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 […]

I really felt it was important to know as much as possible about Mark’s deployment – both the good and the bad. Yes… there were times when it was hard to move on with my day, see patients and pretend ‘life is great’ when I just heard from my husband that they were hit with […]

This is a trickier question then it sounds. A lot depends on what the soldier’s job is and where he/she is working. Most major military forward operating bases have a PX (Post Exchange), where a soldier could buy items like toiletries, snacks and military gear. Most also have internet access and a soldier has the […]

Paul and I decided long before he left that we would implement the much-frowned-upon ‘complete honesty’ policy during the deployment. I’m SO glad we did. When your spouse is deployed, you’re going to be nervous and frightened – There’s no way around it. I spent much of the year feeling like that, and yes, those […]

During difficult times like deployments we naturally never want to pile on or bring unnecessary stress on each other. Some couples and families choose to censor their experiences both on the homefront and on the front line. There are many degrees of censorship that loved ones practice during deployments and each family must decide what […]

When I look back on the year Paul was deployed, I remember it as one of the hardest years I have ever been through. But I also know it could have been much harder if I hadn’t met Kelly. Paul and Mark didn’t know each other before they deployed together, and it was just luck […]

The Oregon Sentinel did a nice profile on Katie. Click here and scroll to page 4 to see it. I’m so proud of my wife!

I’ve received hundreds of emails, phone calls, and letters. It’s been heartwarming to hear from so many military families who relate to what I wrote. Deployment can be so isolating, and sometimes you feel like you may be the only one out there who feels the way you do.