Photo By Staff Sgt. Tegan Kucera | Staff Sgt. Kason Rackley, (front, right) a platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Comanche...... read more read more
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Some marriages come with a seven-year itch, and other marriages come with the desire to spend more time with one another.
This is especially true for one Soldier who is making the most from being stationed in Germany.
“Being able to spend time one-on-one, it reinforces your relationship,” said Staff Sgt. Kason Rackley, a platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Comanche Troop, 1st Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Vilseck, Germany.
Rackley, originally from Athens, Georgia, has been married to his wife Heather for seven years and they have two children together. For the last year he has been stationed in Germany, and while they have taken a couple of family trips together they have yet to take one for just the two of them since leaving the U.S. So when her parents come to visit them next month they plan on doing a grand date night in Prague, because they are so close they can make a two-day trip out of it.
“It’s rare to be able to find a working opportunity in Europe,” said Rackley. “Being able to have a job that I love that will take me to these places is unique.”
As a family the Rackley’s have gone to some of the major European cities like London, Paris and Edinburgh, but this is the first time they will go to Western Europe and it will be without the girls. Rackley is a firm believer in taking advantage of his time here because this is the first time in his 12 year military career that he is not stationed in the U.S. or deployed.
“The Army, especially the infantry is a very high-tempo environment, I think it’s just very important that when you have your time off to maximize it as best as you can,” said Rackley. “In Europe there’s no better way to do that than to go to the different cities and countries. Seeing the different cultures and being able to immerse yourself into an experience of a lifetime.”
Rackley, said this unit puts emphasis on the Soldiers going out and enjoying themselves, not by drinking, but by seeing as much as they can. He said not many of them do, and instead sit in their rooms and play video games over the weekend when they are not in the field for military training.
Right now Rackley and his unit are in Romania, having driven here from Hungary in an Infantry Carrier Vehicle. They are participating in Saber Guardian 19 and have come to train with the Romanian army.
“The training that we get to do is something that you don’t get to do anywhere else,” said Rackley. “Training with other host nations and our allies is unique, I think anybody who does a career in the Army should at least do this once. It opens up your mind to how other militaries operate and the complexity of how we operate with our allies from across the world.”
Living and training alongside our allies and partners in Europe helps the U.S. maintain the relationships and trust that are essential for ensuring global security. Rackley has been enjoying seeing how other nations do things within their military, and while he has been enjoying his time here and the experience and training he is receiving he would like to communicate with his wife face-to-face.
Rackley said communication is what makes his marriage so strong, that a simple text wishing one another good morning, or good night goes a long way and lets the other know they are being thought of. This works when they are away from each other out of necessity, but nothing beats seeing the other.
“I think it’s about the alone time away from the kids,” says Rackley. “Just a chance to connect, not as two parents or as a married couple, but as two people who are into each other.
Rackley has two loves in his life his wife and the Army. While he’s out in the field relishing the infantry lifestyle he is receiving during Saber Guardian 19, he is looking forward to having a special date night in a special city, something he said he could not do without the military.
Saber Guardian 19 is an exercise co-led by the Romanian Joint Force Command and U.S. Army Europe, taking place from June 3-24 at various locations in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Saber Guardian is designed to improve the integration of multinational combat forces.
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2019 15:17 |
| Story ID: | 328784 |
| Location: | CINCU, RW |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Date night in Prague, by SSG Tegan Kucera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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