CAMP PENDLETON —— Generally, Marines are not seen as a touchy-feely bunch. Spotting a group hug at Camp Pendleton is as unlikely as spotting a dodo bird nesting along the Santa Margarita River.

However, the Corps has begun to realize that being physically and mentally tough does not necessarily mean keeping mum about traumatic memories from the battlefield.

Such was the case Wednesday at Camp Pendleton when a group of some 80 Marines, recently returned from Iraq, gathered in an auditorium to receive advice on how to avoid post-traumatic stress disorder, which can strike troops who have been subjected to the violence of war.

Col. Darcy Kauer, commanding officer for the I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, told the gathering that they should accept that war can inflict wounds that do not bleed.

"No matter who you are going into combat, you're going to come back changed," Kauer said. "We can be psychologically, emotionally and spiritually injured."

He used his own experience of returning from the war in the Persian Gulf in 1991 as proof that the mental ravages of war should be taken seriously.

"When I got home … my wife told me I'd changed," Kauer said. "Looking back, I now realize I was not transitioning well."

Wednesday's briefing was part of the new "Warrior Transition Program," created in the wake of national criticism that the military wasn't doing enough to identify and prevent the stress syndrome after troops returned from war.

After four days of leave, Marines must now return to the base to receive a three-hour "warrior transition briefing" such as the one Wednesday.

They must then work a week of half days on the base, where they receive more counseling and time to adjust to civilian life. Only after that week can Marines take extended leave.

Col. William Hatton, a reservist from Oregon, returned last week from Camp Fallujah in Iraq. He noted that the transition program was not in place when he went to Iraq in 2003.

"The last time I was over there, we only had two days of it," he said.

Hatton, commander of a combat engineering company, said it was especially important that the Corps acknowledge that even troops who have not been directly subjected to combat are still susceptible to stress disorder.

"While they may not have been in a direct combat environment, just being over there can lead to a stressful situation," he said.

After the officers had their say, they were dismissed from the auditorium, leaving behind a few dozen Marines whose rank was sergeant or below.

In walked Chaplain Mark Smith, who urged the troops to "take out the garbage" by sharing their experiences in Iraq with other Marines, friends and family.

"Every time a memory comes to you, you should write it down," Smith said.

He stressed the therapeutic value of repeating stories.

"Tell your story every time and you will probably be OK," Smith said.

The chaplain also drew on recent brain research, which he said suggests that the hippocampus, the part of the brain that tracks where information is stored, can be physically harmed by trauma.

"It can actually shrink about 20 percent," he said.

He noted that even Marines who have never fired their weapons may still subjected to constant stress in the field, especially at such locations as Camp Fallujah, which was regularly attacked by insurgent rocket and mortar fire.

After the briefing, Sgt. George Dodds, who served as part of Lt. Gen. John Sattler's personal security force, said he had mixed feelings about the new emphasis on helping Marines cope with the psychological rigors.

"I wouldn't say I find it helpful," Dodds said. "I can see why they do it just to cover themselves."

The Burlington, Iowa, native has been sent twice to Iraq. He said his first tour was more difficult to return from than the second.

Dodds said the Marines he knows generally do not have much difficulty talking about their experiences in Iraq.

"I see a lot of people opening up with their stories," Dodds said.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.