The sun had not yet risen and snow was lightly falling as Liz Brown watched her husband board the bus. Though the elements were harsh, it did not keep Brown, or several other families from saying a final farewell to their son, daughter, parent, or spouse before they left Fort Douglas.

“I feel confident; I feel he’s doing a great service for our country,” Brown said. “And I feel good everything’s going to work out well and in a year, he’ll get to come home.”

She admits she’ll miss all the little things within their young marriage, and that the toughest part will be learning to be away from each other.

To make the days go by faster, she and her husband, Staff Sgt. Jeremy Brown, started a list of goals to accomplish together while he’s away, such as working on a service project and even learning some Spanish.

“A positive and optimistic attitude, I think, is the best way to handle these situations,” she said.

Over fifty soldiers of the 395th Financial Management Company boarded the two buses Jan. 9. Half of the soldiers will be serving in Iraq, while the other will be in Afghanistan.

When a soldier deploys, his or her family has to alter their lifestyle within the home.

Barbara Jansson, whose daughter is Pvt. Ynez Veenstra, is taking care of her two granddaughters, ages three and five, while their mother is deployed for the first time.

Jansson said she’s scared to let her daughter go overseas and her girls will miss her, but “[Veenstra] is striving to move forward with her life to benefit all of them, herself and her girls,” she said.

Sarah Bennett, who’s married to Sgt. Gregory Bennett, tries to focus on the benefits as well.

“There’s also a lot of good that will come from it for our family,” she said. “For one, we’ll actually be better financially, so that is helping our family out.”

She also says it’s a good opportunity to grow as a family and be there for her two sons, ages two and eight.

“It will give [us] some one-on-one time,” she said.

The toughest part of any deployment for a soldier is the separation from his or her family.

“This is the first deployment I’ve spent away from my son, so that will definitely be the hardest part. And being away from my wife,” says Staff Sgt. Daniel Rusch.

“It’s the second time he’s deployed and you think every time it’s going to get easier, but it doesn’t,” said his wife, Marianne Rusch.

“It’s different this time going over because I was single before, and now this time I’m going over and I’m married so I have a family to worry about back home,” said Sgt. Nathan Stevens.

Though deployment can bring fear and worry to military families, the Family members of the 395th are staying hopeful.

“I trust he’s in good hands, and I know what he’s doing,” said Stevens’ sister, Amy Jones. “I feel confident he’ll come back, along with all the rest of [the soldiers]. And I believe in the Army.”