitable environment with your buddies, the fundamental question remains. Where would you rather endure those mandatory briefings - in the heat and dust of Kandahar, or in the air-conditioned comfort of a hotel ballroom in some tropical paradise - knowing that when the briefing is over you can hit any number of restaurants and night clubs for a relaxing evening out? I certainly know which option I would prefer....
The reactions of Combat Support Company were quite illustrative of the majority opinion. When I first pitched the "3rd-location decompression" plan to the company during one of my OC's hours, I would conservatively estimate that upwards of 80% of the company were adamantly opposed to the idea. Like "PPCLI MCpl", most just wanted to get home ASAP at that particular point. However, when I took an informal poll as we were mustering in the hotel for the flight home at the end of the 5 days in Guam, the reactions were almost entirely opposite. I would estimate that at least 95% of the soldiers I spoke to told me flat-out that the time in Guam had been both beneficial and NECESSARY in terms of preparing them for return to Canada and their families. Such comments simply reinforced my own belief that the "decompression" period had been well worthwhile, even if it meant another 5 days away from our families. Quite frankly, I wasn't ready to see my family when I left Kandahar. I WAS ready to see them when I left Guam. In my view, the 5 day program had been just about perfect....
To me, the fundamental question is what type of tour necessitates a "decompression" period in a third location? Personally, I believe that it should not be an automatic "gimme" for every single overseas deployment. Otherwise, we risk creating that same sense of "misplaced entitlement" that has made HLTA and grotesquely comfortable base camps some sort of sacrosanct "right" in the eyes of many of our soldiers (and their leadership). For example, in the case of our uneventful Bosnia deployments (particularly during the latter years) a formal decompression lay-over would have been quite pointless and unnecessary. The "go/no-go" decision needs to be based on professional judgement, taking into account each individual tour's physical and mental hardships, significant incidents (or lack thereof), etc. I am loathe to suggest where we ought to draw the line, and will leave that to the senior leadership with appropriate "lab-coat" input. All I know is that for the vast majority of 3 PPCLI BG, the 5-day program in Guam was a "good thing" following our 6 months in Afghanistan......
Just my personal perspective, backed up by overwhelmingly positive feedback from the soldiers of 3 PPCLI Cbt Sp Coy.....