It is Saturday morning and my alarm clock wakes me up. I really want to sleep until my body’s time clock rouses me, but we are going to Cheyenne to watch, listen, and learn how parents, spouses, and community members are dealing with the recent deployment of their 5-state National Guard unit. From 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon we heard from spouses, parents, friends, and others who had experienced prior deployments or had a loved one who is now a part of this current operation. Each story was told from a different perspective, yet all voiced similar sentiments of fear, worry, and concern for how to deal with every day life without their loved ones. They talked of pride for the service and dedication the soldiers are giving for their country.  Below are just a few of their narratives.

• The Brigadier General gave the introduction of his own earlier deployment and how it made him more appreciative for the beauty of the common landscape of Wyoming. The freshness of new grasses in a meadow. The smell of wildflowers and warm sunshine instead of Iraq’s dust and withering heat. And, as he was driving to the meeting, he had the special gift of seeing a mother antelope give birth to its newborn fawn. From the dreadfulness of the combat zone to the miracle of new life, one is constantly reminded of the beauty of America.
• A husband and wife chatted about their experiences. The discovery of hidden strengths, the challenges of fixing leaky pipes and broken cars, and the difficulty of not being able to see and hold one another at the beginning and end of each day. Other funny facts they shared:
• How the military takes care of every need and item in your life including your relationships, “If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one.”
• MRE which is the acronym for “Meals Ready to Eat” to what he thought they really are - “Meals Refusing to Exit”
• Another spouse spoke of how she now refuses to attend any “good-bye” ceremonies. She has done this before and learned that, for her, it was far better to say her farewells at home. Watching the panic of small children holding onto their parent’s pant legs and crying, “Please don’t leave me”. Wives weeping, sad faces, the combat exit…all were a bit too much. She gave herself and others permission to make choices that preserve their fragile emotional state.
• One young women told of how, shortly after she learned that her husband would be deployed for a second time, had a devastating stroke. She is working her way back to health with the support of family and friends. It is important that her husband not worry about how she is healing while he needs to be focused on completing and surviving his mission in Iraq and Kuwait.

Yes, the stories and the story tellers are linked together by their common situation, a situation of having a loved one living in a combat zone thousands of miles from home. A situation which requires those left at home to be braver, stronger, more responsible and independent than ever before. It seemed as if a mantra could be heard throughout the day:  “I’m handling it - whatever “it” is or will be.”  And they are not alone, for going through the next year will be easier with a solid base of friends, families, supportive communities, and the attentive resources from the military.

It is a crisp December afternoon two weeks before Christmas. My husband, Tony, and I are driving up to Cheyenne, WY to meet with the National Guard’s Brigade Commander, COL Richard Knowlton and his immediate staff. Along the roadside we come across a herd of magnificent buffalo grazing on the hillside much like they did a century before. Their presence reminded me of how minor time is and how closely linked humankind is to the past, present, and future. Over many decades, these animals were slaughtered off by the ignorance of mankind. Yet, they survived, in spite of enormous odds, they are still with us. For a moment the picture gives me a bit of hope that we, as Americans, will continue to move beyond the challenges of the present moment. That our troops will be able to sustain the test of war, and return to us safe and whole in body, mind, and spirit.

And then my heart remembers Wednesday evening. We attended a community/family information meeting for area businesses and families of guard members who will be deployed in April, 2009 to serve in Kuwait and Iraq. This will be a troop size of over 900 men and women going overseas, the largest deployment of Wyoming National Guard in the current theatre of war. In total, COL Knowlton will be in charge of 2400 National Guard troops coming from five states: Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Michigan, and Arkansas. They will be out of country for one year.

Historically, the National Guard was set up to serve within the borders of the United States. They help out in national disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, floods, fires, or other needed functions to protect Americans on American’s soil. Now the landscape of their duties has changed drastically. They are being asked to become combat warriors, to fight battles in lands far beyond their small state of Wyoming. They are trying in every way to ready themselves for this enormous task.

As with all deployments, I am struck by the faces of mothers, fathers, spouses, and children apprehensive about the well-being of their loved ones. With this situation, however, I now see the faces of business people who employ these warriors and must find ways to take on the extra duties and responsibilities that were filled by each man and woman being deployed. It will not be an easy task, yet it makes the war, somehow, more real to a community where their next door neighbor or work buddy will be absent and in harms way for a very long time. In doing so, the community will have to become even closer in providing services for their organization as well as exploring ways to support and care for the families being left behind to maneuver everyday life without a significant member of the family.

During the meeting COL Knowlton and his staff go over information regarding deployment: timelines, roles, responsibilities, communication protocols and other necessary items that are pertinent to the deployment and assignment overseas. All in all, this is a standard meeting until he puts up two slides, one on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). My heart tightened like a vise had been clenched around it. Was he really going to talk about these two silent enemies, the unspoken and oftentimes unacknowledged residues of combat? And he does, with openness, clarity, and compassion. He speaks of the sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and anger. He describes the importance of getting help immediately and urges family members to be vigilant for signs of emotional and physical distress once their soldier returns from war. It has been our experience that most military, for fear of making a situation even worse, avoid these topics. Yet, COL Knowlton and his staff do not take the easy route.

Instead, they offer suggestions to both the guardsmen and the families. Suggestions such as when you return, tell your story and loved ones please listen compassionately. Believe in God. Believe in the power of the human spirit. Don’t hold a grudge because anger destroys and bitterness does not allow the spirit to heal. And then to all of us staying behind remember to say Thank You. Thank You for serving. Thank You for your courage. And most of all, Thank You for all that you have given up and may in the future have to continue to endure because you chose to serve your God, your country, and your community.

Then my eyes filled with tears because I recalled so many instances when I have said these words to a veteran and he/she broke down sobbing, and guilt for the times I should have said the word, Thank You and did not.

In ending COL Knowlton put his hand over his heart and told each guardsman and family member in the audience that these individuals that he is now commanding and will take to the battle front are deeply embedded in his heart. Every one is his family, a family of selfless, courageous warriors. And looking into his eyes, and reading his strong, straight body language you knew what he spoke was the truth and you believed. Believed that he would do everything in his power to protect his troops. Do everything humanly possibly to return each and every warrior to his/her loved one in tack: physically, mentally, and spiritually. And I believed.

Merry Christmas, America. We are free because of our warriors and the sacrifice of their families and communities. Thank You and God keep you safe.