Soldier's dad: 'I want her safe, but I wouldn't want her anyplace else'
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Shelly Sturgess is Joe Meyer's youngest daughter. Now stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., she has a new assignment next year: Afghanistan.
"Being a soldier is a perfect fit. She's courageous," Meyer said.
The deployment could last up to 18 months.
"I can't even imagine," he said. "It's tough talking about it."
Meyers said his daughter will be assigned to a firebase near the border with Pakistan in a support team for helicopter missions. Even with his fears for his daughter, he supports the war.
"If we walk away, we lose. They lose. Everybody loses and we're dealing with the conflict at home, pretty quick," he said.
In Eugene, Krista Farver is awaiting a homecoming.
"I'm counting down the days until he's home, and safe," Farver said.
Her husband, Private First Class Robert Farver, is now serving now in Iraq. His previous tour of duty was in Afghanistan.
"The PTSD is very real," she said.
Farver said her husband worked through those issues and is doing better now in Iraq. He is due home next spring.
But as the Afghan war reaches 8 years, and the war in Iraq surpasses 6 years, Farver senses less empathy for both the soldiers and their families.
"I think there's a lot of people that don't appreciate what they do, and there's not a lot of support because they think -- well, they're just in the military," she said.
Meyer flies the American flag outside his house, a symbol of support he said for all veterans.
Now, it also flies for his daughter.
"I'm proud that my daughter is a soldier," he said, fighting back the tears. "I want her safe, but I wouldn't want her anyplace else either."
