Having a friend to go through the deployment with me is something that I will always cherish and credit for me surviving the year. I can’t say enough about the value of having someone ‘on your side’ during such a hard year. Friends I have had since college, or even childhood, could not understand my feelings this year the way Katie could. There is just a bond there that cannot be replaced or ever really put into words. I even have a hard time explaining to Mark how much that friendship meant to me and that Katie is a big reason why I was as strong as I was.

It is weird though… you almost mourn the loss of your ‘comrad’ when your spouse comes home safely. I didn’t expect to feel such a sense of loss – even though Katie and I had talked about the fact that our friendship would change once the boys came home. It’s been hard to give up those daily phone calls, but we saw each other at a military ball this weekend and it was nice to be able to re-hash some post-deployment “transition” issues!

I can honestly say as a “I don’t do support groups” kind of person… the support I received from my Deployment Best Friend was untouchable. I only wish I hadn’t waited 6 months into the deployment to open up!

Read more about the importance of finding a Battle Buddy.