Link To Mil.com Story

May 11, 2008

From the story:

Warrant Officer Priscilla Burnah won't be getting pancakes in bed this Mother's Day morning. And Capt. Lynn Currier will miss little things: going to a sporting event, riding bikes, sitting at home and having dinner.

Both are single mothers from Saratoga County who arrived in Afghanistan last month after training with the National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. And both will miss Mother's Day at home this year.

Each turned to her own mother to share the sacrifice of deployment and parenthood.

Burnah's mother, Judy Sorrell-Lynch, a retired Army nurse, has uprooted her Cadyville, Clinton County, life to raise her daughter's children -- Melina, 6, and Ryan, 18 -- in Waterford.

Currier's mother, Elizabeth Melvin, recently moved from Vermont to be surrogate mother to her daughter's 12-year-old son, Brandon, in Ballston Spa.

With women now making up 15 percent of the Army, thousands of mothers have been removed from the family dinner table to help with America's twin conflicts in the Middle East. The result can be upheaval at home -- felt sharply at times like Mother's Day.

"It's a big strain on family life," said Bob LaDuke, commander of the Robert L. Weininger VFW Post in Colonie -- one of several area outfits that supports local soldiers and their families.

Of the 1,400 women in the state's Army National Guard, 302 are married and 146 -- more than 10 percent -- claim child dependents, according to the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs. The state could not say how many are single mothers.

When single mothers deploy, it's usually their parents or siblings who care for their children, like in the cases of Burnah and Currier, said Beverly Keating, director of family programs for the New York National Guard. Both Burnah and Currier work full time for the National Guard in Latham.

The organization provides information and referrals to the families of military members during deployment. Many families need help with child care and emotional stability, and calls for assistance spike during birthdays, anniversaries and holidays like Mother's Day.

Currier, 44, hasn't thought about Mother's Day but is extremely thankful for her own mother.

"I called her the other day and said that it is so wonderful I don't have to worry," said Currier on a telephone call from Kabul.

Currier happens to be deployed with her twin sister, Staff Sgt. Lisa Currier, who is also the mother of twin 24-year-old daughters.

"He is safe, he is home getting the best care. It's a total comfort what she has done for me," Currier said of Melvin, who is 70. "My mind is free. All I have to worry about is staying alive in Afghanistan."

For Burnah, 40, her mobilization means her son can't serve her breakfast in bed this morning, which he started doing on recent Mother's Days. And she missed his graduation from LaSalle Institute on Saturday.

Ryan Burnah said he is disappointed but is resigned to his mother's absence and that she's on such a dangerous mission.

"I do think I am going to miss her," he said. "I miss her already."

Meanwhile, Sorrell-Lynch, 63, is forming a safety net for her daughter's children. She relocated to the Burnah's suburban home to guide Melina through first grade and Ryan through his senior year.

The new living arrangement has provided discipline and guidance, but her daughter's deployment gets "very stressful," Sorrell-Lynch said. She worries about her daughter's safety, "but also about if I am doing the job with her children that she'd want me to do."

The family will go out to eat for Mother's Day -- without Priscilla. They can receive calls from and send e-mails to Afghanistan.

Work will occupy Priscilla Burnah, she said recently by phone from Forward Operation Base Phoenix.

"Unfortunately, it's just going to be another day for us," she said. "It's business as usual. You have to keep your head in the game here."

My salute to all mothers. Happy Mother's Day!