Courtesy Photo | U.S. Navy Capt. Julie Wetmore (right) and her younger brother Chief Chad Bartman pose...... read more read more
By Builder Chief Chad Bartman
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Believe it or not, I had to travel half way around the world to hang out with my big sister, U.S. Navy Capt. Julie Wetmore.
In the United States, my sister and I have busy schedules, between our families and work with the Navy, most of our time is consumed. We live only 40 minutes apart in the States and I drive by her home every day on my way to work, but we only seem to see each other on the usual holiday and occasional family gathering.
Julie and I are now both currently deployed to Afghanistan. This is her third deployment and she is the department head for the ICU/ICW at Kandahar’s Role 3 medical facility.
On a normal basis, if I happened to meet Julie in country, in a professional setting, it would be a bad day for one of my Seabees or me.
Being a Seabee builder it is not uncommon to construct shock trauma units and I did so in the past while deployed to Iraq. However for this deployment, I am the embarkation chief for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28.
Julie deployed to Afghanistan before I did. I hit the ground in Afghanistan September 2013 and my first nonessential mission after landing was to contact my sister.
Jet lagged and a little disorientated, I set out to find the Role 3 facility on the expansive base. You might think that finding someone half way around the world would be a difficult task, but it turns out the Navy is a small community.
Escorted by some of my peers, we managed to find the Role 3 building fairly easy. The petty officer at the entrance already knew my sister and directed us to her office. I knocked on her door to realize she wasn’t in. We decided to inquire about her whereabouts at the intensive care ward next door.
As I walked into the ward I recognized a familiar face behind the desk, a former member in my previous unit. The former petty officer second class was now a lieutenant junior grade in the nurse corps. She had previously been a rifleman in one of my squad’s fire teams. The lieutenant junior grade knew that Julie had a brother who was arriving in country but as the officer explained, “She never mentioned your name."
The lieutenant junior grade found Julie’s phone number and gave her a phony reason for her to come back to her office. Needless to say, Julie was caught by surprise when she saw me sitting in the waiting room.
My family has always had at least one member deployed in a war zone since 2006. However, we are well aware that we are not the only family under these circumstances.
I have been deployed before as the same time as a mother or father and their child, two siblings, and a husband and wife. The burden of having multiple family members gone in harm’s way happens more than some are aware.
I am thankful that, although in harm’s way, I will have a family member nearby during the holiday season. I can only hope that Julie and I sharing turkey dinner at the galley, brings a little comfort to our family back home, awaiting our return.
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2013 00:55 |
| Story ID: | 118020 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 551 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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