I’m not sure when Benjamin Franklin created the US Postal Service, he envisioned US mail being transported by armored HMMVWs and protected by machine guns.  But that is one of the methods used to transport mail to the awaiting soldiers in remote combat outposts and camps throughout Afghanistan.  Today’s mission was to retrieve the mail and take care of some additional administrative business.  For me, it was an optimal opportunity to get my chipped tooth filled.

Capt gives SSgt Richard Brown a certificate of appreciation.

Before we departed on our mission, the Captain wanted to present SSgt Richard Brown a certificate of appreciation for his hard work and mentoring these past 6 months.  SSgt Brown is returning home to the United States and if his flights go as planned, he will be home in time to comfort his wife while she gives birth to their baby. (Hold on a few days Mrs. Brown, your husband will be there shortly).

Yesterday, the Muslim world including Afghanistan celebrated Eid Al Adha festival.  This holiday occurs a day after the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.  According to Islamic history, this holiday commemorates the trials of Prophet Ibrahaim (Abraham) when he was ordered by Allah (God) to sacrifice his only son Ismael (Isaac).  So today, the Muslims honor this by slaughtering their best goat, sheep, cow, or camel.  One third of the animal is eaten by the immediate family, one third is given away to friends and relatives, and one third of the meat is donated to the poor people.  This is also a time when Muslims visit others houses and exchange greetings and gifts.

Due to the holiday celebration, our convoy was able to breeze through the city in half the amount of time it normally takes us.  There were very few cars on the normally congested streets and highways.  Most of the shops in the market area were closed and only handfuls of people could be seen walking about.  We arrived at our destination and while the team was busy loading the mail, I went to the dreaded dentist’s office.

Previously I chipped a tooth due to a rollerblading accident and had it filled by the dentist at MacDill AFB in Florida.  Somehow the filling worked loose and I was left with a sharp tooth and a gap between my teeth.  I was dreading going on vacation with this gaping hole between my teeth.  But the female Army Major relieved my fears and humored me while she fixed my tooth.

More school supplies.

I peeked in the back of the trailer and saw a lot of boxes and several of them had my name on it.  I am still receiving lots of school supplies from throughout the US.  Today’s boxes originated from my hometown church in Pennsylvania.  I also received a large shipment from Debra Byrd, Tupelo, MS along with some more boxes from St Martin High School, Ocean Springs, MS.  I guess I need to start planning some HA distributions.  But first, I am leaving this country soon and meet my wife in Germany for a 2-week vacation.  Then after I return and my batteries are energized, I will resume distributing supplies to the local and remote schools.  Thanks to everyone for supporting this worthwhile project!!!

Lately it seems that I continue to read more and more about people romanticizing the Military life, especially deployments. My reply to this is “WHAT?“

My problem is with the people who choose to believe, that in becoming a member of the military family, they are going to be living the “perfect” or Fairy Tale life. I can admit that in the past, while my husband and I were dating, I even had these thoughts. The excitement of travel to unseen places and the “romantic” homecomings seemed so wonderful. The issue is that people forget the realities of what they are going to be facing.

It is true that our reunions and homecomings may seem overly sweet. Of course there are lots of hugs, smiles, and tears! What people tend to forget is that we have spent months upon months apart from our loved ones. These months of separation due to deployments and missions are anything but romantic. We endure the pain of dealing with lack of communication & intimacy, becoming single parents, and the running of our households all on our own.

The typical military couple spends more time apart than we do together. Divorces within the military communities have continued to rise since the attacks on September 11th, 2001.

Do not get me wrong, I am not criticizing living the military life.
I, myself, love my life. I can honestly say that my husband’s choice to re-enlist was one of the best things that could have ever happened to our marriage and family. While there may be issues, this lifestyle suits us; BUT it is not for everyone!

I have only a few hours more than a week left at home. Soon the norm of my whole life will change. Will it be better or worse? I’m not sure, but so far I think it will be better.

For one, it will be more exciting. I’ve been told, among other (conflicting) things, that I will be able to go out on missions every day if I want to. I’ve also been told that I will be staying with a squad for the duration of their mission –building whatever it is that they’re building.

I am hoping that I will have internet access. At the same time I hope that I don’t. It seems like the experience will be cheapened by the presence of modern conveniences. Something about living with just the basics definitely has an appeal to me. As far as communication goes, letters are far more meaningful than an email. Somehow the fact that the person you’re communicating with actually touched the same piece of paper that you’re now holding makes it more meaningful somehow.

While researching for a logon script setup for mapping network printers using Windows PowerShell, I thought of using the Windows native tool printui.dll for the actual printer mappings.
However, I was`nt quite sure how to check for a users` group membership in Active Directory. This sure can be accomplished with a tool like Quest`s PowerShell Commands for Active Directory. However, installing this on every domain computer wasn`t an option.
Then I found Andy Grogan`s PowerShell function for determining AD group membership.

Based on this function, and the printui.dll the task was easy to accomplish. I`ve published a sample script to PoshCode.org, available from here.

You may also want to check out "PrintUI.DLL User’s Guide and Reference".

Tested with Windows PowerShell v 1.0/2.0 and Windows XP/Vista/7.

As an alternative, you may also want to check out this blog post on mapping printers using Group Policy.

It’s Black Friday, the Day After Thanksgiving.  I sit here sipping my cup of grog and cannot help but be reminded of this date four years ago – the day my husband deployed overseas.  Black Friday for me alright, but not due to sales.

It wasn’t our first deployment.  But it was the first overseas and it was the longest.  And I’m sorry to say I don’t feel I handled my husband’s absence all that well either.  Oh, don’t misunderstand me.  I supported my husband then and now in everything he has done.  I am proud of his service, proud of my part in it, and I regret nothing.  My husband would never have enlisted in the Guard without me supporting him.  It was a decision we made together, and not an easy one, since we were already in our 30’s and he was almost too old to join.  We had kids and a mortgage on his single income and piddly extra from what work I did from home.  It wasn’t in our original “plan” for our life together at all, nor easy to consider financially either.  Being a soldier meant a cut in pay no matter what.  And I received a lot of criticism for supporting him and “letting” him go, from fellow women and family alike.  Still I would make the same decisions again and honestly, I felt he had a purpose or even calling, as well as myself in supporting him.  I believe with all my heart that there are young men alive today thanks to him, even if only for his training or watching out for them. 

No – that is not where I had trouble handling it.  It was that I discovered that being separated for so long was incredibly painful.  Emotionally, spiritually and even physically.  I think it surprised us both just how much it hurt our souls to be separated, how much we had become a part of each other.  I’m not sure if being “older” and with many years of marriage and life experience behind us helped or maybe added to the hurt.  Perhaps we become less adaptable as we get older and settle down.  But I also have to think maturity as individuals as well as in our marriage had to have played a positive role though.  I couldn’t imagine being like some of the young women I looked out for, fresh out of college, newly weds really, new baby, husband now gone.  Barely starting out life as “adult.”  But still, as pretty down to earth and hard-working folks, we weren’t prepared for the idea that we might struggle so much emotionally about being apart.  We knew it’d be hard, we just weren’t prepared to feel despair in being separated.  Something I couldn’t have truly understood until going through it.  Part of me was missing and all that was left was an oozing wound in my heart that wouldn’t heal.  I never realized how important his presence could be.  For myself, or for our children.   A father really makes a difference in the home.  And in all honesty, I know our relationship is richer, and wiser for the experience; and I am too as a wife and mother.  Though it scared me, because it gave me a peek into life without him. 

There were days where I really was simply numb.  I hadn’t realized that over the years my husband had become such an incredible part of my foundation and source of empowerment.  As a woman, as a mom, as a professional.  Physically not being able to just call him whenever I wanted was hard.  Not seeing him, not being able to talk everything out.  Not just having him by my side.  No hugs, physical touch, no holding me when I cried.  I suddenly found my usual more confident self not so strong anymore. 

I got through it with a handful of friends who made a point of looking in on me.  Lord knows that no matter how many people say “call me if you need anything” to someone going through something really tough that usually, you won’t.  I know I was too overwhelmed.  So it was good there were those who weren’t hesitant to drop by or make that first call themselves to check on me.  It showed me how today people have irrational fears about being there for others.  I got through each day by staying busy.  Though sometimes it was all I could do to get the chores done, get the kids through homework and feed them.  And they needed me to hold and comfort them when they missed Daddy too.  When you’re a soldier’s wife and a mom, you have to hold yourself together for everyone.  Besides the fact that your soldier also needs more than anything for you to be strong, so the last thing they have to worry about while trying to do their job is you.  Distractions are not healthy on the battlefield or in training.  I learned many things about myself.  Including that I could dig up my own plumbing, and handle a myriad of other strange house repair problems that began to surface practically the day he left town.  You know that military curse they talk about, where everything breaks as soon as your husband deploys?  It’s surreal, but still real none the less.  It happens.  Can’t explain it.  It just does. 

I also got through it by writing, especially poetry.  I thought I’d share a piece I wrote for him while he was gone that he especially liked. 

Good Morning My Love…

Good Morning My Love…
I go to bed now
Keep watch while I sleep

My full moon is high
And your sun is up
Across the oceans deep

My coldest night
Is your warmest day
With soldiers roosting near

I go to bed
Knowing you will wake
And soon will join me here…

Written 2-12-2006, 10:37pm
Copyright ©2009 by Julia Meek Chambers, all rights reserved.

Two years ago this month my husband finally finished his tour of active enlistment.  I give thanks to have him by my side and be able to get back to watching our children grow up together and planning the future we put on hold. 

The war is not going to stop today, nor will it stop tomorrow.  But for a brief moment in time, I am going to take a departure from writing about my daily activities and write something different.  Today the traditional Thanksgiving holiday is being celebrated in millions of homes in the United States and around the world by U.S. citizens.  Kitchen tables are overfilled with basted turkeys, baked hams, sweet potatoes, cranberries and cornbread stuffing.  Decorative bowls are garnished with cranberries, deviled eggs, and candy.  The aroma of fresh baked pumpkin pies (with a pinch of cinnamon) fills the air and a container of fresh egg nog waits to be poured.  It’s a joyous occasion and families return to their homesteads to reunite once again.  My family will be doing the same thing too.   My mother will start prepping food early in the morning and then continue to cook throughout the day.  By the time she is finished, she will have made enough food to feed the entire neighborhood.  My family is no different than the millions of families scattered throughout the United States or celebrating overseas.  Before everyone enjoys the fabulous meal my mother made, my father will say a special prayer and give thanks to the Almighty Creator for everything he has bestowed upon us and our family.

Still together on Thanksgiving even if it's just via Skype!

Meanwhile there will be a few empty seats at the dining table.  One will be for me and the other for my wife.  My wife will be sharing Thanksgiving in Savannah, Georgia eating turkey and ham with SPC “Kit” Lowe’s family.  According to Mr. Lowe, they are preparing 3 turkeys to feed the hungry masses.  Since that tragic day in August when SPC Lowe

SCP Kit Lowe talking to Rex at Thanksgiving lunch.

was shot in the leg by an insurgent, my wife and Kit’s mother Sandi have formed a supporting bond and the Lowes have embraced Liisa like family.  So she will not be alone during this festive holiday.

Army colonel carves up the steam round roast.

Throughout Afghanistan the dining halls will prepare a special Thanksgiving meal for the troops.  My camp will do the same and try to create the Thanksgiving spirit.  Some of the soldiers won’t be this lucky and will settle for an MRE or whatever they can find in their freezer or food barrel to cook.  But I’m certain almost every soldier, airman, sailor,

AF LtCol and Army Major serve the hungry patrons.

and marine will pause for a moment to reflect for the things they are most thankful for.  At the top of everyone’s list is their family.  Our family members are the source of our motivation to succeed in this war and in life.  Never again do we want our country to have to live in fear like they did on 9/11.  As such, we risk our lives in the name of freedom and

Elaborate display of goodies at the DFAC.

democracy to root out those responsible for the tragic events of September 11^th, 2001.  We are prepared to give our life in support of this mission.

Today I can’t be with my wife or my family members, but I am still blessed.  I am blessed to have the best wife in the world.  Liisa motivates me in ways I will never understand and not only is she my best friend; she is surely my soul mate.  In addition, my other family members and friends provide me additional moral support to stay strong and focused on my missions.  Serving in Afghanistan has been the greatest challenge of my 26 ½ year career.

Although I am feeling blessed, I am also experiencing a see-saw of emotions.  I am a bit saddened tonight because the mercury is plummeting again and my thoughts revolve around the poor Afghan children who are sitting on dirt or cold concrete floors.  They are huddled together around a wood burning stove or wrapped in a blanket in attempt to stay warm and survive the night.  I am encouraged knowing the thousand blankets we handed out recently will provide some additional warmth and comfort.  But I find myself angered at the corrupt Afghan government ministers and officials who continuously siphon off foreign aid intended to better this country.  Even now as I write this entry, 15 of the current and former ministers are under investigation for corruption, President Karzai refuses to sign their arrest warrants and revoke their special immunity so they can be arrested and tried in a special court.

I also think about the hundreds of family members who have lost a military member in this war.  Their chairs at their dinner tables are empty for a different reason.  These brave men and women had their life taken while fighting in defense for the freedom of Afghanistan and our country.  My thoughts and prayers go out to these families as they try to mend together their lives that have been forever changed.  I also think about my military brothers who have suffered an injury in this war.  Some of these injuries are not visibly apparent either and disguised as PTSD.  I pray that God will comfort them on their road to recovery.  Union General William Tecumseh Sherman once said “War is hell” and today is no different.

Tomorrow will be another day and while many will look forward to the weekend football games or shopping excursions, know that the security of our country there and abroad rest with the all-volunteer force who serve our great and proud nation.  Happy Thanksgiving to my wife Liisa, my family in Pennsylvania and to America.  We are so blessed, lest we never forget that.

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: This week’s radio interview with reporter Bobbie O’Brien from WUSF Radio was a bit different. You can hear both Rex and his friend SPC Kit Lowe chatting about the school supplies drive and Rex’s latest village medical mission. Here is the link:

My Last Tour: A mission and a friend

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: Here are all the pictures from Rex’s recent village medical mission to Charkh.
!!!

You may have run into the issue where you boot into WinPE and get the very common “No Task Sequences are available (TaskSEquences.XML does not exist, is empy or inaccessible.” I ran into this for the very first time after upgrading from MDT 2008 Update 1 to MDT 2010.

You then go and validate that the TaskSequences.XML in the control folder of your deploymentshare has data in it and is not corrupt. I noticed that when I canceled out of the deployment wizard, deleted the MININT directory with the following command: rd C:\MININT /q/s – and restart the litetouch.wsf, I do not get the same error. I can then select my Task Sequences as expected.

A tip to debug this issue is to add the /debugcapture when you start the litetouch.wsf script.You can edit the Windows PE Unattend.XML and add the /debugcapture after the litetouch.wsf in the RunSynchronous section. The value on the right side states to run wscript.exe x:\deploy\scripts\litetouch.wsf, just add /debugcapture to the end of it. After making this change you will need to regenerate your boot image with MDT 2010. Then start the process by booting and view the log file when you are done. This might give you some additional information in the BDD.log

Often the issue involves the DeployRoot value isn’t quite correct. Tim Minter does an excellent job discussing this on his blog: http://deployment.xtremeconsulting.com/2009/11/13/the-case-of-the-disappearing-task-sequences/

U.S. flag with Afghan flag in background at Charkh DC.

It was another cool night sleeping in the tent, but knowing we were leaving, nobody really complained about the cold.  Instead, we were like a hive of bees packing up our gear, prepping the MRAPs, mounting the weapons, and getting everything ready for our return ride back to our camp.

Our escort showed up on time and we all lined up in convoy order.  I said goodbye to some new friends and wished them the best.  Our ANA soldiers accidentally left their radios powered on for the past few days, so we had no means to communicate, except for hand signals.   Even when the radios do work, they often ignore us and do what they want to.  Such was the case of taking a shortcut through a

Leaving Charkh DC

Taliban village when we departed the city.

We departed Charkh DC and drove down the main road.  We drove past the point where our other escort was attacked on our first day of arrival.  The insurgents frequently attack at the same point, because this methodology was effective against the Soviet Army, so they

Alas! Back on the hardball.

employ the same tactics against the coalition forces.  But today, nothing happened.

Dusty road leading back to FOB Altimar.

We turned off the hardball and drove down the dirt road leading to FOB Altimar.  The ANP were conducting random checks of vehicles at the

Metal cage surrounds the hull helping to deflect RPGs and other projectiles.

Dabari Bridge.  The big tires on the MRAPs created quite a dust storm, limiting our visibility.  On the way, we passed another convoy; they had the metal cages surrounding their hulls which help to deflect RPGs and other projectiles.

Our convoy made a short halt at FOB Altimar and we picked up our empty trailer.  Then we retraced our route back to FOB Maiwand to pick up a teammate.  This AF SSgt is almost done with his 6 month tour and will be flying back to the United States soon to be with his family and friends.  While there, we discussed some other business with the AF Captain who is the team chief there.

On the road back to the capital city, I observed a tractor that was stuck in the ditch.  This tractor looked identical to those that are donated by

Tractor stuck in ditch.

USAID to the farmers who raise alternative crops instead of a poppy.  A little bit farther down the highway some livestock crossed in front of our vehicle.  As the convoy commander, I radioed the team and cautioned them about the cattle.  But after a second look, these weren’t cattle.  My teammates think they were ugly oxen or perhaps even water

Those don't look like cattle to me.

buffaloes.  Perhaps one of my readers can educate me on what type of animal this is in the picture.

When we arrived on the outskirts of Kabul, the highway became extremely congested with traffic.  A lot of the traffic was big trucks overfilled with firewood.  This is a common sight now and tons of firewood is needed daily to fuel the

Firewood trucks funneling into capital city.

hundreds of thousands homes in the capital city.  Firewood is cheaper than propane and the citizens don’t have the money to convert their heating system over to propane or natural gas.  Instead they rely on firewood to heat their residences.  Unfortunately, this is having a devastating effect on the tiny forests that survive here.  Despite government attempts to save the trees, on a daily basis, 500-1000 trees are being cut illegally.  Due to corruption, enforcement officials are being paid to look the other way.

Thanks to our ANA brothers, they dismounted their vehicles and forced traffic to the side so we could squeeze our armored MRAPs past the congestion.  We arrived back at camp without incident.

After a few days, it was time to catch a flight into Afghanistan. We boarded a C-5 cargo plane.  Walking up to the plane was pretty impressive… the inside.. not so much. Cables hung from all over the place.  The floor had a built in pallet system on which they attached airline like chairs.  Only these were much more comfortable, however, much more crammed.  I struggled to make it to my seat in the middle of the row in full combat gear plus my M4 and carry on bag.

As we taxied to take off, they gave us minimal emergency information… given how packed we were… I’m sure should anything happen we would all would have been screwed. Just like when we boarded the bus… the C-5 was filled with a range of emotions… except this time it was mostly a lot of excitement in the air. The engine went to full throttle… and the parking break was released thrusting all of us into out seats almost unable to move. It was my .5 seconds of feeling like an astronaut during take off… only not toward the moon.  The flight was short… only a couple hours. I listened to my iPod and the time went by pretty quick.  Before we knew it… the cabin lit up and they told us to prepare for landing. Surprisingly.. the landing was incredibly smooth. Much smoother then the flights mentioned in my previous blogs.  It was no wonder they called the C-5 the Cadillac of the sky.

I was impressed with the landing, but even more impressed as I stepped off the back ramp after they unloaded pallets of equipment. Breath taking.  The mountains were simply amazing.  Someone told me they were the Himalayas…. I have yet to confirm if it was even possible… but given the spectacular beauty of the mountains… I wouldn’t doubt it.

I was here. Afghanistan.  8 years of the news portraying war footage of buildings being blown up, fire fights, car bombs, and suicide bombers. How could such craziness take place in such a beautiful country… it’s ridiculous. The next few days were spent in a tent large enough to fit roughly 100 people, and even more room to fill my lungs with Dust. 

We spent roughly nine or ten days in this crap hole of a tent… moral shifted a lot while we were here… some days it was up, some days it was down. After being there for only a few days we were hit by a number of rockets one night.  I however slept through it, everyone was talking about it the next day. Sound reducing headphones… good stuff. J

After our stay in the crap hole, the Air Force remembered (amazingly) that we were supposed to had been gone already. We woke up early, around 3 am… not usually a hard task, but given the fact we were all still trying to get used to the time difference… made it a little rough. After some confusion in the terminal, we boarded a small civilian plane and flew into our new home.

We were greeted by the 1^st Sergeant of the unit we were to be attached to, and taken to our rooms. After a few days we did a room shuffle, received our trucks.  Oh… *sigh* our trucks… they needed some love… some serious love. We also spent the first few days getting used to the FOB and its facilities, and completed training required to leave the FOB aka “the wire”.   On a excellent note… one of my first nights on the FOB I had gigantic Crab Legs, Crab Cakes, and Shrimp… mmmmm. So good.  

It didn’t take long for me to take my first trip outside The Wire.  Check back for details on that and following events!

 
Take care everyone.

PS:  Remember the phone calls I mentioned in “Are We There Yet”… for roughly 10-15 minutes of phone time… It cost me about 230 bucks! You see… when we left McChord AFB, they gave us phone cards… they didnt work anywhere so out of fustration I used my debit card… I was expecting it cost a penny… but not that much.

Talk about connection fees… good god. Lesson Learned.

This time last year, I was about 2 months into a 7 month deployment. Thanksgiving day without Buzz was when the reality of that deployment really hit me–I cried all day. In both of the deployments that I have experienced since our marriage, the long drive home after saying goodbye was excruciatingly painful. Each time, K fell asleep on the ride home and I sat outside of our house crying my eyes out–the reality of going into that house without Buzz and knowing it would be over 1/2 a year before he set foot in it again was more than I thought I could handle. But, somehow, each time I did. Once I got myself together and walked through the door, I worked (not always successfully) to keep in mind that every minute that passed was another minute closer to having him home without the constant worry about his safety (and my sanity).

But Thanksgiving last year was rough–very rough. But I had an amazing support system, comprised mostly of other military wives, who got me through. I made it. Looking back, I am still not sure how. The thought of even one more deployment still haunts me. I try to enjoy this time we have without that huge threat (though the possibility is still there even at this duty station). But I always know in the back of my head that someone else is living that reality right now–people I love. I am pretty sure not much in life is fair, but we still have to move on.

So, this year, I am really working on being thankful. I am thankful for my family and that our core is together for the holidays–happy and healthy. I am thankful for my friends who got me through all of the ups and downs–no matter how much distance is between us. I am thankful for all of the blessings in my life.

I can’t say enough how happy I am that Buzz is here with us again for the holidays. I have never been a big fan of the holiday season. Ever since I can remember, it depressed me. I don’t know why–maybe the stress, the cold? But I am working on turning that attitude around. I hope I can make K a big fan of the holidays and teach her to be thankful for all the blessings in her life. I hope the three of us have 100 more happy, healthy Thanksgivings together (which would make me 129 years old, so if someone in the biological sciences could please help me out with that, that would be amazing).

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Another thing I am thankful for…we have renewed interest in a book!  So share your stories (in all of our topics)!  What are military families thankful for this year?

Michael Niehaus @ TechED in Europe. He talks around MDT and Windows Deployment. I have had the luxury of attending a session with Michael at Microsoft’s Campus in Redmond back in April during the Windows 7 Airlift. Good stuff!

http://www.myitforum.com/absolutevc/avc-view.aspx?v=1526

In Oct. 2008 I had the pleasure of meeting Johan Arwidmark. I highly recommend his training course for even the most seasoned OS deployment guru.

Johan’s “Deployment CD” is freely available and you can download the ISO from http://www.deploymentcd.com/

Here is a breakdown of the contents:

MDT 2010 Lite Touch Deployments (just the free tools)
- Installing the server for MDT 2010 Lite Touch
- Creating a Windows 7 reference image using Lite Touch
- Deploying a Windows 7 image using Lite Touch
- Dynamic Settings, creating and using the deployment database

MDT 2010 Zero Touch Deployments (deployment with ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 R2)
- Installing the server for MDT 2010 Zero Touch and ConfigMgr 2007 SP2
- Creating a Windows 7 reference image using ConfigMgr 2007 SP2
- Deploying a Windows 7 image using ConfigMgr 2007 SP2
- Dynamic Settings, creating and using the deployment database

Additional Presentations
- New features in MDT 2010
- Upgrading MDT 2008 to MDT 2010
- Migrating Windows XP to Windows 7

There are currently 1.8 million children who have at least one parent in the military and currently over 230,000 children who have at least one parent who is deployed. Unlike previous wars, US military have faced multiple deployments, leading to stresses that are different than those found in past conflicts. While many military personnel deal well with these challenges, others have catastrophic problems that impact their lives as a result. Approximately 20 percent of military sent to Iraq and Afghanistan come home with posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], traumatic brain injury, or depression; others find it impossible to adjust to life away from the war front, finding that relationships, mood, and cognition are impaired or disrupted. When a parent with one or more problems returns to a family on the home front, there is a ripple effect on the partner, extended family, and children. For some, the first deployment is the most stressful; for others the cumulative affect of returning to battle and then to home increases the chance of trauma reactions, marital problems, and even family violence and child abuse at home.

As trauma specialists, we really haven’t had to deal with anything like this before and many of us are finding ourselves in new territory when we attempt to intervene with children and families of today’s military. Multiple homecomings, re-integrations, and deployments are difficult for children to understand and may cause changes in behavior, social interactions, and even cognitive functioning. For example, children and teens who have endured multiple deployments of a parent may have problems with sleep, attention deficits in the classroom, and even higher blood pressure and increased heart rates. School-age children may have behavioral problems in school and lose interest in their favorite activities; adolescent development is disrupted by the deployment of a parent. Young children [up to 5 years old] may regress to earlier behaviors or cling to parents, displaying otherwise unexpressed fear and worry. Do these reactions sound familiar? Of course they do; they are similar to the responses we see in children who have experienced extended or chronic trauma.

Presently there are some programs such as Zero to Three, the Military Child Education Coalition, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America that address the stress of multiple deployments on children. However, we really know relatively very little about how the unique aspects of the recent wars have impacted military families, particularly children.  In order to address the lack of research on intervention for children of military families, the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children is currently working on developing programs to address the needs of children adjusting to parents with multiple deployments, including those children who are attending schools not associated with a military base.

TLC would like to know if you are working with children of military or if have you worked with military families. If so, TLC would like your contact and employer information so that you can be involved in this initiative as the project develops. Please send an email to bsteele@tlcinst.org or phone the TLC office at 877-306-5256. It is important that TLC hear from you as soon as possible so that we will have a comprehensive list of those trauma specialists encountering children of military in their work.

Look for more information on the TLC website, the official TLC Fan Page on Facebook, and TLC’s Twitter very soon. It’s exciting to envision how we all can more effectively provide intervention to children and military families to help these children cope, thrive, and become more resilient– and we look forward to hearing your experiences on how we can all make this happen.

Be well,

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPAT, LPCC

Resource

Sesame Street provides free DVDs to help younger children cope with the cycle of deployment, homecoming, and reintegration. Visit “Talk Listen Connect” at  http://www.sesameworkshop.org/initiatives/emotion/tlc to find out more and to obtain these materials.

Follow TLC’s Twitter at http://twitter.com/TLCchildtrauma

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Worthless heater inside our tent.

Before going to sleep, another heater was brought to our tent.  The females found refuge in the ANA tent that were burning firewood and their tents were hot in comparison.  In turn, we were given their heater stove.  I also walked around the tent and sealed off all of the openings I could find to prevent the cold air from circulating through our sleeping quarters.

The next morning, we woke up and felt a difference in temperature.  The outside temperature was warmer and the additional heater increased our ambient temperature by 5 degrees inside the tent.  Before going to chow we shaved, showered, brushed our teeth, etc.  The shower tent is a bit of ingenuity.  The

Shower instruction sign.

water heater is rigged to the Humvee engine.  Posted on the outside hygiene station are the instructions how to use it.

Me prepping my whiskers.

Before we went to the school to set up, we received intelligence of a possible suicide bomber with plans to disrupt our activities.  Since the road leading up to the school was

Afghan females waiting in their own separate area to enter VMO site.

narrow and heavily guarded, I expected the bomber to be a man dressed in a burqa.  As a matter of precaution, everyone is searched by the ANA and ANP before entering the facility.  Respecting the Afghan culture, female soldiers search the village females in a separate enclosed location.

Today the lines grew rather long and it was a

Patient being transported to VMO site in a wheelbarrow.

non-stop flow of people patiently waiting to see the doctor and be given some HA.  While outside, I took some pictures of the villagers lining the road.  Coincidentally, an elderly man was being transported by a wheelbarrow.  The Army soldier told me to return inside due to the suicide

ANA medics in pharmacy.

bomber threat and this patient would have to be searched thoroughly.  Inside the hallways were lined full of people waiting by the pharmacy for their medicines and another line by the HA room.  The Army Captain decided to empty his connex of HA and before long there was no standing room inside the HA center.  Every customer was being

Little boy with his HA goodies.

issued a wool blanket, clothing, socks, wind-up radio and a limited supply of children’s shoes.  The Navy Petty Officer and I continuously pumped air into deflated soccer balls.  On several occasions I would hand the soccer balls to the young boys just to see the expressions on their faces.  They were too young to differentiate between a Muslim and an infidel.  In their eyes, all they saw was a generous man handing

Navy Petty Officer pumping up soccer balls.

them a soccer ball.

I also noticed some repeat customers too.  They were wearing different clothing today.  The female medics made this same observation too.  They grew suspicious when the women would not reveal their faces to them, even though they were in segregated privacy and no males would be able to see them.  The local

Afghan grandfather with grandson.

ANP officers also visited.  They would change out of their uniform and put on civilian clothes to appear like a villager.  Some of these people returned 4-5 times.  On a few occasions, I would stop them and question them with the aid of my interpreter.  Others, I recognized and would take their HA voucher so they wouldn’t be issued anything.

Through our interpreters, we learned many of today’s visitors left early in the morning and walked a long distance to get here.  A decision was made to stay open late and try to accommodate as many villagers until the medicines and HA run out.  The suicide bomber threat never materialized.  In my opinion, the villagers reached an agreement with

Afghans waiting in line for HA.

the Taliban so they could get free HA and not be attacked in the process.  I’m also certain some of the extremists visited our site to gather intelligence along with receiving free HA items.   This happens at every site we visit.  But today and yesterday was a small victory.  The insurgents tried to scare away the villagers by instilling fear and attacking our people and

Children waiting at pharmacy for vitamins.

location, yet that didn’t dissuade them from not visiting.  Our best guess is we treated over 1300 patients and probably gave HA to about 1500-1800.  Due to repeat visits from the same person, it was hard to keep a valid tally.

It was getting late in the day and the pharmacy ran out of powdered milk, children’s vitamins, and a variety of other

Little Afghan boy and his sister get HA.

medications.  The command was given to shut down the operation and load the remaining supplies on the back of a pick-up truck.  My teammates were anxious to return to camp and rest.

After dinner I called for a team meeting to discuss our departure mission brief.  But we also had a special surprise for the female AF Lt.  Today was

AF Capt presenting AF Lt her birthday present.

her 27^th birthday and we wanted to do something special for her.  I managed to get a blue berry muffin from the chow hall and the Captain inserted a match stick to serve as a candle.  Then he presented her a gift from the team.  It was a traditional blue burqa commonly worn by Afghan women.  On the trip down here, the Captain and I joked about doing this and we made it happen.  This will be one birthday she will never forget and now she has a unique souvenir to remember it by.

Illumination rounds light up the sky.

Before we called it a night, the Army lit up the sky with some illumination rounds.  I’m uncertain if someone saw movement in the mountains or they were just practicing.  I also saw a few shooting stars streak through the sky.  A few nights ago, I had hoped to see the Leonid meteor shower, but it was too cold outside and I didn’t.  This would be our last night in our refrigerator tent, because tomorrow we would start our trek back to our home camp.

In case you heard that there were two bombs in Afghanistan–one in the south and one in the east–SB was not near them. Though the hour I spent trying to get ahold of him this morning after I heard the news was a frightening one. I figured since it had been in the last 24 hours, if something had happened I probably would have already been contacted by the time the news broke. However, I do not think I’ve ever been so frightened in my entire life. I did talk to him. He and his unit are good. Honestly, I’m not even sure he knew there was a bomb in one of the eastern provinces.

So just in case you heard it on the news, it was not the SB’s unit. Way too nerve wracking for my taste. Seriously. I don’t know how the families who have soldiers in the southern provinces do it because that’s where the majority of the insurgents and taliban are. Knowing, too, that the SB’s unit found two IED (improvised explosive devices, a.k.a. roadside bombs) on Thursday and apprehended two people actually putting one in, it was way too much to handle this morning. But he is okay. I am so glad that he has a phone. I couldn’t get through, but at least I could text him and he would get my messages to call him. And he did, and I fell apart at the sound of his voice. And I am relieved. Not as much as I would be if he were on his way home, but he’s safe, and that’s all I care about right now.

Eating breakfast at the chow hall.

As expected, it was a bitter cold and uncomfortable night.  I woke up around 3 am and all of my teammates were buried inside their sleeping bags with their heads covered.  You could see your breath as you exhaled.  It was freezing cold inside the tent.  When we awoke early the next morning, everyone complained how cold it was.  The ladies in the tent next to us accidentally turned off their heater while trying to adjust it and complained about the freezing temperature too.

The chow hall opened early for our visit and we took advantage of the small seating room.  The tables and benches were constructed of cheap Pakistan quality plywood, but it served its purpose.  The food was lukewarm and the eating area was illuminated by a 6 inch fluorescent tube light.  The sun was rising, but it was still frosty inside.  We didn’t want to whine because the soldiers who live here have to endure these conditions daily.  Although I was disappointed they didn’t have hot coffee brewing.  Anyhow, we ate our breakfast and went over to the school to prepare for our visitors.

Apache attack helicopter to the rescue.

We were informed the Taliban disseminated “night letters” threatening the villagers if they came to the school.  The first hour, it was a light trickle of people.  Then suddenly the gunshots rang out.  The insurgents were shooting at the exterior protective wall outside the school building.  We quickly donned our body armor and helmet.  This time I was prepared with my M-4 rifle and took cover behind the concrete walls in the school.  Within minutes an Apache helicopter flew overhead and fired its guns.  Then an F-15 Eagle came screaming by as a show of force.  This time my teammates looked at each other and echoed “Air Power!!!”  Once again it became quiet and the villagers started coming again.

ANA doctor treats 3 patients.

The next line of visitors was well dressed by Afghan standards and these were the village tribal elders.  First they visited the medical treatment room and were seen by ANA doctors.  A US Physician Assistant assigned to the COP was also treating patients with the aid of an interpreter.  After seeing the doctor, they would take their prescription to the

ANA doctor with patient.

pharmacy for their medicines.  Despite the large population here, they do not have a medical clinic and the nearest one is about an hour drive away.  This distance takes even longer if they have to travel by donkey, horse, or foot.

The last stop for the visitors was the HA room.  This is where I spent most of my time

ANA Mullah handing out HA.

watching the ANA Mullah hand out blankets, clothing, soccer balls, socks, radios and food stuff.  Me and another teammate sat in the back and took turns pumping up deflated soccer balls.  The children were ecstatic about receiving stuffed animals along with some miscellaneous donated toys.  The Mullah reminded me of our version of Santa

Little boys delighted with stuffed animals.

Claus with his demeanor in delivering the goodies to his Muslim countrymen.

We didn’t hand out many school supplies because they are being saved for a separate project.  They want to ensure the teachers and the students receive the supplies and can use them, instead of selling them at the bazaar.  But

Afghan boys receiving HA.

some children were given some boxes of crayons, pens, and tablets to quell their persistence in asking for pens.  One boy asked for my pen and when I wasn’t looking, he quietly removed it from my uniform.  I guess he needed it more than I did.

Burning toilet waste.

At the end of the day we returned to the COP.  The barrels of toilet waste were still burning and the wind caused dust storms as we walked up the dirt road leading to our tents.  I took a picture of my foot just to show the consistency of this dirt-sand mixture.  By now the chow hall was filled and no seats were available to sit down.  My ETT team members decided to eat their dinner outside the tent.

After the sun went down,

My foot in sand.

we were informed there was going to be a light show.  The camp was going to fire off some “Willy P” which is a nickname for white phosphorous rounds at the mountain side.  Around 7:45 PM, the guns sounded and launched a projectile high up on the mountain side.  We watched as it burst into flame and then into smaller sublet flames.

Night show resulting from Willy P.

The white phosphorous consumes everything around it.  So if the Taliban were planning on launching a rocket attack from this location, they were now fried crispy critters.  After the light show, we went back inside our chilly tent and prepared for another cold night.

I had forgotten how difficult communication can be when Brandon is deployed. Those first couple weeks after he left… several times a day I would flip open my cell phone to give him a call, forgetting that I could not reach him.

We have to wait for a call or e-mail from him, never knowing when that might come. When he does call, the connection is bad – there’s a delay, and so it seems like we’re talking over each other and most of the time I cannot hear what he’s saying. And of course the calls are never long enough – we talk the big issues fast:

How are the girls? – Fine, How are you? How are you? – Fine, Fine, Where are you? Where? Did you send a check to so and so? … Hello?

Then the call drops and there’s silence.

I don’t mention that Hope’s getting really tall. That she prays for her Angel Cake everyday. That she’s talking back a lot and I’ve got to deal with that and it’s totally new because I’ve never had a child talk back before. That sometimes I just will not do, she just wants her Daddy, and she tells me so. That she is a huge help to me. That she has an incredible memory. That she wants to play the violin… so we better start saving our pennies. That I told her I don’t want her to grow up and turn three years old in 13 days. That she put a patronizing hand on my shoulder and said firmly, “Sorry, Orange Blossom. I’ve got to.”

I don’t mention that Rhema is really beautiful. (He already knows that. But every day I think, Wow, she’s beautiful.) That she’s not sleeping again. That the EEG results are in, and I had to wait all weekend for the doctor to call. That I worry about her relationship with her sister. That she accidentally ate an artichoke!!! That I wonder if she wonders about him and where he is. That she managed to escape again (but don’t worry, I found her). That the other day her teacher said she repeated, “Hope”, “Mom”, “Dad” when looking at our pictures.

I don’t have time to mention all of the gifts and blessings that have been poured out on us. The generosity of people -unbelievable! - the kindness they’ve shown us. That I do get lonely sometimes. And overwhelmed. That I’ve got really, really good friends. That one of our favorite old restaurants opened up in the next town over. That we’ve got our routine, our pattern, things are just fine. That God is so good! That I wear his old Army T-shirts and sweats to keep him close.

*

Every now and then we get to video chat (using Skype). We’ve only been able to do it a couple times since Brandon’s been traveling in northern Iraq. Before he left, he took with him an extra webcam that Jenn sent us. It has been extremely important in helping us stay connected. (Thank you, Jenn!)

I thought that the video chat would be great for Rhema, especially since she does not do well with phones. It was initially disappointing – when Brandon would skype with us, I could not get Rhema to even look at the screen and see him. (Darn, we sure could use some joint attention!) He would call her name over and over, and I would try to get her to look, “Rhema! It’s Daddy.” She would not look, she’d just run away.

The last several times we got to Skype, I closed Rhema in the room. Even though she was bouncing around, never staying still long enough to attend to the computer screen, I told Brandon just to talk to her. “At least she’ll hear your voice,” I said.

And so he talked.

He told her he loved her and missed her and why he had to go away.

She never once showed any sign that she heard him.

Then, the last time that we skyped, several weeks ago, Rhema actually sat in my lap for a few minutes.

I dangled a popsicle above the computer screen.

She looked.

And she saw him.

And he said, “Hi, Rhema.”

And she said, “Hi.”

Before we left for the in-law visitation trip, we drove the opposite direction to see my brother come back from his second and final deployment.  YAY!  Super Rad is currently stateside, safe, relatively happy, and counting down the days until his is Army free.

Super Rad landed in the rain just like his first homecoming.  Unlike his first trip, he came home with a much lighter spirit.  This deployment wasn’t nearly as scary as the first because of the draw down.  I’m so glad since he’s getting out of the military in a few months.  Reintegration is tough enough with the military there to provide a routine and mental and medical support.  Being cut loose to get those things on his own would have been so hard.  He’s thinking about going back to college in the fall.  I hope I stay living kind of close so I can drive up and interrupt his partying studying occasionally.

He landed on a Tuesday and by that Saturday, a large chunk of his combat pay had been spent on a new black truck.  I should have given him the bank number for the decorate-my-house charity fund if he needed to spend money that badly.  I guess he’d been dreaming about this truck his whole deployment, so I don’t really blame him.  Being sans wife and kid freed up a lot of cash as well.  Lucky duck.  I can’t wait to see it next month!

His homecoming was bittersweet.  I’m so relieved to have my bubby home safe.  It’s a horrible feeling to live phone call to phone call.  Super Rad and I are pretty close, so I’ve missed his company, witty remarks, and casual smile so much.  I want him to visit me all the time!!  Super Rad’s homecoming was shadowed for me though.  DH is leaving so soon.  I’m angry at the people whose fear is ending when mine is not.  I know it’s automatic, but the war kind of ends when your soldier comes home.  You don’t watch the news as carefully.  You quit subscribing to the newspaper.  You don’t hurdle dining room chairs in your path to get to the phone when it rings.  I’m not saying you don’t care or quit paying attention entirely, but it does become less immediate.  I guess I’m just grumpy that I can’t do that yet.  My fear is growing now that Super Rad is back, and I didn’t even know that was possible.  It chokes the life out of everything already.  And then I was angry at myself for letting these worries interfere with celebrating Super Rad’s homecoming.

Stupid deployments.  They ruin everything even when they’re not around.