Search This Blog

24 Steak Burgers FREE with your order of $119+ Use Promo Code 2LOB8B12 to receive 2 Lobster Tails + 8 Steak Burgers

Active Warrants: Erie County Sheriff's Department

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Families Weather Holidays Without Deployed Loved Ones


By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2010 - As she has in years past, Pat Moseley lit the Hanukkah menorah earlier this month, and then the Christmas tree, without her deployed soldier husband.

Click photo for screen-resolution image
Kari Armstrong readies a care package to send to her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Armstrong, who is deployed in Afghanistan. December 2010, Fort Campbell, Ky. Courtesy photo

(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

As a 20-plus-year military spouse, Moseley has grown accustomed to celebrating her family's dual, month-long holiday season without him.

But this year, as she watched the Hanukkah candles flicker and said her prayers in the family's Fort Campbell, Ky.,-area home, she did so not only with her husband's safety in mind, but also her older son's.

Moseley's husband, Sgt. 1st Class Jon Moseley, of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade, and their son, Army Spc. Chris Moseley, are both deployed in Afghanistan for a year, although to separate locations.

As a seasoned Army wife and mom, Moseley is familiar with the roller-coaster ride of emotions a deployment entails. "I know I'll be a little down, a little depressed; it's hard around the holidays," she said. "But I've learned to reach out to friends, put more effort into the [family readiness group]."

Moseley is one of thousands of family members weathering the holidays without a deployed loved one this year. More than 140,000 U.S. servicemembers are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with thousands more to other locations around the world.

Back home, their families are tackling the task of upholding long-standing holiday traditions, or creating new ones, while working to keep spirits high and their deployed loved ones close at hand.

Rather than dwell on past traditions, and the lack of her husband and son to share them, Moseley is determined to create new memories that will sustain her through the long winter days ahead.

Moseley and her younger son, Jon, will celebrate the holidays in a cabin with close friends. She plans to cherish their time together, particularly since Jon, an Army specialist, is set to deploy to Afghanistan in the spring.

"One will be coming back and two more will be there," she said, referring to Jon and her husband, who won't return until the summer.

Although tucked away in the countryside, Moseley will ensure she's able to include her husband and deployed son in the festivities. If they can time it right, they'll open gifts "together" online.

"The Internet is a blessing," she said. "Having a voice connection is so important."

While she misses them when they're away, Moseley said she's proud for the sacrifices her husband and two sons have chosen to make. "I'm so very proud of them, for the choices that they've made and what they've done for me and their country," she said.

Donnie Mock also has shifted his family's traditional holiday plans to avoid the ghosts of Christmas past. Rather than drive to visit family in Ohio, he plans to stay home at Fort Campbell and enjoy a quiet holiday with his three children.

"I figured we'd have the holidays here; do something different, said Mock, whose wife, Army Sgt. Kelly Mock, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, is deployed in Afghanistan.

Mock, a stay-at-home dad, plans to cook a big dinner for their children: 10-year-old Donnie III, 4-year-old Dayon and 2-year-old Seagurin. The highlight of their day, he said, will be when they talk to Kellie online via Skype. "We're going to call her on Christmas for her time zone and then on Christmas here, so it's like having two holidays," he said.

On their third deployment, Mock also is accustomed to the gamut of emotions that comes with separation, and is understanding when his youngest wakes him up in the middle of the night wondering, "Where's Mommy?" His focus during the holidays, and every other day, he said, is to be his family's rock.

"I want to be there for her and the kids as well as our extended family," he said. "They're also worried. But it helps to have someone standing strong, and I would like to think that's me.

"I keep spirits going, hopes up high, that no harm will come to her or anyone else," he said.

Mock finds comfort in knowing that his wife is serving a greater good, and tries to pass that knowledge on to his children. "I tell them she left for a really good reason," he said. "It helps to grasp the concept of why she left and what it's for; it's a good thing.

"It takes a strong mind and soul to be in the armed forces," he added. "It takes a special kind of person to do the job we do -- spouses and military."

Kari Armstrong, wife of Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Armstrong, of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, will be drawing on her own reserve of strength this holiday season while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. This holiday will be her first without her mother, who died in February.

On Christmas, she plans to spend time with her father, who has Alzheimer's disease, and with her Army wife friends. "We do everything together when the holidays come," she said of her friends. "We've formed that typical Army wife, buddy bond."

Armstrong has kept busy since her husband deployed from Fort Campbell in July, the second time in their four years of marriage. "The best way to cope is to stay busy, stay involved with the family readiness group," she said. "It makes it go by faster."

Still, Armstrong wishes her husband, whom she calls the "rock of the family," could be home, "not just because of the holiday, but what it will be like without [my mother]," she said.

As with many military spouses, despite her own challenges, Armstrong offers her husband unwavering support.

"My husband is doing what he loves to do," she said. "I'm here for the ride no matter what he does. He always has a support system back home." Her holiday wish for him, she added, is that he returns home safely.

Moseley said she has one wish for her husband, son and all the deployed troops: "I wish them a peaceful day," she said, "that they can have a moment of peace to enjoy the blessing of Christmas."
 

Click photo for screen-resolution image Ten-year-old Donnie III, 4-year-old Dayon and 2-year-old Seagurin help prepare dinner. Their father, Donnie Mock, has a big holiday dinner planned to help keep spirits high while his wife, Army Sgt. Kelly Mock, is deployed in Afghanistan. December 2010, Fort Campbell, Ky. Courtesy photo
Download screen-resolution
Download high-resolution
  
-----------------------------------------------
Donations to Motioncenter.info:
Or Via Check payable to: Brian Luke 3840 East Robinson Road 3 Amherst, New York 14228 Thanks

No comments:

Advertiser

Technology Headlines

The TSA Blog

FEMA Blog

White House.gov Video Feed

NYSDOT Recent Press Releases

Indian Point Press Releases

Erie County RSS Feed

The Weather Channel: Your Local Weather Outlook--Niagara Falls, NY (14304)

Niagara County RSS Feed

National Weather Service

Albany County RSS Feed

Allegany County RSS Feed

Bronx County RSS Feed

Broome County RSS Feed

Cattaraugus County RSS Feed

Chemung County RSS Feed

City of Toronto News Releases

US Consumer Product Safety Commission - Recent Recalls and Product Safety News

Center for Missing & Exploited Children: NY Missing

Lead Photos - U.S. Dept. of Defense

Contract - U.S. Dept. of Defense

Speech - U.S. Dept. of Defense

Transcript - U.S. Dept. of Defense

FBI Extra

NASA Breaking News

NASACast Video

City of Toronto news releases, Emergency Medical Services

City of Toronto news releases, Fire Services

Speeches

Advertiser

City of Toronto news releases, Fire Services

RoyaltyFreeMusic.com Music Reviews

Automobile RSS Feed

Speed and Accuracy Statement

The information you find here is in the form of raw data, usually delivered via RSS feeds. The information is delivered via website in the most rapid manner possible. Usually this is the manner of delivery of information to media. Therefore, this service gets the audience information to the public more rapidly then any media outlet that has to re-write the information for their email club or SMS feeds.

In some cases, cases, from time to time, updates and correctons are offered by the authors of this information, Motioncenter.info is not responisble for the content of RSS feeds, press releases, or any other content. The content of the information presented is the responsiblity of the producer of the content.

There are many reasons for presenting the information as the page does. The public really never has had a view of the raw data before now. Most cases we see news packaged, polished and prioritized. This blog network offers a wide audience a variety of news, some of it is produced by Motioncenter and some by the government or other sources.

Read what you like, ignore what doesn't interest you, but at least Motioncenter doesn;t tell you what the news is, you choose.

Material Connection Disclosure

You should assume that the owner of this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned on this site and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the internet or offline. THIS IS A BLOG. A NON-COMMERCIAL WEBPAGE At no time does commerce transact on this site. If it had then it would require a Secure Sockets Layer certificate and a merchant account. Being a non-commercial site there are some licensing privledges that this site will participate in. Mystuffnow is an online radio station broadcasting twenty four hours daily. This station can be bet described as a hybrid format of adult contemporary, international and ad popular music. In a sense it may, be compared to compared random radio format, but mystuffnow has three dedicated day parts. These day parts include a morning, evening and overnight separate music selection. The morning and afternoon have a selection of classic rock and current hot hits. To make the station more unique a new track, or tracks from the overnight day part have been added to make the station stand out from traditional stations that broadcast locally. The overnight day part is called “After Hours” and mimics the general principals of a quiet storm programming style where as there are fewer commercials and the music is more adult in nature, not just in lyrics but the music is more unique, offering international and slower tracks. This is meant for relaxation or whatever you may be doing in the late night hours. This station is run by computerized traffic software. At any moment a live deejay can broadcast and a morning show or news programming is possible, all playlists are run automatically. One positive of this is the fact that the software ensures that all artists get paid their royalties and this station avoids any fines for digital media issues. Update: Mystuffnow is currently off the air.

No Endorsement Statement

No endorsement is implied nor should it be inferred. No government agency, or organization has endorsed Motioncenter.Info. Motioncenter.info is a media organization with a mission of offering unbiased information as it becomes available, without any form of bias.

Privacy Policy

This is a website run by Group Speeddog Results Marketing, L.L.C... We take our readers privacy very seriously. Promotions through Third Party Merchants While this site is not endorsed or owned by any of the third party merchants appearing on this site, this site may at times receive various types of compensation when a viewer makes a purchase or clicks on a link appearing on this site. This site is not responsible for any claims or warranties associated with any third-party merchant link or website. This site does not directly collect any information regarding its viewers without your prior knowledge and permission; nor does it share their information with third-party vendors or merchants . It is not now, nor ever will be, our practice to sell your information to any third-party under any circumstance. We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. Google Advertising Cookie and Privacy Policies What is the DoubleClick DART cookie? The DoubleClick DART cookie is used by Google in the ads served on the websites of its partners, such as websites displaying AdSense ads or participating in Google certified ad networks. When users visit a partner’s website and either view or click on an ad, a cookie may be dropped on that end user’s browser. The data gathered from these cookies will be used to help better serve and manage ads on the publisher’s site(s) and across the web. *Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site. *Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and/or other sites on the Internet. *Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.
Add to The Free DictionaryAdd to Excite MIXAdd to netomat HubAdd to fwicki