Cant Keep Quiet!

I was surprised by the one-line summary of the story in the Washington Post that read

3rd Infantry Division Will Be the First Deployed for a Third Year-Long Tour

To be honest, I thought we already had divisions sent in for a 3rd tour. That’s why I was surprised by the summary. What I went on to read, though, didn’t surprise me. It sadden me.

The 3rd Infantry Division has already lost 317 soldiers in Iraq. Now they are being deployed to Ramadi in the western Anbar province, a very volatile place.

But this story wasn’t just about the 3rd Infantry Division going to Iraq for a 3rd year long tour. It was also about what happened to the families of the 3rd Infantry because of their year in, year out rotations to Iraq.

According to the WaPo article, the year in Iraq, year home lifestyle effects many decisions for these families

They mandate when troops can marry and have children. They sever relationships that cannot sustain the stress of absence or danger. And they lead some couples to pray for the war to end.

Soldier’s families wanting to have children have to decide when they want to time the pregnancy and birth. Should the child be born while dad is away in Iraq? Or should the child be born while he is home but spend its first year away from its father? An additional concern for these families, if the soldier is seriously wounded or killed, how will the child grow up to know their father?

Single soldiers worry about finding a spouse. If they’ve met someone while on their tour stateside, some rush to wed while others hope that the girlfriend or boyfriend will still be there when they get back from Iraq. A hasty wedding often leads to a divorce when the relationship can’t hold up under the distance and worry of a soldier in Iraq. The divorce rate since 2001 is up for members of the Army.

Cross posted on Bring It On!