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Repeat war tours take toll on home front

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — Shanan Conklin couldn’t fight back her tears as she watched her husband, dressed in his Army uniform, play with their 16-month-old daughter.

A few short hours later, he would be on a plane, headed for 15 months in Iraq.

Two Christmases and more than 450 days of separation.

“My whole heart is right there,” Shanan Conklin said. “I tried making sure the bills were taken care of, making sure we took enough pictures, making sure we took enough walks, making sure we spent enough time together. As much as you do, I don’t think you’re ever prepared for it. I’m not ready. I’m not ready at all.”

Staff Sgt. Pete Conklin, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, and his fellow soldiers from 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division are on their way to Kirkuk, Iraq. This is the brigade’s first Iraq deployment, but it comes on the heels of two tours in Afghanistan.

“There’s so much you want to say, so much you want to do, that you think of a thousand things you want to say or do,” Shanan Conklin said. “It’s just been one nightmare after another, every night that he’s not coming home.”

The fear and anxiety, coupled with the pride and anticipation felt by Conklin and her loved ones have become a common, bonding experience in the broader Army family as soldiers and families have shouldered the brunt of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They continue to sacrifice as the nation wavers in its commitment to those missions. Planeloads of troops lift off for the war zones as Congress holds hearings on force size, tour lengths and signs of progress. And for most civilians, sacrifice remains a remote concept.

At least eight of the Army’s 44 active-duty brigade combat teams have deployed three or more times. Another six, including three from the 101st Airborne Division, will leave this month or next for Round Three or Four; and three more brigades will deploy before January.

INTERACTIVE GRAFIC: A complete breakdown of all brigade deployments

Almost every BCT has had at least two deployments, with the exception of 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which is forward deployed to South Korea.

With the surge currently in place in Iraq, there are 18 brigades there, and two more in Afghanistan.

as deployments become a way of life and soldiers adjust to 15-month tours, leaders are paying increasing attention to the 12 precious months soldiers have at home. Part of that is personal — they know what it is to separate for long periods of time; part is practical — the toll of repeat deployments poses a serious threat to morale and retention.

“We spend a lot of money and resources on taking care of families than ever before,” said Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore, command sergeant major for the 10th Mountain Division. “If you don’t inspire and motivate families to stay in the Army, the soldiers won’t.”

The 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, has long been known for its high operations tempo, deploying consistently even before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since then, the division has had 88 soldiers killed in action in Iraq and 53 in Afghanistan.

Its 2nd Brigade, now nearing the end of a 15-month deployment to Baghdad, is on its fourth deployment, having served once before in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan. When the soldiers come home in November, the brigade will have logged 40 months overseas since December 2001, the most of any Army BCT.

“We used to say we were the most deployed division,” said Maj. Gen. Mike Oates, commanding general of 10th Mountain. “When I got here, I asked to change that. Everyone across the Army deploys a lot. What we want to do is earn our reputation through what we do.”

Repeat and long deployments take a toll on soldiers and families, Oates said.

“Maybe I’m jaded, but I never thought we’d sustain the force this long, but [the soldiers] are amazing,” he said. “But they want a life. They’re pulled by their duty overseas and their personal desire for a relationship or a family. There’s a great deal of stress.”

To ease some of the stress, division leaders “try to be real candid and truthful with our soldiers and their families,” Oates said. “We try to tell them as best as we can when they’ll deploy and how long. We have to prepare them to deploy, but we can’t wear them out.

“These 12 months they have at home is the only time we have to prepare them for combat, but it’s also the only time they have to reacquaint with their families.”

The force is now more combat capable, but it’s also more tired, Oates said.

“The impacts on the force after a first rotation are different after a second rotation or before a third rotation,” he said. “I am concerned about the stress on spouses. We have not spent a lot of time looking at the stresses on the spouses. A year deployment is a long time. You miss every anniversary of consequence. Fifteen months is very tough.”

Taking care of home

The longer deployments may be a key factor behind why more and more families are moving home while their spouses are away; some don’t even move to the post at all.

“You see a lot more geographic bachelors in the Army,” said James Corriveau, public works director for Fort Drum. “There is a correlation there. It is changing the way Army families respond in terms of where they want to live and how they want to live.”

The trend is tough on families, but it’s also tough on Army culture, Corriveau said.

“We want the families to be together, so we can take care of them,” he said.

The unit that’s to replace the 2nd of the 10th isn’t exactly new to deployments. The “Rakkasans” of 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division will begin deploying in late September on the unit’s fourth war tour.

Col. Dominic Caraccilo, the brigade commander, said the deployment will be the fourth for almost half of the unit’s soldiers.

He said having 12 months between deployments helps soldiers prepare for upcoming tours.

“You have a year to focus your energy,” he said. “We have one year to reset and go through real intensive training to deploy.”

To help optimize on training time and family time, his soldiers took a day off a week for the last seven or eight months.

“The soldiers are pretty resilient,” Caraccilo said. “I think for the first-termers, they’re excited about going. The young soldiers are now leaders, so they’re going back in a different capacity, and the NCOs and officers, they’re professionals. The difficult part is the families.”

To lessen some of the stress, the brigade focused on building up its family readiness groups and other programs for families.

“Is it hard? Sure it is,” Caraccilo said. “Do I want to go away for 15 months? It’s my job. I missed three of four years of my oldest son’s high school years. When you’re home, you’re home. I make sure my guys don’t miss soccer games or miss conferences with teachers.”

In the next two months, three brigades from the 101st Airborne will deploy to Iraq – 1st, 2nd and 3rd BCTs. In total, including support elements from the division, more than 10,700 soldiers from the division will deploy by late fall.

War trauma therapy

About 30 percent of Fort Drum soldiers screened three to six months after returning from deployments are referred to the post behavioral health clinic, said Todd Benham, the department chief.

“We’re pretty aggressive about getting them seen,” he said. “Eighty-five to 90 percent are coming in for follow-up care. The biggest referral issues are [post-traumatic stress disorder], sleep or anxiety concerns and [traumatic brain injury].”

About 3.5 percent of soldiers, or about 575 a month, are using behavioral health department services at any given time, according to data provided by Benham.

As the number of combat rotations has gone up, so have visits to the clinic, which has expanded its staff and services.

There was a 253 percent increase in PTSD visits in 2006, compared with the averages for each year from 2001 through 2004, and about 194 soldiers, or 1.2 percent of the population on post, have been diagnosed with PTSD.

Five years ago, the clinic had one group for group therapy to treat PTSD; now it has four.

“Most people who come in for treatment get better,” Benham said. “About 75 percent of people lose their PTSD diagnosis after treatment.”

The department has increased its staff, which includes three psychiatrists, five psychologists, six substance abuse counselors and 16 social workers, by 25 percent. There are plans to grow the staff even more, with the creation of a TBI cell and 11 more medical or social work staff.

“My staff works really, really hard,” Benham said. “There’s not one of them that won’t put the patient first, but where we struggle is being able to see them as regularly as we’d like.”

Some of his concerns include the length of soldiers’ deployments, Benham said.

“Any kind of high stress environment is going to take some sort of toll on you, but you also can’t forget those who come out stronger,” he said.

Some words of advice for those preparing to deploy: “Try not to let your thoughts spiral out of control. When you do that, anxiety starts to build up,” Benham said.

For those who are preparing to come home from the war zone, Benham has this to say: “Get help early and get help often. Encourage the people around you and support them in the quest to get care.”

A workable system

One advantage to repeat deployments is the lessons learned from them, and when it comes to equipping and resetting the force in such a short time, officials said they have in place a system that works.

The Army gives units 180 days after a deployment to reset their equipment, but 10th Mountain tries to get it done in 120 days, said Col. Mark Drake, commander of the 10th Sustainment Brigade.

A unit is considered redeployed when 85 percent of its personnel and equipment are home.

“The faster the soldiers get their equipment back, the faster they can train with it,” Drake said.

And while soldiers are away, the post is preparing for their return.

Two massive construction packages, one costing $357 million and the other $460 million, will create more space for the units at Fort Drum.

Corriveau hopes to have all the construction done in two years. Among the projects slated for Fort Drum are new barracks, headquarters buildings, motor pools, child development centers, range projects and street work.

“We certainly want a campus for each brigade,” he said. “It takes a lot to turn those dollars into facilities and actually use them.”

‘A challenge every time’

Capt. Jameel Barrows, executive officer of F Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, deployed in late August as part of 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain’s advance party. This is his second Iraq deployment.

As he stood in the crowd of soldiers waiting for the bus that would take him to the flight line, his wife, Capt. Melissa Barrows, stood next to him and held his hand.

Melissa Barrows, the executive officer for C Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, returned to Fort Drum in late May after 16 months in Afghanistan with the division’s 3rd Brigade.

The couple pushed back their wedding because of 3rd Brigade’s extension, had a simple marriage ceremony after she got home, and now they are expecting their first child.

“It’s a struggle for everyone, but we’ve been through this before,” Melissa Barrows said. “That probably helps a lot.”

First Sgt. Todd Galindo, of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, has deployed seven times, including twice to Afghanistan and twice to Iraq. This trip with 1st Brigade will be his third to Iraq.

“I love it. It’s what you do,” he said. “You train these kids … and when you deploy, it all comes together. The tough part is being away from the family. You see that in the guys, too.”

Galindo has four children, ages 3 through 11. His two daughters always carry pictures of him.

“They never lose touch with me,” he said.

But he worries about his wife.

“She’s got the bills, the dog, the house, the kids,” he said. “The time just seems to drag. Deploying is a challenge every time.”

Redmore, the division sergeant major, said every soldier handles deployments differently.

“After the second deployment, it’s hard to retain soldiers,” he said. “They’ve missed all the first steps, they’ve missed all the birthdays, they’ve missed all the anniversaries.”

In an effort to ease the strain on soldiers, Redmore said the division tries to balance the operations tempo as best it can. For example, leaders try to place soldiers with multiple tours in jobs that might not deploy, such as drill sergeants or ROTC instructors.

“It pays a toll on everybody, I don’t care who you are,” Redmore said. “If you have a 6-year-old, you come home and he’s 8.”

Asking a lot of volunteers

Shanan Conklin is sure her daughter, Sasha, will be lost without her father, Staff Sgt. Pete Conklin.

“She won’t go to bed unless he puts her to bed,” she said. “They have their own ritual. He’s so afraid she’s going to forget him.”

Pete Conklin has deployed all over the world, but this will be his first to Iraq and his first as a husband and father.

“You have your brothers-in-arms, but now I have my family with me,” he said. “It’s a huge part of my life. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do, but it hurts to leave loved ones behind. I won’t get to watch my little one grow up. Videos are great, but it’s not the same as being there.”

The deployment will be tough on his wife, too, Pete Conklin said.

“Now we’re talking 15 months,” he said. “Ninety days doesn’t sound like much, but when you add that to 12 months it makes a big difference. I’m not leaving just my wife behind. I’m leaving my best friend behind. We don’t go out dancing, we don’t go out clubbing. Family is everything. I pour everything I can into my family.”

The Army is asking a lot from its soldiers and their families, Oates said.

“We have a small, all-volunteer Army, and there’s a limit,” he said. “I just don’t know what that limit is yet. How many more years can we do that with 15-month tours? I don’t know. It’s not an unmanageable pace [but] there will be costs associated with it.”

However, Oates said, the soldiers’ mission is important.

“Once you see what the enemy does and how it behaves, you become very serious about this threat,” he said. “Our Army has never failed the United States, and we’re not going to start now. As long as it takes, we will do this. The real trick, I think, is keeping the American public on board. This is a very difficult conflict for the American people to understand.

“I just know that the threat is very real and it’s not going away.”