Soldier extends service in Iraq to reunite with husband (Love & Romance in the Army)

Defend America News ^ | 1st Lt. Talon Anderson

[SandRat]

U.S. Army Sgt. Liam Vernon and his wife, Spc. Naomi Rodela, were reunited in Baghdad after Rodela volunteered to stay an extra year in Iraq to be with her spouse. Both soldiers work in Company B, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Talon Anderson
U.S. Army Spc. Naomi Rodela
Soldier extends service in Iraq to reunite with husband
By U.S. Army 1st Lt. Talon Anderson Brigade Special Troops Battalion 1st Brigade Combat Team 10th Mountain Division CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, May 16, 2006 — How far would you go to be with the love of your life? What would you do to ensure the strength of your marriage? Would you volunteer to spend almost two consecutive years deployed in Iraq? For U.S. Army Spc. Naomi Rodela, Company B, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, the decision to do just that was a resounding “yes” after finding out her husband was being deployed prior to her return home. “As soon as my husband told me he would deploy, I told him, ‘I’m staying here,’” said Rodela, a Grand Rapids, Mich., native. “I knew more than anything that I'd do whatever it took to be with him.” Rodela and her husband, Sgt. Liam Vernon, Comapny B, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, met while serving together in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. Vernon was a new private and his wife had recently returned from a tour in Iraq when they first met. Following in her parents’ footsteps, who also met and married while they served in the military, Rodela married Vernon Sept. 17, 2004. The newlyweds were together for only one month when Rodela had a permanent change of station to Fort Drum to deploy with the 42nd Infantry Division, a New York National Guard unit. Being married in the Army “has been difficult,” said Rodela. “The needs of the Army have not been in our favor.” Shortly after her departure in January 2005, Vernon moved to Fort Drum, N.Y., and deployed with the Brigade Special Troops Battalion in August. “Our tours overlapped each other, and it would have been almost two years apart if I didn’t get to stay,” she said. An intra-theater transfer was her only option to stay with her husband.	“One year was hard enough,” she said. “I love my husband more than anything, so I would rather be in Iraq than without him.” Although the change required a lot of phone calls, paperwork and arm twisting, Rodela’s new company believes it was worth the effort. “Once Rodela came into our section, she brought a lot of experience by having been deployed a year already,” said 1st Sgt. Samuel Morales, Company B, Brigade Special Troops Battalion. The couple works in separate sections to avoid complications. Vernon works in the Brigade Special Troops Battalion intelligence office, while Rodela works as a common ground station operator at 1st Brigde Combat Team headquarters. For Rodela, the deployment has been made easier by having her husband with her – right from the moment they were reunited at Baghdad International Airport. “I’ll never forget how excited I was the night I landed in Baghdad,” she said. “I was sitting on my duffel bag when he walked through the door – and for a few minutes, it didn’t matter if we were in uniform or if anyone was looking. I knew as soon as I saw him that it didn’t matter where I was as long as we were together.” The couple works through the fact that they sometimes work different shifts and can go two or three days without seeing each other. They try to do something together at least once a week, even if it is only sitting down for a cup of coffee at Green Beans or taking a tour of one of Saddam’s palaces. Despite the challenges, the couple is in it for the long haul. Rodela said Vernon has been accepted to the Green to Gold program and hopes to start school this fall. Her time in the Army will come to an end in August 2007, after which they plan to start their family. For now, they said they are content to grab a few minutes each day and be thankful for the rare opportunity to serve with a spouse in combat.

[SandRat]

Careful this could cause shiffles among those who enjoy ramantic love stories.

[miele man]

What is the "Green to Gold" program? Is it a mustang commissioning program?

[SandRat]

Sort of, off to college for a Bachelors Degree and Military Subjects added in to the course work and summers they get Gold Bars on their shoulders and a College Degree.

[El Gato]

So, what does a "Brigade Special Troops Battalion" do? What's special about them?

[bannie]

My (then-)husband and I enlisted together after several years of marriage and no kids. He came down on levy for Germany, and I did this so that I could be stationed in Germany with my him...HOWEVER, there was no WAR in GERMANY at the time!

I SO admire these wonderful kids!!!!!! God Bless them for doing the tough job so that the rest of us can live freely!!!!! I deeply appreciate them!!!!

[SandRat]

From The Army's Modular Forces
Modular Force Initiative
Modular Forces: Transforming to Accomplish the Mission

-- BATTALIONS. The constituent battalions for brigade combat teams will continue the lineages and honors of U.S. Army Regimental System’s battalions -- as they have for nearly 50 years. The special-troops battalion of each Brigade Combat Team will perpetuate the lineages and honors of the headquarters company of the brigade being perpetuated by the Brigade Combat Team.

The unit designs formerly known as SUAs will now be organized into five types: Combat Aviation Brigades, Fires Brigades, Battlefield Surveillance Brigades, Combat Support Brigades (Maneuver Enhancement) and Sustainment Brigades. Battalions subordinate to the support brigades will also continue the lineages and honors of US Army Regimental System battalions.

These unit designations enable the Army to perpetuate virtually all of our regiments and divisions active now, and thus to pass their proud traditions along to our Soldiers.

[SR 50]

ping

[derllak]

That would be me *sniff sniff*......Bless them both and keep them safe! They are a lovely couple.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

Do they get to snuggle in uniform?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[FFforFreedom]

Cute couple, great story, ping

[VeniVidiVici]

Unbelievable the brass let them do this. I mean for them it's great but I would never have imagined the Army going along with this.