Military family waits for Dad

"I don't think a three-year-old should know where Baghdad, Iraq, is," says Charlene Logan, a member of St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville.

But her preschool-age son, Ryan, playing on the floor with toy trains, understands that "that's where Daddy lives."

Lt. Col. Robert Logan, a member of the Army Reserve's 98th Division, left for Iraq on Sept. 11, 2004. The date "9/11" is now memorable to the Logan family -- Charlene, teens Brittney and Meagan, 11-year-old Adam, and Ryan -- for two reasons.

Off to Iraq

Lt. Col. Logan never expected to go to war. His Troy-based Reserve unit was designated as "non-combat," and, at 43, he thought he was too old to be considered for active duty overseas.

It was a shock to the Logans when he was ordered to Indiana for training and to learn Arabic, then to Kuwait, and finally to Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, to coordinate troops who train the Iraqi military.

Unlike many areas of Iraq, at Camp Taji, Iraqi and American troops live side-by-side. Mrs. Logan said that her husband mostly encounters friendly and loyal Iraqis in his duties, who often ask to see the Americans' family photos.

Pride in husband

Although she was originally upset about her husband's deployment, Mrs. Logan now calls herself "proud that he's there. Sometimes, [when people learn about it,] the reactions are, 'Oh, I'm really sorry.' But some people have said, 'Thank you. You're sacrificing your family for us.'"

The sacrifice is a painful one. Except for a two-week visit in May, Lt. Col. Logan has missed a year of his family's lives: Ryan's transition from toddler to preschooler, for example, and Brittney's earning her driver's license.

Instead of being present for those events, Lt. Col. Logan was witnessing Iraqis, half a world away, as they voted in their first free elections in half a century.

Images from afar

A CD of photos he sent home helped the family understand the significance of the election.

Putting the CD into her computer, Mrs. Logan choked up as images began to flash by: hundreds of Iraqis lined up to vote...American tanks guarding black-veiled women at voting booths...grinning Iraqis displaying fingertips stained purple to show they had voted.

"Once you see that, you kind of feel different" about American actions in Iraq, she remarked. "Now, my kids have a different perspective about everything."

Time apart

That doesn't make being separated from one another any easier, however. Mrs. Logan noted with relief that her husband's power-company job is being held for him, and he was even able to keep his insurance through the company rather than switching to military insurance.

But she still has to make many decisions for the family on her own: where to spend the holidays, for instance.

"Christmas was the worst," she remarked. After spending Thanksgiving with relatives in one part of the country, the Logans flew to Arizona for Christmas, staying with family members there.

Connections

Lt. Col. Logan is able to email and call home, and recently got a web camera so his wife and children can see him when he contacts them.

Mrs. Logan said that knowing it's already nighttime in Iraq when it's morning in the U.S. makes her feel better: "At least I know he made it through another day," she explained.

Her husband often keeps information from her about missions he goes on to check progress at other bases, trying not to worry her.

"When he goes out in helicopters, he doesn't tell me. He says [afterward], 'Oh, it was so boring and hot,'" Mrs. Logan said. But "I'm always worried about it. Anything could happen."

Support system

Reservists' families don't get as much support as regular Army families, she noted, so the Logans depend on friends and faith to sustain them.

"The kids do a little better than I do, because they have their friends and I'm home with a three-year-old," Mrs. Logan admitted. "I don't talk to anybody about it."

She works as a gardener at her parish and jokes that having God as her boss strengthens her.

"I can't be mad at God," she noted. "The kids say, 'Why would God send Dad [to war] if all He had to do was stop it?'" She tells them that God "has to fight evil a lot."

Although Mrs. Logan doesn't like to discuss the politics of war, she did note that protesters with signs bother her, because she feels the troops should be supported.

Coming home

Happier times are ahead for the Logans: Lt. Col. Logan is scheduled to leave Iraq for Kuwait on Sept. 20, then fly to Indiana to transition back to civilian life, and finally come home by the first weekend in October.

"I think at first it will be great, and then we'll have some difficulties," Mrs. Logan said, explaining that many soldiers have a hard time getting back into the rhythm of family life after such a long time away.

However, she expects that process will smooth out over time. She's much more concerned about supporting other military families still waiting for a soldier to come home.

"We need more support for families," she declared; and "we need to be more aware of how lucky we are to live like we're doing."

(Charlene Logan, a native of New Mexico, is in her third year as the gardener for St. Matthew's parish in Voorheesville. She started out offering to pull weeds in a "Mary garden" that parishioners had made, and that volunteering grew into a paid position. Now. she mows lawns, weeds and spent two full weeks mulching plants. The best part, she said, is that she makes her own hours and is able to bring her youngest son, Ryan, to work with her.)

'WORTH IT?'

Soldier assesses war

Lt. Col. Robert Logan is an alumnus of Christian Brothers Academy in Albany and Siena College in Loudonville, and a parishioner of St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville.

When he came home on a two-week leave in May, Mrs. Logan said, he marched in a local Memorial Day parade and was told by many Voorheesville residents that he should run for mayor.

"People have questions [about the war], and he tells them what it's really like," she reported. "People ask, 'Is it worth it?' He says, 'Yes.'"

Lt. Col. Logan told people that witnessing the national elections in Iraq showed him the pride of the Iraqi people, his wife said.

"They would like the Americans to leave," she added, "but they're afraid of what might happen when they do." (KB)

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