Afganistan

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NanookTheWolf
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Afganistan

Post Post #0 (ISO) » Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:05 pm

Post by NanookTheWolf »

Cape mother heeds Army’s call to duty
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712, E-Mail

UPPER TOWNSHIP - Suzy Haskins doesn't think about the strangeness of it all.

Scoring as a marksman with her M-16 rifle has never been any more remarkable to her than scoring a big sale with Avon beauty products or shuttling her two youngest children to school on time every morning.

For 18 years, soldiering has been just one part of who she is - staff sergeant, wife, mother of four and part-time playground monitor at the local elementary school.

But with deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq pending, her duties as a U.S. Army reservist suddenly take priority. Haskins will leave Thursday with about 40 other members of the 328th Engineer Detachment based in Northfield.

"Friends say, 'Why can't they deploy

send someone else? Don't they care about your kids?' It's hard to explain to them. It's second nature to me. When you raise your right hand, you give up a big portion of your life," she said.

"I just have to go."

Women make up about 15 percent of active-duty personnel, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Haskins, 44, joined the U.S. Army Reserves in Michigan when she was 26 - old for a career reservist. Her family is familiar with military service. Her father, uncles and grandfathers served, mostly during wartime.

"I needed a change in lifestyle. Life wasn't the best at the time," she said.

She adjusted well to the military's detail-oriented world. She went to Germany and then Korea, where she met her husband, Steve, 11 years ago. He worked in a maintenance pool next to hers.

"I was in Alpha Company. He was in Bravo Company," she said.

"She came over looking for help one day. I asked, 'What do you need?'" he said. "She is my best friend."

He retired from the Army as a sergeant first class after 20 years. His job with a bus company brought the family to New Jersey. They bought a home in Upper Township in 2002.

"I've got a lot of pride in her. We both agree she has to go," he said. "I probably could get her out with a few phone calls ..."

"No, you can't," she interrupted, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow. Besides, she is nearing 20 years, after which she can retire with a pension, she said.

Steve promised to send mementos from home. And she will not miss episodes of "Survivor" or "The Apprentice" while she is gone, he said. He promises to record DVDs of her favorite shows and every NASCAR race so she can watch on her laptop.

She has been preparing for weeks. The unit could be deployed for as long as 18 months. A friend agreed to run her Avon business. The family hired a housekeeper to tidy up while she's away. She dreaded saying goodbye last week to the elementary school children she watches at lunch and recess.

"I don't have any girls of my own, so I adore some of them," she said.

The school board said she is welcome back when she returns.

"She's got quite a bit on her plate," Principal James Burke said. "She's very brave. I think she's a great role model for our students."

Haskins oversees vehicle parts and maintenance for trucks and equipment with the 328th. The engineering unit builds roads and landing strips and anything else needed get people and equipment from place to place. But she isn't sure what her deployment will bring. Afghanistan seems most likely, she said. But Iraq is a possibility, too.

"The not knowing is the hardest," she said. "Not knowing what you're going to get into. Not knowing what's happening with your family. They're my boys."

Christopher and Dustin, the couple's 19-year-old sons from previous marriages, are more accepting of her obligation. But Haskins is worried her youngest boys, 6-year-old Bryce and 7-year-old Dillon, have little concept of how long she will be gone.

"I can't have them watch TV knowing Mommy is going over to fight this war," she said.
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Post Post #1 (ISO) » Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:05 pm

Post by Zulfy »

Now she sells cosmetics
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