Home » Archives » "Preparing to Deploy"

Preparing to Deploy

Jun-10-2009 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT , 4/2 SBCT , 5/2 SBCT , Homefront

The Seattle Times visits a fair sponsored by Ft. Lewis to prepare military families for upcoming deployments.

FORT LEWIS — Inside a huge white tent staked out in the forest alongside Interstate 5, the Army is holding a fair.

There are no carnival games or rides. Instead, soldiers who will soon head to Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families, visit booths that offer information about child care, art programs, high-interest savings accounts and other support services. [...]

This year, some 18,000 Fort Lewis soldiers — more than half the 30,000 soldiers stationed at the post, and a peak since 9/11 — are scheduled to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

That compares with the previous peak of roughly 12,000 soldiers two years ago.


Advertisements