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Dec
15
Troop Deployment Meeting
Filed Under Tears
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.
Comments
4 Responses to “Troop Deployment Meeting”
Great observations that we should all think about! Great post!
Let me please add: Thank You for your Service — to Col. Richard Knowlton and all his great men and women in the Guard. Stay safe and come home safely. Thank you for all you do for us, and for the good folks in Iraq.
We’ll remember and acknowledge you on our Internet radio show, “Walking A Walk”, Thursdays at 10:00am, http://www.CastleRockRadio.com with American Military Family, Inc. (www.amf100.org).
What you’re doing is so important to our Country. Your Service must be acknowledged by all grateful citizens of this great Country. Each of us continues to learn how to say Thank You… so that no service man or woman ever goes unacknowledged or unthanked again! God bless you and your families.
Thanks to those that serve in any capacity to keep our country free and as safe as possible. May God be with you all including the families left behind. And those of us that enjoy the freedoms that you make possible must never forget the sacrifices that you have made in making the world a better place. You’re in our hearts and prayers!
Having served with the 115th Fires Brigade in a Support Role as the Wyoming Veterans Advocate I can truly say that I would follow Colonel Knowlton, Lt. Colonel Larson and Sgt. Major of the Brigade Franklin into action anywhere in the world in search of the peace we all desire. Tony, We got your back. Your friend, Bob Bragg USN Ret.