Photo By Master Sgt. Ben Navratil | U.S. Army Capt. Alfred Hunte, the operations officer for the 201st Brigade Support...... read more read more
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Most soldiers will say that one of the hardest things to deal with during a deployment is being separated from their families for so long. Deployment ceremonies are rife with parents and children saying tearful goodbyes to their loved ones as they head off to war.
However, as 2011 draws to a close, one soldier in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke has found himself in the unusual position of waving goodbye to his mother as he returns home, while she remains in Afghanistan.
Dawn McCall Jones, a civilian contractor and retired Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard, has spent the last five months working on Forward Operating Base Salerno, where her son, Capt. Alfred Hunte, has been stationed since January.
“I’m truly blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with him so far from home,” said Jones.
She said that although she’d been praying to be co-located with her son while downrange, it was a lucky accident that her hopes could come to fruition.
She’d been working at Bagram Air Field when she met another employee who was heading to Salerno. That worker wanted to stay at BAF, so the two switched spots, and soon enough Jones was on a flight to see her son.
Hunte, a Los Angeles native and the operations officer for TF Duke’s 201st Brigade Support Battalion, said it’s been “absolutely awesome” being able to reconnect with his mother here.
“She’s been my battle buddy and my best friend,” he said.
The two could often be seen playing ping-pong in the FOB’s morale, welfare and recreation, and made it a point to eat dinner together on Friday’s, when the dining facility often served steak and seafood. They ate Thanksgiving dinner together, and exchanged presents on Christmas.
“We’ve bonded on a whole new level,” said Hunte, adding that spending these months in such an austere environment allowed them to get to know each other in a way most mothers and sons don’t.
As TF Duke completes its mission here and its soldiers return to their home station of Fort Knox, Ky., Hunte said the parting is bittersweet for him.
“It’s bad enough leaving her when I deploy,” he said,” but its worse leaving her behind when I redeploy, because I’m leaving her in an unsafe environment.”
Jones, too, said she’s sad to see him go.
“It really hit me when I saw the [BSB’s] flag being put away,” she said, referring to the transfer of authority ceremony that had taken place earlier that day.
Still, they are both happy that they were able to take this opportunity to spend some time together, for the first time in a long while.
Hunte’s career has made it difficult for the two to spend much time together since he joined 12 years ago.
“This is the most I’ve seen of him since he joined,” said Jones, “and I had to chase him all the way to Afghanistan to catch up with him! The reconnection we’ve made here is invaluable.”
| Date Taken: | 12.30.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2011 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 81910 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 350 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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