Idaho

Guard families brace for what-ifs of war
Waiting for the call-up
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Kevin Taylor
Staff writer

National Guard soldiers in uniform and their families gathered by the score Tuesday at the armory near Post Falls, and it wasn't a drill.

Members of Idaho's 116th Engineering Battalion, who recently received mobilization orders, took a very real step toward deployment to Iraq by spending a day talking about all the things that could happen when a soldier is on the other side of the globe from his or her family. What if somebody gets hurt in Iraq? What if somebody gets hurt back home? What if an employer won't keep a job open? What if something catastrophic happens to the house?

There were as many what-ifs as there were people packed into classrooms at the armory on Seltice Way, and Carla Metzger, co-coordinator of the 116th's Family Readiness Program, and her crew did their best to make sure somebody had answers.

“This is one of those moments that drives the point home: Please prepare for deployment,” Metzger said.

It's tough, said Maj. David Dahle, a military attorney from Boise who was among the speakers.

“This is not welcome news for everyone. People are still going through the stages … anger … denial,” Dahle said.

The Family Readiness Program is designed to deal with emotional as well as practical issues.

“The Family Readiness Group is a major support system for families when a soldier is gone,” Lt. Col. Tim Marsano, information officer for the Idaho National Guard, said from Boise. “If somebody is going through a difficult experience in their life, they know they have a phone roster and that somebody on the other end, perhaps, has gone through it and can help.”

There is support for loneliness, single parenting, dealing with bills and jobs and school and medical care.

Metzger and her co-chairwoman, Jeannie Morgan, said they are planning a variety of fund-raising events this summer. The goal, they said, is to create a fund that will allow them to take children and families of deployed soldiers to places like Silverwood or bowling alleys to just have fun.

The armories in Post Falls and Bonners Ferry will hold regular meetings for families of soldiers to air their concerns or fears or to tackle any issue that arises.

“You have your friends, of course, but your military family understands more of what you are going through. I want to make sure the families know we are here,” Metzger said. “It's one thing to be sitting at home and hear you've been mobilized. It's another thing to come to a meeting like this and find out there's somebody here for you.”

Nobody in her family has been deployed before, Morgan said. “This is huge. This is the first time for a lot of families. We want to get them the tools they will need to cope with the deployment.”

The meetings are intended to provide families with information they can use in any eventuality, Marsano said. “There was legal advice from staff judge advocates, our in-house lawyers; the chaplain was there to talk about preparations on that side of the house. It's a big way to alleviate stress and anxiety and let families know somebody is there on their side through a deployment that can add up to 18 months.”

During the lunch hour, as some soldiers were wrapped in seemingly intense conversations with loved ones or in groups of other soldiers, Spc. Mark Hepinstall sauntered off to a grassy hillside with his wife, Jennifer, and children Nicolas, Conner and Analee.

The Sandpoint family ate and joked in a relaxed group. Hepinstall has been deployed before, pulling active duty with the 116th's Alpha Company at the air base in Mountain Home, Idaho.

Because of that, Alpha Company isn't part of the call-up to Iraq. Well, except for people with needed skills, such as Hepinstall, an armorer.

“The guys in Bravo Company are all spooked today,” Hepinstall said cheerily. “Been there. Done that.”

Jennifer Hepinstall said the family readiness program was a help during the past year. She was glad to attend Tuesday's meeting just to talk to other folks going through what she went through last year.

“The military was really helpful. I met some of the best people,” she said. “You have a problem and you call someone … and they call you right back. And if I got mad at something, I'd just skip the chain of command.”

Mark Hepinstall grinned “She can get away with that. I can't.”

“You have your friends, of course, but your military family understands more of what you are going through. I want to make sure the families know we are here.” Carla Metzger,co-coordinator of the 116th's Family Readiness Program

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