PHOENIX — More than two dozen Army National guardsmen and women said goodbye to their loved ones today in Phoenix, before embarking on a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan.
The 25 soldiers, part of the guard’s 856 Military Police Company, will be joining their sister unit to provide security detachment in Afghanistan. Friends and family gathered at the Papago Park Military Reservation Sunday to send off their soldier loved ones.
It's a moment every military family knows could happen, but is never emotionally prepared for when it does.
"It’s hard. We have two little ones one is 4 and one is 7," said Christina Jaime, whose husband Steven Jaime is deploying.
The couple spent part of their morning taking photos with their sons.
"The hardest part is being away from my kids but there’s means of communication. I can FaceTime them. I know soldiers in the past didn't have that," Steven Jaime said.
While some are leaving behind young children, others will miss the birth of their children, like Hans Walch.
“It’s sad. I’m leaving my wife here that’s 20 weeks pregnant," Walch said. "But we do it with a sense of pride, you know? A servant's heart."