FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Although the mission focus in Afghanistan is transitioning from combat to training and support operations, 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers tasked with carrying out the remaining missions this fall are experiencing the same predeployment uncertainties as before.
Nearly two-thirds of the division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is slated to depart Fort Drum for a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan later this year. As the departure approaches, they all face the planning and preparation challenges that go with it.
Sgt. Ashley Swindell, a human resources noncommissioned officer with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, arrived at Fort Drum after she completed an unaccompanied yearlong tour of duty overseas. She is facing her first combat deployment with guarded excitement.
"I joined the Army in 2008, and my first duty station after basic and advanced individual training was in Korea," Swindell said. "But I know this will be different, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm also excited because this will be my first time."
Swindell and her husband, Richard Abbot, were married after she completed her advanced individual training and before being sent to Korea. Having to prepare for the deployment as a couple came as no surprise. Some of the preparations have been harder than others. Swindell described the most difficult one.
"For us, the hardest thing to do was moving," she said, "setting up both a home for him in Texas and an apartment for me here so that we can both be ready when the time comes to deploy."
Swindell credits the training she has received so far with giving her much-needed confidence. She was with the Spartan Brigade during its recent rotation through the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., and got an opportunity to experience what deployed operations will look like for her, which helped ease some of her anxiety.
"We trained on all of the different types of things that we'll be doing, like battlefield accountability, personnel statistics and awards processing in a really intense environment," Swindell said. "I really learned a lot about my job."
Her guarded optimism is tempered, however, by the reality of the dangers inherent to deploying into a combat zone.
"We both worry about what can happen while I'm over there," Swindell said. "So our biggest hope is that I get home in one piece."
Fear of the unknown, inherent in an upcoming deployment, is not unique to Soldiers who have not deployed. Soldiers who have completed previous combat deployments experience it as well, especially if it is their first time as a husband, a wife or a parent to be.
Staff Sgt. Kristopher Smythe, a squad leader with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, has experienced combat deployments, but this one will be his first as a husband and father. He married in May, and he and his wife, Kayla, are currently expecting their first child.
"We have a lot to figure out," said Kayla Smythe, "like coordinating our schedules and what we need to do to be ready for when the baby comes."
The separation from loved ones is one of the hardest problems Soldiers have to deal with, adding stress to an already overwhelming and emotional experience. Soldiers separated from their loved ones by thousands of miles can find themselves feeling inadequate when a problem occurs and they cannot physically be there to help.
Soldiers can feel even worse when they cannot be there to participate in significant, life-changing events like the birth of their children.
Technology has helped by providing Soldiers and their loved ones a means of staying in touch. Social media sites like Facebook as well as Internet communication technologies like Skype can help to close the distance, and, in the case of Skype, even allow face-to-face conversation. Kristopher Smythe is counting on that technology to help close the distance and ease the burden of not being able to be there when the time comes for his child's birth.
"I'm hoping that we have Skype this time around," he said. "That's the only way I can see being able to be there for the birth of our baby."
Deployment concerns can be addressed using the numerous resources available to Soldiers and their Family Members. Family Members can talk to their unit family readiness support assistants, who can offer a variety of counseling services and access to other resources. Soldiers and their leaders can help by encouraging Family Members to participate in the unit's deployment preparations, which can help ease many fears.
For others, like Kayla Smythe, it has meant getting more involved with the unit's family readiness group, where she has not only learned a great deal more about the deployment process, she also has found the strength of fellow spouses sharing similar experiences.
"It's been really good for me," Smythe said. "They've offered me a lot of support."
Like Swindell and her husband, the Smythes have decided that she will stay with Family while he deploys.
"I plan on leaving New York for Louisiana while he deploys," Kayla Smythe said. "We both think it will be easier for the baby to have Family around."
Maintaining close, personal relationships can be challenging when deployed, so being patient with each other, communicating honestly with each other and making an honest effort to understand each other's circumstances are of critical importance.
For Kristopher Smythe, it comes down to just a couple of basic rules.
"When things get tough, keep a level head. Remember and remind yourselves about all of the little things that you love about each other," he said.
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