by Major Eric Baden, MD
Emergency Medicine Physician
PROFIS C Co; 64 BSB; 3/4
Camp Taji, Iraq
I met my wife Jiah
while stationed in Seoul, Korea in
August 2005. I was going downstairs
into the subway station when my eyes
were instantly drawn to her. There must
have been more than 100 bustling
Koreans in this tiny market square crisscrossing
paths, but my undivided attention
was fixated on one. Her long flowing
hair with subtle brown highlights
was perfectly accented by the florescent
shop lights in the background. Two
months later we were married at the
U.S. Embassy.
It was cheaper and quicker than a Vegas wedding, only
costing $10 and 15 minutes to process the papers.
A year and half later, we moved to San Antonio where I
was to start my new job at Brooke Army Medical Center.
This was Jiah’s first time living in the United States. Her
command of English was improving, her driving was acceptable,
and her understanding of Western culture was coming
along slowly. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the luxury of
time to get fully acclimated. Three months later I got the
news that I would be deploying to Iraq. When I broke the
news to my wife, her eyes teared and she hugged me.
“How come?” she asked. I had no answer and could only
reply with silence. I looked around the room at the residual
unopened boxes and clutter from the recent move and
thought to myself, this is less than ideal. I’m leaving my 12-week pregnant wife, who is afraid to drive, in a foreign country
for 15 months.
Our story may seem extreme, but unfortunately the hardships
of deployment are the norm. When a soldier deploys,
the attention usually focuses on the Service Members in
harm’s way in the war zone. Often forgotten are the loved
ones left behind who must fill the void and carry on with
the tasks necessary to care for and raise a family. For every
deployed soldier there is a spouse, child, parent, or sibling
who must fight their part of the war on the home front.
Separation is never easy even under ideal circumstances.
That is why it is all the more remarkable when you look at
some of the individual details. Lieutenant Colonel Ares’
house flooded after he left, forcing his wife and his two kids
to find shelter in a hotel and him to coordinate the recovery.
Captain Johnson left his wife to care for four kids. My classmate
Major Clemens left his wife to care for six kids. There
have been more than 10,000 babies born to soldiers while
deployed. Husbands have postponed their careers to support
their deployed wives.
Now take these hardships and multiply them by two or
three. The unit I am with — the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry
Division out of Fort Carson, Colorado, is already on its
third deployment in the last five years, with some soldiers
on their fourth or even fifth tour.
War is never pleasant, and deployment never easy. But
with the support of our families and the perpetual marching
forward of time, we will once again be reunited. So for
all those men and women back at home who unconditionally
support us and are soldiering on in their own
right —
WE THANK YOU AND SALUTE YOU!
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