Military Couple Share Deployment

By: Sgt. 1st Class Shelda Sternberg
135th History Detachment




NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - At home in Springfield, Mo. Missouri Guard Soldiers, Jessica and John Byrd work together at a local hospital and they attend college full-time together as well. Like "two peas in a pod," ever since meeting two years ago at an Army medical school in San Antonio, Texas these two Soldiers have been inseparable including marrying three months after meeting.

Now fully emerged in their day-to-day lives as a married couple, the two-some, like many other married couples uprooted their home and deployed together.

Deploying with the Missouri Agri-Business Development Team III and both working as medics, they deployed to a Forward Operating Base in northeastern Afghanistan, where they have settled in.

It's not unusual for married couples to deploy together. While many deployed Soldiers have to deal with leaving their family behind, the Byrds are glad they have an opportunity to share their deployment together.

John says he "loves that she smiles a lot," while Jessica says she "loves his drive for success."

And like other spouses that deploy together, the Byrds share a small living space - creating for themselves a cozy, at-home environment at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields in Jalalabad.

Being fairly newlywed, having his spouse deploy with him is ideal. John said that his company commander back in Missouri, Maj. Johnny D. Jurgensmeyer, offered the best advice, "never go to bed angry and you will wake up happy."

The Byrds believe the "words of wisdom" have helped with their marriage and their deployment.



Posted: 5/13/2010 11:31:27 AM