Well, I am new to this. I have been emailing & talking to a guy that is stationed at Camp Victory. He is a wonderful man & our relationship has just started.

We are getting along great but my feelings for him are growing, which makes missing him all the more harder. I worry about him where he is as I know it isn't safe for him or the troops stationed there.

He only has a couple more months of his tour before he goes home & I will be going over to visit him when he gets back to the states.

I am in Australia so that makes the distance between us harder. I can't wait to see him, though I do worry about him every day. Does it get any easier & how can I help but worry about him?

Get back to me as I would love to hear from other wives or partners of troups stationed at camp victory. Take care, Angela C

In a way it gets easier. As time goes on you learn coping mechanisms to help you get through deployments.

It helps to stay busy. Get a journal to write in daily too - it does help to get things out by writing them down.

It helps if you feel like you are "doing something" for them. So send emails, cards, letters, care packages, and so on.

You'll get plenty of tips and hints here.


Sgt Mom

Hi,
I am very curious my daughters' boyfriend is serving in Iraq and we have seen him up on line sometimes frequently and other not.Well she has not heard from him since March and has not spoken to him in at least five to six months.He has called family(whom he does not talk to when home)but not her?

her mom(by the way I am writing because I am more of a worry wort and think of him as my adopted son)

to ice princess: although my deployed soldier friend tells me not to worry that would be impossible unless I was made of stone. I write to him everyday, and send cards, emails, and care packages. It helps them to know someone is thinking about them and supporting them, and it helps me get my mind off my worries to share my daily life in the states with him. We have recently started an intimate email story thread where each one of us adds a little bit everytime. His deployment is just getting started and I am getting used to not worrying when I don't hear from him for a few days. It just means he can't get online or is on a mission. It goes with the territory. Good luck, keep supporting him, he needs it.

For "numbers"

It is possible he is not online when you think he is - if he is using a computer that is for everyone's use and does not log out of certain functions it will look like he is online when it is actually someone else on there.

As for not calling her and calling family, I don't have an answer for you.


Sgt Mom

Hi everyone & thanks so much for the advise. I will do all that. Im making up a care package for him now & will send it. Im not telling him Im sending it, I want it to be a surprise for him lol. Yes, how can you not worry, you would have to be heartless but as you said, you just learn to cope & I will do that. We email each day & talk on Yahoo messenger daily as he has his own computer due to his rank, which Im very lucky there. Look forward to getting to know you all better. Take care Angela

You are lucky in a lot of ways, getting an email everyday and msgr is a blessing. We haven't been able to use msgr since before he left Germany. He is going to be so happy to get the package and having it be a surprise will be so much better. My friends favorite gift that I sent was a pillowcase that I sprayed lightly with lavender spray and slept on for a week. He had been using an old tshirt as a pillowcase and was so happy. That meant more to him than anything else, and his buddies all got a sniff too. Take car, my name is Angela too!

Hi Angela, yes Im lucky, although I cant say his name on here for privacy & "{obvious reasons" I can say his rank, he is a Captain, which comes with some perks I guess lol. Yes Im very lucky & I appreciate my blessings & dont take them for granted I can assure you. I nearly slipped up yesterday but was lucky he didnt pick up on it, he was on the phone & wasn't concentrating on our conversation properly "ohhh the joys of being a military spouse huh" lol??? I guess I will learn all this in time. I might sent him a pillow case with my favorite perfume on it so he can sleep with it. Im sure he would love that but the guys might tease him lol. Take care, Angela

Hi Angela!
I think i know what you are going through.I myself are an Aussie who corresponded with an American Active duty man 8 months before the war broke out and was finally able to meet and marry him when he was able to come home to the states.I will never forget the night the war started,when i watched it on t.v back home in oz, i thought he was going to be lost to me forever!,the feeling of dread was awful.But we made it through,and i have been through one deployment whilst married,and i can say it doesnt get any better unfortunately,although as strange as it sounds,when we were corresponding from far distance it felt way worse,,this is just 'my personal opinion' though, because ive gone through both,weird i know it is to say,but i think it was the whole 'anticipation' of the long distance 'mystery romance',the 'never really knowing if it really is what it feels deal',,but i can gladly say it was for us,it was awesome meeting at the airport for the first time and after all we had gone through too,was a dream come true.If you ever want to email with me drop me your address in here.If not, then all the best to you both,be patient(helps),stay True to your man,or else why bother,its worth the wait in the end and a clear conscience.Dont let anyone sway you with 'but you dont really know him',i find this ridiculous when heaps of people meet others they dont even know whilst being drunk in bars,,remember any one can be a 'psycho' they dont just come from over the net!!,,keep the faith always.Care packages help alot too,i use to bake cookies for him and put them in a container,from oz to iraq they got there ok,although sometimes things would melt of course.take care i know what your going through! .

Hey & thanks for those words. I do get worried sometimes like you say & the distance is hard. I am really worried about him at the moment. I haven't heard from him in 3 days. Last he said he was going out patrolling in an "unsafe area" & he would talk to me tomorrow. Im trying not to think of the worst but can't help it. He is at Camp Victory in Iraq thats about all I can say Is anyone else's partner at Camp Victory that could find out for me??? My email/MSN messenger is PERSEC, no emails allowed I am beside myself with worry. This isn't like him not to contact me. You are all welcome to add me to your MSN messenger if you want. Would love to catch up with you all on a more personal level. Take care, Angela

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mrsjvb,

Hi!
Stay calm,,push those positive thoughts right pass the baddies!!..try not to stress,easier said then done i know ,i remember when the war broke out that fateful night(shudder),i never heard from him in 3 months!! it was absolute torture for me ,,all i remember doing is wanting the phone to ring to hear his voice and also not wanting the phone to ring in fear that it would be his family with bad news,,horrible,horrible time.I remember my nana telling me to think positive during this,i hanged on to her positive words,,i never gave up,she herself knew what i was feeling cos of my grandfather,so that helped me heaps,,she would tell me some funny stories also about the whole communication thing,,when she suspected he was becomming 'lax' and she wouldnt receive a letter in a while she would throw her 1940s pump shoe at his photo!heh heh,,and then of course when she was really worried she told me that she would cry to release the toxins,makes you feel better sometimes then holding it all inside.You do your way in order for you to cope best,as long as you take care of yourself.

On a lighter note!I remember when i sprayed a hankerchief with my favourite perfume also,i embroided my name on it and he carried it on him all the way through the occupation,i gave it to him again myself when he went again for the second time,,i try to think of it as 'the lucky hanky',we still have it here in the draw,of course its alot different looking now since its been through and seen alot of stuff too!! heh heh .I chose the hanky idea cos iam rapt up in anything from the olden days,so as with the fragrant sprays i say go full steam ahead!,my hubby still goes on about the unpleasant scents over there,i believe the more i sprayed the more i was helping him out,i use to flood each and every letter with a different perfume and my hubby loved it.It was fun for me to do,with cool paper designs and stickers out there at the craft stores,you can have alot of fun handwriting letters,helps take your mind of the sad stuff.Emails are great,quick fixes and quick stress relievers,but hand written letters that smell good and feel so personal hold an emotional weight worth more than gold-priceless .
There is a really awesome pillow spray out right now from bath&body works over here,i think there are two one is lavender & chamomile and the other is lavender and something else?,i know they help me fall asleep faster.I will give you an email soon,so hang in there and keep the faith .Talk to you soon!.

On the pillowcase front, Walgreens sells pillowcases where they will put a picture on it for you. You do it all online (at their dot com) and they will mail directly to an APO/FPO.

I sent one to DH and joked that he can sleep with me every night even though he is gone. He loved it.

hi everyone.. my name is merce,im new here and wanted to make new friends too. I just got married last 4th of July to an army guy who is about to be deployed in Iraq very soon. I can feel the worries of fiances here more so the wives... Its going to be my husband's first time in Iraq and I really feel worried... Makes me cry sometimes.
I am keeping myself up in prayer and will certainly pray for everyone in this post... and for the troops. God bless you all. And I hope to hear something from some people here. Thanks A lot.