I actually wondered about this. My Husband is retired Navy, my son is Active duty Navy and my daughter is Army reserves, She has served in both Iraq an Afghanistan for 1 year each. When they come home they go to a base for at least a couple of weeks. No one fly's home and gets off an airplane in their uniform in their hometown before going to the designated base for their "De-briefing" time. I forgot what the exact term they use is. However, they ALL go there and spend at least 2 weeks getting debriefed and ready for civilian life. My daughter ended up spending a month in New Jersey because of a couple medical issues.