On the eve of her 17th birthday, Elizabeth Villanueva was all set for the trip to Chattanooga. She was packed, prepared for the weekend's Bible verse competition and smiling for a group picture in the midst of friends just before loading up in a church van.
But, then, out of seemingly nowhere she heard the question "Hey, is there room for one more?"
She turned to those standing next to her and said "That's just like my dad to say something like that."
And then she realized, it was her dad.
Home from a one-year deployment, Elizabeth's father, Air Force Maj. Alan Villanueva, pulled a fast one, surprising his daughter and her three siblings on Feb. 17 as they were getting ready to leave for a regional Awana Bible verse quizzing competition. After a big family hug, Villanueva joined his wife Carmen, Elizabeth and their three other children -- Alan, 15, Sara, 12, and Ruth Ann, 10 -- for the fun-filled trip.
"I got to spend the weekend seeing them participate in quizzing and sports games, like tug-o'-war, relay races and basketball," Villanueva said. "I got to see them win and I was there for Elizabeth's 17th birthday on Saturday."
The Air Force officer, who works for the Missile Defense Agency, left this time last year for Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, which has been a crucial supply hub for the U.S. since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. It's the only one of its kind in Central Asia.
"It is a transit center," Villanueva explained. "It's a staging base for the Air Force, Marines, Navy, Army and our coalition partners being sent downrange from Germany or Italy."
Villanueva did not volunteer for his deployment. Rather, he was chosen to head a 14-person team including civil engineers, contracting officers and medical personnel to provide humanitarian assistance to the country of Kyrgyzstan under a security cooperation agreement between the country and the U.S.
"Kyrgyzstan is a Third World nation," he said. "We are working to rebuild the nation, much like we did in Iraq and like we are doing for Afghanistan. We've established a partnership with Kyrgyzstan so that we can continue to operate from there."
Recently, news from the Central Asian country has reported that its new president, Almazbek Atambayev, will seek to close the American military base when the U.S. lease runs out in 2014. The president is concerned that the U.S. base will become a security risk for his country, expressing the fear that Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran could launch a retaliatory strike on the military base. Other Kygryz officials are fearful of a possible security vacuum if the U.S. leaves the region.
At the same time, there is pressure from Russia, which has its own military base in Kyrgyzstan and has reportedly been uncomfortable with the idea of an American military installation in a region it deems its sphere of influence. It is the only country in the world with both a U.S. and Russian air base.
"As part of our community partnership with Kyrgyzstan, we are building and renovating schools, hospitals, clinics and other buildings. We are donating books, blankets, coats and other things as well as having our troops going out in the communities to play and mentor with the kids," Villanueva said. "We have helped their economy. And we are helping them with border patrol to try to stop the flow of drugs through Kyrgyzstan to Russia. Our number one goal is to keep the U.S. transit center open. But our longer term goal is to leave a lasting and positive impression of Americans in the country.
"With the U.S. strategy, we don't know if we want to stay there or not after 2014. It will depend on the condition and the stability of the area. Who knows what the U.S. president will decide? But, for now, there are still plans and programs for the next two or three years."
In his 19 years of military service -- eight of those with the Navy as a medical lab technician and the last 12 with the Air Force as an acquisition officer -- the tour in Kyrgyzstan was the first overseas deployment for Villanueva.
It was also a long deployment by Air Force standards.
"Most deployments in the Air Force are four to six months long," Villanueva said. "But since this was a leadership position, it called for a year. The length of time provides for continuity, which is especially important when you are working on construction projects that can take three to five years to complete."
Most of Villanueva's work involved overseeing construction management, including ensuring that construction permits were obtained, coordinating with the U.S. embassy on new projects, securing funding from the U.S. government, negotiating contracts and making sure contractors abided by construction standards.
"I loved what I did and I liked the people I was working with. It made it all worthwhile to know we were doing something positive for the people of Kyrgyzstan," he said. "It was a blessing to have that kind of job and to be able to work with the U.S. embassy in doing diplomatic work in the country."
Before his deployment, Villanueva was a project manager for integration and synchronization at the Missile Defense Agency.
"The job involved looking at the architecture of missile defense, and coordinating research and development and operations to make sure they were in sync," he said.
"My next assignment is also with the Missile Defense Agency. It will involve satellite tracking and surveillance, and relaying information from Colorado Springs, Colo., to headquarters here at Redstone. I will be looking at satellite results and how we can use that information to help Soldiers."
Villanueva's family knew their airman was coming home soon, but the date kept slipping back and forth.
"Initially, I was coming home Feb. 22 and be here by Feb. 24. But my replacement came early and I got a pass to leave on the 14th," he said.
His family had already made plans to leave for Chattanooga on the 17th, so Villanueva was hoping he would be able to get home the day before they left. With the change in date and the help of his wife, Villanueva made plans to surprise his children.
"My mom is really good at keeping secrets," Elizabeth said. She and her mom were volunteering at the Redstone tax center on the 16th when her mom's cell phone started buzzing.
"I had to go out of the room to answer the text messages on my phone," Carmen said. "I told her it was phone calls about the trip. It was very difficult keeping it a secret."
Villaneuva stayed overnight in a local hotel. The morning of the 17th, he arrived at the location where the church group was meeting just as they were lining up for a group picture.
"They had them facing away from where I was parked," Villanueva said.
When Elizabeth realized her dad was there, she almost fell getting to him. She and her siblings mobbed their loved one with hugs. And in those hugs, Villanueva was reminded of all he had missed while he was gone.
"I really missed home-cooked meals," Villanueva said. "I felt like I missed out on a lot because I like to play with the kids. We play a lot of games and sports, and we wrestle around. I like doing projects at home. Since we home school, I missed a big part of their education, and I missed a lot of their sports, especially their soccer games.
"But, mostly, I missed just talking to them and being a part of their everyday lives."
While he was gone, Elizabeth got her driver's license, which helped out a lot with the transportation needs of the family. Son Alan grew five inches while he was gone and now stands three inches taller than his dad. Sara and Ruth Ann got braces on their teeth while Elizabeth got hers taken off. And the family became a more democratic unit with the children helping to make decisions and sharing responsibilities for the household. Neighbors, friends and their church family pitched in to help when the four children's schedules conflicted.
"Since there was only one of me, I couldn't be everywhere. Sometimes, one child would have to go to a sporting event with friends while I went with the other child," Carmen said. "We have a really great network of support here. People were more than happy to help out. So often you want to do it all on your own and not ask for help. I made myself ask for help."
The children are home-schooled through their church program at Friendship Baptist in Huntsville. During the deployment, they put in extra effort to help each other while their mom focused more on their education than on household tasks.
"My expectations had to relax a little bit. Things weren't as orderly as they were when Alan was home," Carmen said. "In their rooms, I told the kids I expected three things -- no clothes on the floor, no trash on the floor and their beds made. We had a lot of family meetings over the year about the way things were going and how can we make things better. The kids really pitched in and helped out so much. I think they did a lot of growing up over the year."
While the home front was maintained, Villanueva worked 12 to 16 hour days in Kyrgyzstan. Now, he's ready to get back to being a dad and serving his country closer to home.
"A lot has changed since I've been gone. I've changed. The kids have changed. I know that I can't just come in and take over. I've got to ease back into their lives," he said.
"I am glad to be home. My thoughts, though, are still back there at times. I think about the good we did and some of the unpleasant things we did. Being gone for a year is hard, but knowing the home is in order helped me a lot. It would have been even harder if I would have had to worry about my kids and wife. Knowing they were OK physically and emotionally made me be able to do my job better."
Though the deployment took him away from family life, Villanueva said it was "an honor to be deployed and serving my country. Being among Soldiers and knowing what you are doing makes a difference, knowing you are deterring the enemy over there makes a difference.
"I have a better appreciation for the military who are gone a lot and for the leaders who have to make the tough decisions. I have more appreciation for Soldiers who truly sacrifice, and for the families and kids who remain strong when their Soldier is gone."
Social Sharing