Hawaiian couple relies on 'Ohana' to manage tour extension

Photo By Sgt. Michael Alberts | Capt. Loretto Borce (right), executive officer and assistant team chief, military transition team, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division participates in a security meeting at Kirkuk's National Oil Company in Kirkuk, Iraq, April 17.  

KIRKUK, IRAQ

04.30.2007

Story by Spc. Michael Alberts 

3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

By Spc. Mike Alberts
3rd Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division

KIRKUK, Iraq – Uncles will continue taking his son to ball games and grappling practice. Aunts will continue watching his children when his wife goes to class.

He's Capt. Loreto Borce, a native Hawaiian, husband and father of four young children. He's also one of thousands of Schofield Barracks' Soldiers who recently received news of a tour extension, adding as much as three months to the unit's yearlong service commitment.

Unlike many, however, Borce explained that he has his "Ohana" – a Hawaiian term meaning family – to ease the burden of being separated from his wife, Danielle, and children a little bit longer. Being separated is nothing new for Borce and Danielle.

Borce's seven-year military career has taken him away from home for a variety of military schools to include Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger school and the Army's Officer's Basic Course. Deployments have shuttled him from Korea to Afghanistan and now to Iraq. Despite it all, though, his marriage has survived and his family stayed intact, a fact Borce attributes to the strength of his Ohana.

"Families in Hawaii are different. We are so tightly knitted and so large," explained Borce. "[My mother-in-law] has 10 brothers and sisters. My Dad has nine brothers and sisters. The majority of [my wife's] uncles and aunties are in Hawaii. Having so much family helps relieve stress because my kids have uncles and family that can keep them doing the regular [every-day] things while I'm away."

Borce is a first generation Hawaiian. Although his grandmother was from Kauai, she relocated to the Philippines where she met Borce's grandfather. Borce's mother and father later immigrated to Hawaii.

Borce grew up on the island of Oahu and first met his wife at St. Patrick's Intermediate School in Kaimuki. Danielle then attended the St. Francis School in Honolulu while Borce attended Damien High School located in the Kalihi Valley.

Danielle will keep herself occupied in her husband's absence by caring for their four small children and continuing to work toward her nursing degree from Kapi'olani Community College.

"It's hard that he's in Iraq and that makes our life a little harder here," said Danielle. "But he loves his Soldiers and they take good care of each other," she continued. "Knowing he's doing a job he loves with people he loves makes it easier. I'm extremely proud of him."

Meanwhile, Borce will keep busy working from remote Forward Operating Base Gains Mills located about 20 kilometers southwest of the city of Kirkuk.

Borce is the executive officer and assistant team chief, military transition team (MiTT), for 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He will continue training Iraq's 1st Strategic Infrastructure Brigade, which protects oil infrastructure, escorts infrastructure repair teams and guards routes adjacent to and near that infrastructure. Borce and his MiTT partner with the 1st SIB to enhance their ability to conduct independent operations, to stabilize the environment and to establish security measures to protect the pipeline.

While Borce and his MiTT are making progress, it's not just the work that is making his time in Iraq fulfilling.

"I love doing all this with these [particular] Soldiers, some of whom I've been working with for five years," said Borce. "I have relationships with a lot of these guys. We truly are like a family which helps especially because we're all away from our families back home."
As he spoke, Borce removed his patrol cap to rub his hands through his hair revealing something unique -- a laminated photograph of his wife and kids attached to the underside of the cap. He explained.

"In Ranger school we had a saying, 'Just one more step' which motivated you to keep going," said Borce. "While I was there, instructors would call us together, and I'd 'take a knee' and remove my [cap]," he continued. "I'd look down and see the picture of my family and it helped me to actually make it through. Since then, I've kept the photograph, and it's kept me moving one more step forward each day."

• Date Taken: 04.30.2007
• Date Posted: 05.08.2007 12:22
• Story ID: 10286
• Location: KIRKUK, IQ