As soldiers deploy amid pandemic, they fight 2 battles
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Edward Brown has always found a way to deal with his husband's military deployments in the past, but the most recent one felt different. Instead of an endless parade of family visits and last-minute errands, Brown and Staff Sgt. James Clyde were holed up inside their Fayetteville, North Carolina, apartment watching Netflix and making TikTok videos.
When his mandatory two-week quarantine ended last Friday, Clyde made the short drive to Fort Bragg and boarded a plane for a nine-month deployment in the Middle East.
The 34-year-old is among 2,200 paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team deploying to Iraq and Syria amid the coronavirus pandemic. They’ll be supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S military battle to defeat the Islamic State.
In 2016, Brown learned ways to keep his worries at bay during his husband’s first stint in Iraq. The then-newlywed ignored headlines and prayed without ceasing for Clyde’s protection. But the virus has added yet another worry that is hard to ignore.
“He’s going to be fighting two wars at the same time,” Brown said.
Because of travel restrictions, Spc. Amy Cloud can’t say goodbye to her family in Pennsylvania before her predeployment lockdown on Bragg. But the unexpected is what she signed up for.
“I volunteered for this. We don’t have a draft. No one forced me to enlist in the military. I did it of my own choice,” she said.
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department of Defense has been forced to adapt quickly to comply with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, while maintaining military personnel in a constant state of readiness.
Married soldiers, like Clyde, are allowed to quarantine off base inside private homes and apartments....
