Mother's Day in Afghanistan

Photo By Spc. Roy Mercon | Sgt. 1st Class Maureen A. Houston and Spc. Brion Houston, the mother and son duo. Both Soldiers have the good fortune of being able to see each other on a daily basis, something that is rare for a mother and son during deployment. "Being deployed and having my son here with me is surreal," said Houston, the Non-commissioned Officer in Charge for Personnel Readiness for the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain). "It blows my mind."  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

05.05.2010

Story by Pfc. Roy Mercon 

86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (MTN)

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Mother's Day is quickly approaching, and for many service members at Bagram, that means flowers sent to mom online or calls home from cramped phone booths. But for one lucky mother and son, Mother's day is nothing out of the ordinary. They get the chance to see each other on a regular basis.

The Houstons, the mom, a sergeant first class, and the son, a specialist, are from St. Albans, Vermont and assigned to the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain). Attached to different units, but happen to work right across the street from each other, the mother and son duo consider themselves quite lucky.

"Being deployed and having my son here with me is surreal," said Sgt. 1st Class Maureen A. Houston, the non-commissioned officer in charge for personnel readiness for the 86th IBCT (Mtn). "It blows my mind."

How does such a thing occur? During World War II, the five fighting Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, were killed when their U.S. Navy cruiser was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. After that, Congress considered forbidding siblings to serve together in wartime. But the Army still permits family members to serve together, but they can ask to be separated. In the case of the Houstons, separation was never an option they even considered.

"I get to see him more often than I did at home," said Houston. "We exercise together, we eat together occasionally, and sometimes we just play cards."

Even though her son is deployed to a combat zone, Houston understands the amount of work the Army does to ensure that every Soldier is ready to face the challenges of a combat deployment.

"I don't worry about him," said Houston. "I know he's been trained in the same way I've been trained. I worry more about my children back home."

It didn't seem odd to have her son follow her footsteps in joining the National Guard. In fact, the military is a family tradition. Along with his mother, 19-year-old Spc. Brion W. Houston has had a grandfather, uncle, father, aunt, sister, and brother all serve their country.

It's not all fun having a Soldier mom, however.

"Being with my mom is kind of cool, but at the same time it's not," said Spc. Houston, an infantryman, who provides administrative support for the commander and the command sergeant major of the 1-172nd Cavalry Squadron. The only real issue with having his mother in a war zone with him is the fact that if he needs to talk to her, most of the time he gets Sgt. 1st Class Houston, a Soldier who is higher-ranking then him.

"Having her here is like home away from home, but then again, this deployment is my own experience," said Spc. Houston. "Honestly, with her being here, as my mom and as a Soldier, she doesn't treat me different than any other Soldier in the military. If I misbehave or act inappropriate in public, she'll correct me. And I'm sure she'll do the same for any other Soldier."

• Date Taken: 05.05.2010
• Date Posted: 05.05.2010 11:42
• Story ID: 49171
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF