By Staff Sgt. Monica R. Garreau
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan ---- Soldiers serving in a combat environment often refer to their fellow service members as family. When one of Task Force 168's three Schon brothers say it, they aren't just spouting a figure of speech.
The three brothers -- Staff Sgt. Mike Schon, Staff Sgt. Scott Schon and Spc. Tony Schon -- deployed to Afghanistan together in May with their Iowa National Guard unit, based in their hometown of Carroll, Iowa.
Their mission is to provide force protection to provincial reconstruction teams throughout the country. But their family members back home would probably tell you that their mission is to provide support to each other while they're deployed here for a year.
The brothers communicate via e-mail at least once a week. They share experiences, family stories and provide basic moral support to each other.
"It's nice to talk to people who are doing the same stuff," said 27-year-old Scott.
"They're sitting there in our same shoes," echoed 30-year-old Mike.
"You can talk to family different than you can talk to someone else," added 20-year-old Tony.
But the best conversations are those held in person, said the brothers. Especially when all three Schons were able to travel home on R&R leave, for Thanksgiving, as a family.
The timing was by chance -- at Mike's PRT, names and dates were drawn out of a hat, and Scott and Tony were able to select the same timeframe -- but all three said it would have been special regardless of when they went home, as long as they were together.
"We just celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving together," said Scott who is assigned to the Jalalabad PRT in eastern Afghanistan.
The brothers were greeted at the airport in Omaha, Neb., by their immediate family, which includes another three brothers and two sisters, wives and children (Mike and Scott), a girlfriend (Tony), and their large extended family.
"Someone joked that half of Omaha was here," said Mike who is assigned to the Tarin Kowt PRT in southern Afghanistan.
"It was just one big welcome home. Our parents, all our families were just ecstatic when we all came out the gate together," said Scott. "They couldn't have been happier."
The Schons spent their two weeks catching up with each other and other family members. They also spent time introducing themselves to a new addition to the family -- Mike's daughter Taylor Ann was born, Sept. 11.
The Schon family has always been very close -- they drove to Fort Hood, Texas, in an RV to see the boys off before they flew to Afghanistan -- but through the challenges of a year-long deployment, they have grown even closer, said Scott.
"This seemed like no other [Thanksgiving] that I've been to," he said. "There was this special undertone that everyone seemed to appreciate this one more than any other past holiday. No one had to say anything, you just kind of knew it."
The three deployed Schons have grown even closer as well.
"You won't really be able to tell until this is all over, but it seems like it has [strengthened our relationship] just from these past two weeks," said Mike.
Being in the same unit has the potential to strain a relationship, but the trio said they have not given in to feelings of sibling rivalry. Instead, they look up to each other and learn from what the others are doing at their respective PRTs.
"I'm really glad they're here, because I can just e-mail them and ask them a question or get advice about something," said Tony who is assigned to the Asadabad PRT in eastern Afghanistan.
Although their family isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of three of their boys deployed at the same time, they understand that being in the same country provides some comfort for them. It also means that once the deployment is over, all three will return together, providing the opportunity for another Schon family reunion.
"They just felt reassured when we left together," said Tony. "Reassured that we're doing some of the same things over here."
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| Date Taken: | 01.07.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 01.07.2005 10:01 |
| Story ID: | 807 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 139 |
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