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Double Deployment

Jul- 2-2009 » Filed Under: 5/2 SBCT

The News Tribune profiles a military family with two children as both parents prepare to deploy at the same time.

If Tara Schneider can steal a few minutes during her lunch break, she’ll rush to her Steilacoom home and fire up her webcam. On the other end are her two daughters, 3-year-old Autumn and 6-month-old Teagan, both now living in Miami.

Schneider, an Army sergeant at Fort Lewis, admits this bit of bonding can’t compare with hugging them and talking in person. “It can be kind of tough,” she said. “I miss them, and the webcam really just isn’t the same.”

But with yearlong deployments looming for Tara and her husband, Sgt. Brandon Schneider, the couple doesn’t have much choice. Their daughters are living in Florida with Tara’s father and stepmother, and the family is preparing for the stress of being apart.


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