'Heartbreaking' duty (Telling families of 86th Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade)

Sierra Vista Herald, Sierra Vista Arizona ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

An emotional Angelica Watkins understands why her husband, Spc. Christopher Watkins of the 86th Signal Battalion, will have his deployment extended by three months, but it doesn't make it any easier. Watkins was at a meeting Thursday afternoon where families were briefed about the tour extensions. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review)

Herald/Review

FORT HUACHUCA — No extension orders have been received, but family members of the 86th Signal Battalion know their soldier spouses will be remaining in Iraq for an additional three months.

While the extension is “heartbreaking,” Angelica Watkins said it’s part of military life. Her husband Christopher, who is a specialist, has been in the Army for three years and is on his first deployment to Iraq.

The news was hard to take, she said, adding “it broke a lot of hearts” at a Thursday meeting of the battalion’s Family Readiness Group at the Murr Community Center on post.

But she and her husband knew his being a soldier would entail deployments and that extensions were a possible based on previous conditions in Iraq, she said.

Wednesday’s decision by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates extends deployments of active duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from 12 months to 15, as well as increase the length of future deployments from a year to a year and a quarter.

Controlling the rumor mill

Trying to get ahead of the rumor mill, 11th Signal Brigade Commander Col. Michael Hildebrand spoke with nearly 100 family members of the unit’s soldiers who are currently deployed.

Brigade spokesman Ryan Jones said that when the news came out late Wednesday and the families woke up to it Thursday morning, the colonel decided he wanted to speak to the families. Not all family members attended the meeting because of a number of reasons, including having to work or having moved home to be with family members.

The brigade commander wanted families to be prepared for the extra 90 days, the spokesman said.

Although deployed soldiers were supposed to return in the July and August time frame, it now appears they will be back in November, Jones said.

“But officially, there are no orders extending their deployment,” he added.

Extension will happen

For Mizamavy Nevarez, the extension order will affect her family.

Her sergeant husband has been in the Army for six years and this is his second deployment to Iraq.

And this is the second time his deployment was extended, both of which caught her by surprise. The first tour extension came while the Army cook was assigned to a unit in Germany.

Having gone through one extension, Nevarez, who has three children ranging in age from 4 to 9, said being a soldier and the wife of one “is a personal choice.”

She and her husband know as a soldier you do what is required, she said.

And as for potential harm to the GIs being extended, Nevarez likened it to an athlete playing a sport.

“If you play soccer, you can break a leg,” she said.

The downside includes her husband missing Mother’s Day and other family occasions. Last year, he missed his daughter’s birthday, which is on Christmas Eve.

“But he’ll be home this year,” Nevarez said, adding the 2007 Christmas holiday is going to be a special occasion as the family plans to go to Florida.

While the news made the families sad, Nevarez said the first time her husband’s tour was extended it was hard to take. Now, like many who are married to GIs who have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan more than once, it is somewhat easier to take, she said.

“It’s kind of a been there, done that kind of a moment,” Nevarez said while her eyes glistened with tears.

Second extension

Crying was common when the families were told of the extension, Nevarez said.

Tears flowed down Watkins face as she spoke about having her soldier husband remain in harm’s way longer.

“He called this (Thursday) morning. He told me what he heard (about the extension),” she said.

While she heard about the possible extensions on Wednesday through the news media, It wasn’t until Thursday that reality sunk in.

Although they do not have any children, Watkins said she is concerned about the families that do.

Not into the blame game, Watkins said she gets upset when national political leaders pump up situations about the willingness of the military members and their families to toughen out situations. It is normal for that to happen, she said, but there is always a desire for those who serve in the armed forces and their families to have as good of a family life as they can.

Watkins said the reality of the current situation is that the general American public does not know what a military family goes through, from those who wear uniforms to their spouses and their children.

“We pitch in and help each other,” she said of the GIs’ family members.

As for her husband, the news of an extension is not good, as it isn’t for any soldier, Watkins said.

When she talked with him Thursday, she could tell by his voice that “he feels he needs to be back,” she said.

Brigade Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Mark Zerger said he could tell that many of the wives were distraught by the news. But he also saw strength in them once the possibility of a 90-day extension was broached.

While there were tears, most of the women “were stoic after it soaked in,” Zerger said.

What helps is that all are in the same situation and they help one another as part of an extended family, he said.

Group’s matriarch

Debra Vernon can best be described as the den mother of the 86th.

The wife of the battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Les Vernon, who is deployed with nearly 400 11th Signal Brigade soldiers, she heads the unit’s Family Readiness Group.

Once the news began to percolate through the press, there was a need to obtain as much correct information as possible, which is why Thursday’s meeting with Hildebrand was arranged.

“We didn’t want confusion,” Vernon said.

The word was put out by an e-mail and telephone tree.

Although there were some children at the meeting, including some old enough to understand what was being talked about, Vernon said she believes it is best the younger children are not told a specific date when a father or soldier mother will return because the date may change, as will happen with the three-month extension.

With 8- and 14-year-old sons, it is different because they somewhat understand what may happen, she said.

The 8-year-old keeps a chalkboard calendar of when his dad is going to return. Vernon said her son’s reaction when given the news about the extension was “now I’ve got to change the date.”

As for the teenager, “he was a little bummed out,” but said “at least he’ll be home for Christmas,” she said.

Deployments in the Vernon household have occurred many times, but this one is the first time he was not home for Christmas.

It was around Vernon that many of the other women gathered.

To those whose husbands have had a number of deployments, there was a how-can-we-help atmosphere. To the first-timers, Vernon spoke like a wizened matriarch, telling them help was always available and they have the inner strength to go out.

While the extension of the deployment is not official, she said it will happen. Part of that feeling is from her husband, who asked her to prepare the battalion’s families, as he must the soldiers serving with him in Iraq.

“I’ve been part of the Army too long to know it will happen,” Vernon said. “If it doesn’t, I’ll be surprised.”

HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.

[SandRat]

FR WAR NEWS!

WAR News at Home and Abroad You'll Hear Nowhere Else!

All the News the MSM refuses to use!

Or if they do report it, without the anti-War Agenda Spin!

[Chena]

My heart aches for them all. Our son served in the 17th Signal Battalion in Iraq and I remember how hard it was on us all when his tour of duty was extended.

God bless all of our Signal Soldiers.

“The Signal Soldier’s Creed”
(”I Am Signal,” 1990s version)
I am Signal, the voice of command. Hear me.
I will defend my country in the face of any danger.
Nothing can deter me; I will get the job done, and I will win.
I believe in my training, my equipment, my comrades and my leaders. I depend on them, and they depend on me.
I am Signal. Hear me.

I am the nerve system of our nation’s defense.
I connect companies, brigades, entire armies;
I speak from foxholes and from the White House.
Through me, the commander’s will is done anywhere in the world – and beyond.
I am Signal. Hear me.

I am proud of my heritage, of my achievements, and of the triumphs of my corps.
I am honored to walk in the hallowed footprints of those who served before me: at Bull Run and the Argonne; on Guam and Midway; in Korea and Vietnam; and in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
I am Signal. Hear me.

For a hundred years and more, I have spoken my country’s freedom – and my voice has never faltered.
This is the way it will always be, for I am Signal and I will never fail the corps, the Army or my country.
I am ready, I am willing and I am strong;
I will shoot, move and communicate.
I will always get the message through.
I AM SIGNAL! HEAR ME!

[Bobibutu]

We gotta do what we gotta do - blessings on those and their families who choose to do it and support them in their mission.

Nothing is too good from us to them in supporting their trials and sacrifices.

Frequent flyer miles - cards - autos donated to families - giving what we can to recognize their giving for our benefit.

It has not been this tough on our military and their families since WWII.

/b

[Bobibutu]

Whew! God bless yours and them all.

[Chena]

Amen, Bobibutu. The best gift we can give the men and women of our Armed Forces is our support, our prayers, and our gratitude. The next best gift is CARE PACKAGES! :)