First The Holidays, Then The Mission

BROOKSVILLE - First Sgt. Christopher Downey knows what it's like to spend Christmas in Iraq.

By then, the member of Florida's National Guard unit in Brooksville was on his 10th month of a yearlong deployment at Camp Anaconda in Bilad, north of Baghdad.

He'd dealt with daily mortar attacks and visits to mass graves. On Dec. 25, 2004, though, Downey helped hand out gifts to Kurdish children.

"The things we take for granted are like gold to them," said Downey, who served as a platoon chief during the tour.

Downey and several other Guard members based at the armory and aviation support facility on Spring Hill Drive in Brooksville said there is one thing they certainly won't take for granted this holiday week: time with family.

Some 80 members in the 1st Battalion 244th and 1st Battalion 111th Aviation regiments - pilots, mechanics and other support staff - will head to Iraq in March.

Their exact mission is still unknown. Downey, a Blackhawk crew chief, said the rumor is that it will be similar to the last trip, when Guard members helped move troops and supplies through the war-torn country.

Also unknown is the duration of the trip, but it will likely be a year, said Downey, a Blackhawk crew chief.

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," Downey said. "Of course it's the needs of the Army."

For Downey and his wife Cindy, there is a twist to next year's deployment.

Downey's stepson Joey, a Nature Coast Technical High School graduate and a member of the Brooksville Guard unit, is headed to Iraq, too.

There is a chance for leave and visits back to the states during the deployment, but only a select few will get to go around the holidays, Downey said.

While Downey described the Guard unit "kind of like a family," there will be an even bigger appreciation for time at home this week, he said.

"It makes the time you do spend with your family a little more special because you know you might not be here next year," he said.

Hernando Today last week met four other Guard members stationed in Brooksville and asked them about their plans for this holiday season.

Spc. Kenneth Germer, 20,

New Port Richey

Spc. Kenneth Germer always wanted to join the service and three years ago, while still a junior in high school, he did.

His grandfather was a Navy man; his uncle spent 24 years as an Army tanker.

The New Port Richey native did on-the-job training with the Guard while he was still at Gulf High School and went full-time upon graduation.

He and his girlfriend Jessica have been together since then. She has endured the separation during boot camp and mechanic school, Germer said.

Now they're engaged, and Iraq is on the horizon.

"It seems like every time I leave it's for twice as long," he said.

This week, they plan to have dinners with each side of the family. On New Year's Eve, it's a party with friends.

"It's one of the last times I'll get to," he said.

The couple plan to buy their first home upon Germer's return. They're thinking about the Spring Hill area.

"She's waiting for me to get back so we can start everything together," he said.

As for the holidays in the Middle East, "I've heard it's rough," he said. "It makes you miss your family more but you just keep working and do what you got to do to get home."

Germer said he plans to make a career out of the service. He hopes to one day pilot the Blackhawk helicopters he has come to know so well.

"You can't ask for a better job than this," he said.

Sgt. Sean Delaney, 27, Tampa

Sgt. Sean Delaney has seen a lot in his 10 years of service.

He's been to Bosnia, Egypt and, in 2003, Iraq.

He left for that trip shortly after the new year, heading to Kuwait to await word on whether the country would go to war. He was attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.

He smiles wryly when asked what he remembers most about that trip.

"A whole lot of bang, bang, boom, boom," he said.

His wife Diana stayed home with the couple's two children. Son Bradley is now 10; daughter Alexis is 7.

When it comes to Dad's travels, "Now they're at the age where they realize what's going on," Delaney said. "It's a little harder for them."

They realize, he said, that "it comes with the job."

As for Dad, "I love what I do."

This year the family will visit both sets of in-laws, including Delaney's parents in Ocala.

"Just to be with family," he replied. "Right now, "that's all that matters."

Spc. Curt Guinan, 20, Inverness

Spc. Curt Guinan admits he's still a little surprised to be on the verge of a trip to the Middle East.

Born and raised in Inverness, Guinan said he joined the service mainly to go to civilian flight school, something he'll pursue upon his return.

"It was kind of a weird thing," Guinan said. "I didn't think I'd find myself here."

"You really don't want to go," he said, "but you're trained to do it. It's just a job. I'm ready to go."

Guinan said he is excited to have more experienced members of the unit to offer advice.

The most useful, he said, is comprised of four simple words: "Stay alert, stay alive."

"That's the motto," Guinan said.

At first, upon hearing news of his deployment, Guinan's parents "were sort of in the denial stage," he said.

"Now they're praying for us every night."

Guinan's brother, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, is coming to Florida from Alaska for the holidays. Guinan said the brothers plan to ring in the New Year together.

When asked if he had any special Christmas gift he hoped to receive, Guinan shrugged.

"I just want to be with the family," he said.

Sgt. Bobby Hodges, 41, Gainesville

For the past six months, Sgt. Bobby Hodges has spent the weeks in Brooksville and returned to his wife Teresa and four children in Gainesville on the weekends.

Hodges returned from a tour in Kuwait in March. He volunteered to go to Iraq next year.

"This is my unit," Hodges said. "I want to be with my guys and help them do a job and come back."

Though he's old enough to be a father of some of his younger comrades, Hodges said he likes to consider himself more of an "older brother figure."

"I've got four kids," he said, laughing. "I don't need anymore."

Hodges said he loves his job.

"Sometimes I have to pinch myself, working on Blackhawks and getting paid for it," he said.

When he comes back in early 2009, the family plans to buy a home in Brooksville. Hodges, an avid outdoorsman, is from Georgia. The small-town vibe of Brooksville, with its Main Street, its hills and access to forestland and the Gulf of Mexico, is a fine combination, he said.

"It feels like home," he said.

This year, though, it's Christmas in Gainesville.

"I can't wait for this weekend," he said. "We've got a whole room full of presents and a lot of them have my name on it.

"I've got a special present for my wife," he said. "I can't wait to see her face."

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.