Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/11265
Monday, May 31, 2010 – Daily News – 3B Military couples balance raising children, warfare EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Four- year-old Ava abandons her playmates at school, flying into the arms of Air Force Sgt. Stacia Zachary. The mother and daughter head to the playground. Their afternoon routine will change in August, when Zachary deploys to Afghanistan for six months and her husband, Air Force Sgt. Christopher Zachary, tackles the solo parenting duties for Ava and her 13- year-old half brother. Then in December, dad will deploy and the kids will go to Idaho and stay with an aunt until mom returns. Growing numbers of American servicemen and women are married to each other — up 35 percent from 2000 to 2007 — and eight years of war that have stretched the mili- tary’s resources mean deployments for both spouses can come in rapid- fire succession. Many of those couples have children, although the Pentagon does not track that number. For the kids, it means rarely having both parents at home simultane- ously. When both are gone, or when duties keep the home partner too busy, extended families often come into play. Kids head to grandparents, aunts or other relatives, sometimes across the country. It’s a unique sacrifice military families make to combine having a normal life with a state of drawn- out war. It has its own stresses and rewards, cou- ples say. ‘‘In a lot of ways, our children serve, too,’’ says Stacia Zachary, a combat photographer. For the parents, it can put added strain on mar- riages as they spend months apart and worry, like the kids, about a loved one on the battlefield. ‘‘We’ve been married seven years, but we figured that we’ve spent only two and half of those together,’’ says Christopher Zachary, who serves in the Air Force special forces. But dual military mar- riages can also foster clos- er ties with extended fami- ly, and help sustain a solid marriage because fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines better under- stand the demands and cul- ture of military life than civilian spouses, couples say. The Zacharys were among 128,347 active duty and reserve members of the military married to other service members in 2007, the latest year for which Department of Defense statistics are avail- able. That was a 35 percent increase since 2000, when there were 95,336 dual military couples. It does not, however, track the number of children dual military couples have. PAID ADVERTISEMENT I For information on participation in Kids & Families call (530) 527-2151 P.A.W.S. (Partners for Animal Welfare & Safety) A Volunteer Program Dedicated to the Prevention of Litters, Not the Destruction of Unwanted animals. HOW CAN YOU HELP? CALL US! 528-8018 Please leave your number we WILL call you back P.O. Box 8908, Red Bluff CA 96080 THE VACUUM MAN 440 Antelope Boulevard Suite 6 VACUUMS (Hoover Spirit • Simplicity • Koblenz • Miele • Panasonic) SEWING MACHINES NEW & RECONDITIONED, REPAIRS, BAGS, PARTS, ACCESSORIES V 1995 $ Service with coupon acuum 440 Antelope Blvd. Suite 6 Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-8644 Member of the Better Business Bureau P.A.W.S. (Partners for Animal Welfare & Safety) P.A.W.S. Says... To: Spay/Neuter Applicants From: Our Phone In Volunteer • When you call in for spay-neuter requests please always listen to the message (if you do not receive a live person), the message is changed frequently to provide you with current information. • Many people are telling us they have tried for one or more months to request one and cannot get through before they are all issued. We are sincerely sorry that our ability to extend certificates is completely dependent upon donated funds. This is not an ‘entitlement program’ funded by governement. The ability to provide some certifi- cates each month, even a few, is our priority work and where donations are directed. We are fully aware that the requests for help far exceeds our ability to fulfill! It is done by call in purely to be fair. The callers are chosen by accepting all callers that get through until the given month allotment is exhausted, subject only to rules of qualifi- cation. We are unable to select only by need as each caller is treated the same and all callers feel the need. Application calls will not be taken by the volunteer until 9:00 a.m. sharp on the 1st day of the month, and will be taken in the order received by our live volunteer, Again, please listen to any message you may hear if your call gets through. • For more information on this program, please visit our new website and link to “more about PAWS”. www.pawstehmam.com Thank you for understanding that our desire is greater than our funds, but we are proud to say we have issued over 11,000 certificates and currently are spending between $1,750-$1,800/ month. Accepting Enrollment for 2010-2011 Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Call (530) 527-7040 Serving Tehama County Since 1970 R H L C O O O H M C M S U N N T I A I Y S C T