Deployment can often be a bittersweet time

In a little while, Camp Ramadi is going to turn into "Camp Happy," at least for the Soldiers of the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team. Because of operational security, we aren't allowed to communicate specific dates for our leaving, but the year mark is June and that is right around the bend. It seems we've seen so many soldiers and Marines come and go on their rotations that it is hard to believe our time to go home is actually arriving.
Last year, I recall being surprised that the soldiers we replaced weren't more excited than they appeared to be when we arrived. I was thinking if I were those guys, I'd be dancing in the streets -- even ugly Forward Operating Base Ramadi streets -- but they seemed to have a rather sober and businesslike approach to it all.
Being on this end of the rotation now, I'm beginning to see why. One reason is that when a soldier leaves the theater, it is only one step in a long process of getting home. That means there are many possibilities to get delayed along the way. There's a part of you that says, "I won't believe it until I see it."
Breaking out of a routine
The other side of it is that these soldiers have been locked into a routine for a whole year and have grown accustomed to a certain way of life. There's a simplicity and predictability about that kind of life, even with the stresses and worries of combat.
Since all they've had to worry about for the past year is the responsibility of being soldiers, there's an anxiety about adjusting to civilian life again. Now these men and women will have to resume their roles as spouses and parents and members of the civilian work force. For some, this is a daunting task, as this deployment has actually been a hiatus from struggles and problems they were experiencing at home. Others, who were unemployed before this activation, will have to go home and start hunting for jobs again.
Then there is the prospect of saying good-bye to people we'll never see again. A soldier can get very close with the fellow soldiers he serves with in an environment like this. And unlike active duty, we won't be returning to a garrison setting together. Our brigade combat team is made up of National Guard Soldiers from 30 states, so we'll all be dispersing to the four winds once this is over. For many reasons, it can actually be more stressful to return from a deployment than to be initiated into one.
Busy time for chaplains
What this amounts to is an even busier time for us chaplains as soldiers prepare to meet these challenges. Part of our role is to help facilitate the reunion process, making soldiers aware of the inevitable letdowns and stresses of returning home after a deployment.
We talk about their expectations and how those expectations might conflict with those of their spouses and children. We caution them about trying to make up for lost time too fast. We provide dozens of official briefings to groups, but much of our time is spent with individuals.
As far as what we have achieved as a brigade this past year, there are many accomplishments to celebrate, some of which I have shared in previous columns.
However, there is the inevitable sense of disappointment over what we have not been able to accomplish. I think every brigade that goes into combat wants to be the brigade to make the decisive difference in turning the tide of a war by stabilizing the region they occupy.
When the commanding general of the 28th Division from Pennsylvania came to visit, he remarked that the 28th Division was integral to ending World War I and World War II (the 28th was heavily involved in the Battle of the Bulge), and that we would be a critical factor to ending this war. Well, not exactly.
We've made great strides here and the level of courage and effort has been outstanding. There's still a great deal of instability in our area of operations, which incidentally, is in the most unstable province in Iraq.
Weighing the effort
Moreover, we must consider the cost of these accomplishments over and against the number of soldiers and Marines who lost their lives. Was this effort worth the lives of the now-80-plus servicemen from our brigade who made the ultimate sacrifice? Perhaps someday we'll know the answer.
On Easter Sunday, we dedicated the 2/28 BCT Memorial to our fallen comrades. The structure is an obelisk (shape of the Washington Monument) and is made of iron, symbolizing Iron Soldiers from the Iron Brigade. The name "Iron" was conferred on the 28th Division by General John J. Pershing during World War I. Also, iron represents the history of Pennsylvania's iron and steel industry.
When looking at the structure one notices jagged holes and damaged steel, representing the violence endured during this conflict. The cap is made of shattered vehicle glass. Inside the obelisk, identification tags for each fallen comrade are suspended from chains. They truly did an impressive job with it. The plan is to return it to Pennsylvania so that it can be displayed at the armory in Washington, Pa.
Transition time
The next few weeks are going to be hectic -- not that the preceding ones haven't been -- as we prepare to return. When our replacements arrive, we'll have an overlap time for transition purposes. This period of orienting our replacements is called "left-seat right-seat ride." It will also get very crowded here again.
The transition is complete with the official transfer of authority from one brigade command to the next. Then we are bound for Kuwait for a few days, then back to Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss., where we will go through the de-mob process, and that will take about five days.
Then we come home.
The Rev. Peter Lawson, pastor of Brownlee Woods Presbyterian Church, Boardman, is serving as the brigade chaplain to the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team at Camp Ramadi in Iraq.