OWENS: Shorter deployments are good news for families

FORT DRUM — Most Army soldiers will deploy for nine months, beginning next year, as opposed to the current 12 month deployments that come often for the 10th Mountain Division.

The directive, signed by Army Secretary John M. McHugh, is meant to provide more time for soldiers to spend with their families, while maintaining mission requirements, the Army announced Friday.

The move will not affect currently deployed units, or those deploying this year, according to a release from Mr. McHugh. It will take effect April 2012.

More than 7,500 Fort Drum soldiers are currently deployed and one of its units is gearing up to deploy before the end of the year. Officials of the 10th Mountain Division are working to figure out exactly what that means for the unit, Fort Drum spokeswoman Julie A. Cupernall said.

“As more information becomes available we will be talking about it,” she said. “Because we live in such a supportive community, it affects all of us in the north country.”

With the Army battling high divorce rates and a record number of suicides, the move is good news for the soldiers and their families, Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh said.

“The shorter the deployment the better,” he said. “These longer deployments really wreak havoc on families.”

Less time overseas means more time together as a family for A. Rene Craighead, whose husband, Sgt. 1st Class Shawn A., is in Afghanistan — his fifth combat deployment since 2001.

More exciting for her, though, is the possibility for more time between deployments — as Army officials consider also raising the dwell time to 18 to 24 months, instead of the current 12 months.

This deployment, Mr. Craighead missed seeing his son Ethan M., 14, grow taller than him. Mrs. Craighead is also taking him to the local Godsmack concert this month, but would prefer her husband go along too, she said, because he’s better at getting through a crowd.

Adjusting to the ever-fluid dynamic that repeated deployments bring is a challenge the family faces every deployment and one Mrs. Craighead hopes she will deal less with in the future.

“It might be easier to adapt back to a family mode,” she said. “He’s a different man every time he comes back and everybody has to readjust to new people.”

The Craigheads live in the north country, but, according to a 2009 Fort Drum housing survey, a fifth of all married soldiers are not accompanied by their families. A quarter of respondents cited the deployment cycle as a contributing factor to separating, making that the top reason families don’t join their soldier. The post has about 19,500 soldiers, and 51 percent of them are accompanied in the north country by at least one dependent.

Mr. Owens expects more Army families to move to the north country.

“The shorter the deployment, the more likely the family will want to come,” he said.

Various community organizations have said the Fort Drum area is short some 1,035 rental units needed to adequately house the Army families, but Mr. Owens believes north country developers and leaders are up for the challenge of filling that deficit.

“The community has been very interested in this,” he said. “They are very definitely trying to resolve that.”

A rising demand will also affect civilian north country residents who, unlike military personnel, don’t receive a housing allowance, he said. “We’re always trying to balance that concern with the need for more housing and making that affordable,” he said. “The community is coming together to do that.”

The policy change is not without concession, though. Soldiers with shorter tours will not take a mid-deployment leave to see their families.

That is a small issue for Mrs. Craighead, who said that her husband’s leave once came early in a previous deployment and, after the tour was extended, she didn’t see him for more than a year.

Having all soldiers together will keep a deployed unit stronger and its soldiers more secure, according to Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry.

“This policy will enhance operational success by reducing the friction that comes with having 10 percent of a commander’s personnel being away on leave in the middle of a deployment,” she said in a news release.

“Operational continuity is enhanced and risk to the individual soldier is reduced by not having to move a warrior around on the battlefield to go on leave.”

The limited amount of leave doesn’t compare to the extended time Mrs. Craighead hopes to spend with husband between deployments. Ethan, her son, is anxious to have his father teach him to shave and drive.

“As a boy, you really need your dad around,” she said.