Concern fuses with pride as Stryker Brigade heads for Iraq

By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter

THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES Maj. D.A. Sims runs with daughter Madeleine, 3, following a Fort Lewis departure ceremony for more than 4,000 Stryker Brigade soldiers who are being deployed to Iraq.

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Yesterday, as soldiers stood at attention while a band played and flags drifted in a soft summer breeze, the thousands who came to watch a 4,000-member Stryker brigade's farewell ceremony were concerned with far simpler things: favorite meals, camping trips, even miniature golf with the kids.

Given the escalating number of U.S. casualties in Iraq, family routines seem like cherished rituals, especially now that the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division is about to be deployed.

The 3rd Brigade has been in Iraq since November and will begin coming home in increments as the1st begins to make the transition in coming weeks. The 3rd Brigade has suffered 16 deaths.

The Stryker teams have been active in Mosul, in northern Iraq, which during the last year changed from a comparatively stable city to one of the most volatile.

Sporting a white straw cowboy hat with two small American-flag pins, "for my son," Florencio Moran came from Wyoming for the ceremony that he described as giving him a mixture of pride and fear.

	THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES Ann Leffers holds her 5-year-old daughter, Anna, during the Stryker brigade deployment ceremony at Fort Lewis yesterday. Leffers' husband, Maj. John Leffers, is among the troops who will be heading for Iraq shortly.

Moran, 63, raised his family in Ozona, Texas, supporting it by working as a roustabout in the oil fields. He didn't want his son, Florencio Jr., 20, to follow him into the hard and dangerous work.

"He wanted to get money to go to school, but I have no money to send him," Moran said. So his son, whose photo as a fourth-grader reminds his father of simpler times, joined the Army.

Now his father watched as his son — in desert camouflage and black beret — stood at attention.

The elder Moran is eager to spend as much time as possible with his son, and earlier in the week "we drove out to that mountain over there," he said, pointing to Mount Rainier, a blue-white backdrop at the eastern end of the parade grounds.

When Moran returns home in several weeks, he will study his son's photo again and again and, he said, do some serious praying. He is scared, and words fail him when he is asked more about his fears.

After ceremonial cannon fire and music from the Stryker Brigade Band, Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano praised the troops as the "best trained and most lethal in our Army."

Strykers — the name for eight-wheeled, armored troop carriers — and the soldiers that use them "have earned a well-deserved reputation ... a reputation feared by the enemy," Soriano said.

"The job you'll be doing in Iraq is an important one ... you will support nation building."

Iraq "is a place where your mettle will be tested. Don't ever let your guard down."

Then Soriano added: "You will return to Fort Lewis in a year as the heroes you are."

For the families who watched, their soldiers are already heroes.

"I feel very sad," said Charlene Greene, 32, as she looked for her husband, Sgt. Anthony Greene.

"He's ready to go. He's real excited. This is what they train for. This is what they prepare for. We've been hearing about it for so long — it's one of those things you're just ready to get it over with."

For the weeks they have left until he leaves, "we'll spend as much time together as possible," she said. She'll cook his favorite dinner of pork chops and mashed potatoes, and they'll watch movies together. And, she acknowledges, they'll talk about "what ifs" — unforeseen events that may derail the plans they've made in their three-year marriage.

During his remaining time, "he's going to get catered to a lot with lots of hugs and kisses," she said. "I'm going to let him have the [TV] remote control even when I want to watch Dr. Phil."

At yesterday's ceremony, there were babies in strollers and toddlers in sun suits, many of whom most likely will be talking when their parents return from Iraq.

Hanna Overholt, 14 months, toddled around her mother, waving flags and pointing at the troops. Her father was among them.

"Say 'Hi Daddy!' " Wendy Overholt told her daughter.

When Lt. Dustin Overholt returns from Iraq, "Hanna might even have hair," her mother said.

On the tree-lined Stryker Avenue full of stately brick colonial homes of officers, Sgt. Mike Rasmussen pushed a tandem baby stroller as his wife, Jasmine, two older children and his aunt and uncle walked alongside.

The family lives on another part of the post, and Jasmine Rasmussen's eyes fill with tears whenever her husband even speaks of leaving.

Rather than return to Montana, their home state, she will remain at Fort Lewis because the older children are in school.

And in the days he has left, Rasmussen said, he will take the family to the beach, play miniature golf with them and have backyard barbecues. As he spoke, his oldest daughter, sporting a pink, net ballerina skirt, climbed onto his back, and he swung her into his arms.

Now that he's in the final countdown, more than ever it's the little things that matter, he said.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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