Deployed military couples find time together finally

Army couple's rarest asset in Iraq: time together
By HAMZA HENDAWI – 6 hours ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — They still feel like newlyweds, five years into their marriage. A lucky couple?

No, Nathan and Jennifer Williams just haven't seen much of each other.

The two young Americans, both Army captains, have each been deployed twice to Iraq on 12-month tours — but in different locations. Back home, they spent at least another year apart because of training commitments.

All told, they've been together for two of their five years of marriage.

The Williamses are among thousands of military couples whose lives have been disrupted by multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Starting a family has been put on hold. And time alone together, when it comes, is precious.

Every night since November, Nathan, 28, and Jennifer, 30, would get on the phone to pour out their thoughts about the day, decompress and chat about the kind of stuff married couples chat about.

Stationed at different outposts in Baghdad just six miles apart, they rarely had the chance to see each other in person — just once or twice a month — so the phone calls were crucial.

"I have been here long enough now that I understand his job so that he can kind of talk about his day and I understand everything he is saying," Jennifer said.

Still, the Williamses are luckier than many military couples, particularly those who have lost loved ones in battle. In both of their tours, they've served in the same brigade.

And starting this month, it's a relative honeymoon — or a reunion, perhaps. Nathan commands an infantry company that moved May 30 from an outpost in north Baghdad to Camp Victory, where his wife is stationed. So now, they will be able to see each other each day for the rest of their 12-month tour, which will end in late September or early October.
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Army couple's rarest asset in Iraq: time together The Associated Press