Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Seattle Times
September 5, 2007
Pg. 1
The first of 3,800 troops returned from Iraq on Tuesday. Their duty had been extended in the troop buildup.
By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter
FORT LEWIS — The doctor told Megan Edwards to stay in bed this week and marshal her strength for the imminent arrival of twins — a baby boy and girl.
But there was no way she was going to miss her husband's homecoming after he'd spent nearly 15 months in Iraq, on an extended tour that was part of President Bush's plan to increase U.S. troop strength.
So there she was Tuesday in the Sheridan gymnasium at Fort Lewis, seated on a folding chair, grimacing from frequent kicks. In the early afternoon, her face broke into a tight smile as her husband, Maj. Rich Edwards, walked into view along with 140 other returning soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 2nd Infantry Division.
"These babies are ready to be born," Edwards said. After celebrating her husband's return with a pot-roast dinner, she expects to deliver her babies sometime later this week.
Hundreds of family and friends gathered in the gymnasium Tuesday, cheering at the first sight of their loved ones and then finally — after brief homecoming remarks — rushing onto the gym floor to share hugs and tears.
These were among the first of the brigade's roughly 3,800 soldiers scheduled to return to Fort Lewis in the coming weeks.
These soldiers have been part of a marathon deployment that began in June 2006, when they left to serve in Mosul, northern Iraq. They later shifted south to Baghdad. The brigade was initially scheduled to return home in June, but its tour was extended through the summer as part of the buildup of American forces in Iraq.
Many of the soldiers eventually ended up in Baqouba, camped out in tents in between missions to oust Sunni insurgents from a province just north of the capital city.
The tour was grueling and dangerous. Forty-seven brigade soldiers died in Iraq. Some of the deaths came during the three-month extension; 10 were killed in a single week that ended Aug. 6.
Within the Army, the extended tours have been controversial because of the hardships they carry for soldiers and their families. In response, Fort Lewis has stepped up support services that will include marriage retreats for couples.
"It's hard when you're young — because you are maturing but not maturing together," said 20-year-old Madison Novoa, whose husband, Spc. Mario Novoa, is expected home later this month.
She moved to California to be close to family and friends during her husband's deployment to Iraq.
Akis Palma, who has three young children, opted to live on post for the second Iraq deployment of her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Palma. At Fort Lewis, she found support from brigade families, including several wives who joined her in volunteering at a local elementary school.
For those living on post, the frequent memorial services for soldiers killed in Iraq are a constant reminder of the war's personal stakes. Akis Palma went to several of the chapel remembrances. But she kept her children from watching television clips of the war and tried to keep their focus on school as deployment wore on.
"Sometimes it was hard because when he called to talk, you never knew if that was going to be his last call," she said.
All of the soldiers got one leave back home during their 15-month tour.
Under the original 12-month deployment, Rich Edwards would have been home in DuPont, Pierce County, in June to help his wife through the final trimester of pregnancy.
But Edwards wasn't surprised when the extension was announced in the spring. He spent his summer with a unit involved in tense foot patrols and house-to-house searches in Baqouba. "We were anticipating a much tougher fight, and were able to run al-Qaida out of town," Edwards said.
Back in DuPont, Megan Edwards was joined by her mother, who flew out from Ohio to help take care of the couple's 18-month-old daughter, Lauren. The last few months of pregnancy have been difficult, with Megan hospitalized several times.
"These 15-month tours of duty are very difficult," Megan said. "And when he was in Baqouba it was really difficult to talk."
The 3rd Brigade soldiers who arrived at Fort Lewis on Tuesday were an advance party, a few chosen from each unit to help organize the larger returns.
Brigade soldiers still overseas have additional work to do. They ride their Stryker vehicles on Baghdad patrols, helping train a Germany-based brigade of soldiers just starting their 15-month tour of duty.
September 5, 2007
Pg. 1
The first of 3,800 troops returned from Iraq on Tuesday. Their duty had been extended in the troop buildup.
By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter
FORT LEWIS — The doctor told Megan Edwards to stay in bed this week and marshal her strength for the imminent arrival of twins — a baby boy and girl.
But there was no way she was going to miss her husband's homecoming after he'd spent nearly 15 months in Iraq, on an extended tour that was part of President Bush's plan to increase U.S. troop strength.
So there she was Tuesday in the Sheridan gymnasium at Fort Lewis, seated on a folding chair, grimacing from frequent kicks. In the early afternoon, her face broke into a tight smile as her husband, Maj. Rich Edwards, walked into view along with 140 other returning soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 2nd Infantry Division.
"These babies are ready to be born," Edwards said. After celebrating her husband's return with a pot-roast dinner, she expects to deliver her babies sometime later this week.
Hundreds of family and friends gathered in the gymnasium Tuesday, cheering at the first sight of their loved ones and then finally — after brief homecoming remarks — rushing onto the gym floor to share hugs and tears.
These were among the first of the brigade's roughly 3,800 soldiers scheduled to return to Fort Lewis in the coming weeks.
These soldiers have been part of a marathon deployment that began in June 2006, when they left to serve in Mosul, northern Iraq. They later shifted south to Baghdad. The brigade was initially scheduled to return home in June, but its tour was extended through the summer as part of the buildup of American forces in Iraq.
Many of the soldiers eventually ended up in Baqouba, camped out in tents in between missions to oust Sunni insurgents from a province just north of the capital city.
The tour was grueling and dangerous. Forty-seven brigade soldiers died in Iraq. Some of the deaths came during the three-month extension; 10 were killed in a single week that ended Aug. 6.
Within the Army, the extended tours have been controversial because of the hardships they carry for soldiers and their families. In response, Fort Lewis has stepped up support services that will include marriage retreats for couples.
"It's hard when you're young — because you are maturing but not maturing together," said 20-year-old Madison Novoa, whose husband, Spc. Mario Novoa, is expected home later this month.
She moved to California to be close to family and friends during her husband's deployment to Iraq.
Akis Palma, who has three young children, opted to live on post for the second Iraq deployment of her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Palma. At Fort Lewis, she found support from brigade families, including several wives who joined her in volunteering at a local elementary school.
For those living on post, the frequent memorial services for soldiers killed in Iraq are a constant reminder of the war's personal stakes. Akis Palma went to several of the chapel remembrances. But she kept her children from watching television clips of the war and tried to keep their focus on school as deployment wore on.
"Sometimes it was hard because when he called to talk, you never knew if that was going to be his last call," she said.
All of the soldiers got one leave back home during their 15-month tour.
Under the original 12-month deployment, Rich Edwards would have been home in DuPont, Pierce County, in June to help his wife through the final trimester of pregnancy.
But Edwards wasn't surprised when the extension was announced in the spring. He spent his summer with a unit involved in tense foot patrols and house-to-house searches in Baqouba. "We were anticipating a much tougher fight, and were able to run al-Qaida out of town," Edwards said.
Back in DuPont, Megan Edwards was joined by her mother, who flew out from Ohio to help take care of the couple's 18-month-old daughter, Lauren. The last few months of pregnancy have been difficult, with Megan hospitalized several times.
"These 15-month tours of duty are very difficult," Megan said. "And when he was in Baqouba it was really difficult to talk."
The 3rd Brigade soldiers who arrived at Fort Lewis on Tuesday were an advance party, a few chosen from each unit to help organize the larger returns.
Brigade soldiers still overseas have additional work to do. They ride their Stryker vehicles on Baghdad patrols, helping train a Germany-based brigade of soldiers just starting their 15-month tour of duty.