Capt. Lacey Johnson likes the restaurants of Fayetteville and Spring Lake – she can tick off lots of favorites – but she loves the pet services that are available locally to take care of her calico cat.

“I don’t have children,” she said. “The biggest thing for me is my pets.”

The 25-year-old military intelligence officer from Colorado is one of about 7,000 Fort Bragg soldiers who are leaving the community this month for a year in the Middle East.

One 82nd Airborne Division brigade combat team is leaving this month for Iraq, another for Afghanistan. Within several weeks, three of the division’s four brigade combat teams will be deployed, plus the combat aviation brigade, plus the 16th Military Police Brigade headquarters.

The latest deployments will bring the total number of deployed Fort Bragg soldiers from 18th Airborne Corps units to about 15,500, said Col. Billy J. Buckner, a Fort Bragg spokesman. That is more than a quarter of Fort Bragg’s population. In addition, Fort Bragg special operations soldiers and Pope Air Force Base airmen also have deployed frequently in recent years.

The towns around Fort Bragg have grown used to big swings in the number of soldiers and airmen deployed during eight years of war, but the large departures take family members, customers, coaches and other volunteers out of the community.

Ask young soldiers what they like to do off post, and they will probably mention going to the movies or clubs.

Pvt. John Morrissey, 19, of Minnesota, had been at Fort Bragg for three months before flying away last week. His buddies have cars, and on weekends they like to go to movies or to Outback Steakhouse.

Pfc. Jeramie Kropatch, 20, of Arizona, also lives on post and has gone into town to see movies and visit the mall in the eight months he has been at Fort Bragg. He likes Outback and Smokey Bones restaurants. Beach trips are another favorite for young soldiers.

First Sgt. Paul McNeill, 39, estimates about 70 percent of his young soldiers frequent off-post establishments such as the movie theaters.

McNeill, a 1989 graduate of Harnett Central High School, lives in Fayetteville and enjoys its clubs, coffee shops and sports bars.

The businesses say they miss the troops, but the deployments don’t bring business to a halt.

“Most of our regulars are military,” said Corey Quinton, front-of-the-house manager of Outback Steakhouse.

The restaurant sometimes gives a complimentary meal to soldiers who come in two or three times a week and then return from deployments, he said.

But the popular location on McPherson Church Road tends to stay busy, even when lots of troops are out of town, Quinton said.

“As a restaurant, we don’t feel it as bad as some restaurants do,” Quinton said.

Tara Farmer, the night manager of Omni Cinemas on Sycamore Dairy Road, said the larger deployments are somewhat noticeable.

“It affects us a little bit,” she said.

Soldiers connect with the community in other ways.

Pfc. Timothy Jenkins, 21, of Arizona, said he and his wife have found a church home at Fayetteville Christian Church on Rosehill Road. Sgt. Jerome Fones, 27, of Missouri, likes to take his three children to the Children’s Museum.

Older soldiers tend to have roots in the community and be involved in their children’s school and sports activities.

Sgt. 1st Class Brian Beckman, 42, has lived in Fayetteville since 1997 and has been an assistant wrestling coach at Seventy-First High School, where his son wrestled and finished third in the state.

He flew out of Pope Air Force Base’s Green Ramp on his way to Iraq last week.

It’s his fifth deployment. And, by the way, he had done a couple of tours in South Korea.

With football season starting, Beckman won’t be there to help with the snack bar and booster club.

“It’s all what you make of it,” Beckman said. “I’m very active with my kids.”

Original article is here