A stop at the fair, then on to war

FORT LEWIS — Inside a huge white tent staked out in the forest alongside Interstate 5, the Army is holding a fair.

There are no carnival games or rides. Instead, soldiers who will soon head to Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families, visit booths that offer information about child care, art programs, high-interest savings accounts and other support services.

Sgt. Tim Wagus has already been deployed twice, to Afghanistan and Iraq, but this is his first deployment fair.

"Usually they say 'Get on a plane,' and you go," Wagus said of earlier deployments from other posts. "This is pretty unique."

Sgt. Michael Smithers carried his 3-month-old son, Jakob, as he and his wife, Heather, strolled among the booths learning about services his family can use when Smithers is overseas.

"As long as my wife is taken care of, I'm good to go," he said.

This year, some 18,000 Fort Lewis soldiers — more than half the 30,000 soldiers stationed at the post, and a peak since 9/11 — are scheduled to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

That compares with the previous peak of roughly 12,000 soldiers two years ago.

As more and more soldiers embark on second, third or even fourth deployments, the fair is part of an effort to reach out to them and their families.

Wagus will leave behind his wife, Megan, and two young sons, Nathan, 18 months, and Joshua, 7 months, as he heads off this summer to Afghanistan with the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

This will be the first Stryker Brigade to deploy to Afghanistan, where the unit that features high-tech, eight-wheeled combat vehicles is expected to face a tough fight against the Taliban.

Two other Stryker brigades are scheduled to deploy to Iraq later this year, and more than 900 Fort Lewis soldiers from I Corps took over a key operational role in Baghdad heading up the Multi-National Corps in the spring.

The rapid pace of deployment has been a major issue for the Pentagon, concerned about the stresses that result for soldiers and their families.

To help children cope with the strains of the extended deployments, Fort Lewis recently got approval to have 10 family-support counselors stationed at public schools both on the post and in surrounding communities, according to Col. Cynthia Murphy, the garrison commander.

Other counselors on the post are available to assist spouses.

As the soldiers head off to war, they and their families need to be prepared for death. Just before entering the tent, they file into an auditorium in a nearby building for a casualty briefing that goes over the sober details.

All family telephone numbers and addresses have to be current.

If a soldier dies, a chaplain and a casualty-notification officer wearing a green uniform will appear at the family's home between 5 a.m. and midnight. If a soldier is wounded, the news could come via a phone call from a hospital bed.

"I try to be as concise and direct as possible, without scaring them," said Cherri Lawless, a training coordinator for the Fort Lewis casualty center.

At the fair, which began in April, mandatory stops include the casualty booth as well as a booth with information about suicide prevention for soldiers and their families.

But there were also some bright spots for Wagus and his wife as they wheeled their sons in a double stroller through the tent.

At the finance booth, they were told about a special savings account, available only to deployed families, that pays 10 percent interest.

At a child-programs booth, they learned their young sons are eligible for gymnastics sessions known as "wiggle and giggle," and 16 hours of free baby-sitting each month.

Other booths briefed them on chaplain services, health care, libraries and catastrophic emergency services.

"I had no idea all this stuff was here," Megan Wagus said.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com