The War in Iraq Becomes Personal.....

Glenn, Amanda (his wife) and Miles at their wedding





I am still in shock. Two weeks ago, my son's dad whom I was married to at the age of nineteen, and have known since I was fifteen, was sent to Iraq with a mere five days notice. He is in training for five weeks in NJ and then off to (supposedly) Iraq. He is an intelligence SMSgt.; a linguist who speaks Albanian, Spanish and Portuguese. Maybe a couple others, I don't remember anymore--he picks up languages like new socks. Must be nice. After five years of Spanish I am pretty hopeless. Anyway, my thirteen year old son who spent MOST of his time at his dad's in the past year, is now ALL MINE for a year. I told his dad he certainly planned that well--leave me with the teenager--smile. His dad has been in 20 years and is eligible for retirement. At first they told him it was a non-voluntary assignment and that if he refused he would be automatically retired. He said fine, retire me. The Air Force then changed their tune and told him if he refused he would be KICKED out with NO BENEFITS. WTF?
So he is gone, leaving behind three kids and a wife. His five year old has just been diagnosed with autism and he also has a fifteen month old. Apparently, the reason he got the short notice is that the PUTZ who was supposed to go went AWOL and has not been found! I would not be surprised to find Miles' dad in Afghanistan instead of Iraq, many times they don't even know what they are doing until they are on a runway.... His missions are normally not discussable due to the nature of his job, but after being his wife and figuring things out, I have a good idea what he does. It is NOT COMMON to get taxed for a year's assignment, normally they are 3-6 months long. I tell him this is the military's payback for giving him his cushy 6 yr. assignment when we got to live in Key West, Florida and his TDY's (short trips) to Germany, Costa Rica, Chile, California...the list goes on. He has gone on one SHORT assignment that WAS dangerous; in a scary place, but I can't tell you where. Ahhh. Such mystery! Intrigue. No, not really, trust me. Scary is MORE like it. The powers that be probably read my darn blog to make sure I'm not giving out intelligence information. Of course, I am proud of all of our soldiers who go and fight for our country, it is the WARS and the politics of it all that I am not supporting. I was in the Air Force as a nurse and it was NOT for me.... but I am still forced to be a military wife....even as an ex-wife. What is really hard on my son is that because of the short notice, he did not get a change to say goodby to his dad. He was in Chicago visiting his grandma during the debacle and ensuing scramble on his dad's part to out-process and put his affairs in order. My son is worried, afraid his dad won't come back, and missing his dad terribly. They are SO close. I will do the best that I can... Pray for us if you pray.