Written by Angela Caban,

When Jessica married her husband in February 2006, she thought her life was complete. A beautiful wedding with over 350 guests and a two week honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. But little did Jessica and her new husband know that just three weeks after their honeymoon, he would be deployed on a 15 month tour to Afghanistan. Talk about a short lived honeymoon, Jessica was to spend their first year of being husband and wife apart from each other. She didn’t leave much time for worrying and stress, Jessica spent her time preparing their home and getting things into order for Jeffery’s return. Staying strong and moving on is what helped her cope.

Homecoming was a dream come true for the couple, until the Army decided that it had other plans. Jeffrey had received his new orders sending him to a new base, alone. Unaccompanied orders are usually granted when your service members MOS is classified as OPSEC sensitive. Although they are rare, they happen and for Jessica and Jeffrey this meant another 15 months apart. The spouse may go with their service member, but always keep in mind that since you are not command sponsored the military will not pay for any of your travel expenses.

Jessica felt anger and hate towards the Army. She didn’t think that her husband would be sent away once again after being home for a short month. With no plans on where she would live, Jessica and her husband decided it was best for her to stay in their home. He would finish out his obligations and be home within 15 months.

Jessica however was allowed to visit and stay over occasionally, but in 2008 she became pregnant with their first child and this slowly put an end to her long 7 hour drives to visit her husband. The birth of their first daughter was tough, but Jessica knew that God had given her a special mission to carry out and that these situations only made her stronger as a person.

Jeffrey returned home in late 2009 and today Jessica thanks the Army for making her a strong and resilient person. The strength that was given to Jessica is something she will always hold near to her heart. Today they are just grateful to have the opportunity to be together as a family.

For more on Angela Caban, visit her website at www.angelacaban.com.

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