SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii, June 6, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace has faced tough questions from the president, the National Security Council and members of Congress. The toughest questions, however, seem to come from the nation’s youngest citizens.
During a town hall meeting here yesterday, for example, 8-year-old Katherina Daul asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “Why do soldiers have to deploy so long?”
Pace came here specifically to meet with family members whose loved ones are among the first to be extended under the Army’s new policy. He was on his way back to the United States from a trip to Singapore and Malaysia. Katherina came out to the base theater to see the chairman with her mom, Carol, and her 13-year-old brother Jeremiah.
Katherina's dad -- Army Capt. Kevin Daul, a chaplain assigned to the 45th Special Troops Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade -- is due to return to Schofield at the end of this month or beginning of July. He's been deployed in Iraq for 11 months. His unit was not affected by the extension.
"It hasn't been easy going thru even a 12-month separation," Carol said. "I don't fear for his safety, it's just hard be apart for so long,"
Schofield Barracks is the family's first duty station and it's the first deployment they've gone through, she said.
"We've been married for 15 years this August and we've never been separated for so long," she said. The children have taken it fairly well, she said, but "sometimes there have been some emotional upsets that I know are because their Daddy is gone."
After listening to about 45 minutes of questions and answers by the grown ups in the theater, Jeremiah raised his hand to ask Pace a question.
In a gentlemanly fashion, he thanked the chairman for meeting with them and offered a suggestion. Jeremiah said that along with rest and recuperation back home, the Army should send soldiers from Iraq for R&R at military resorts in Germany and then send the families to join them.
“That’s a great idea,” Pace said. “It would be a great way to show that we value the families. I’ll look into that.”
Pace also reassured Jeremiah that he is doing everything he can to make sure that military parents have more time to spend with their children.
After a few more questions by the grownups, Pace turned to a tiny hand in the air. “Are you trying to upstage your brother?” he teased Katherina.
The youngster took the microphone and slowly and clearly asked, “Why do soldiers have to deploy so long?”
Pace’s answer seemed to resonate with the audience as a reminder of why they were all there in the first place.
“Soldiers have to deploy so long sometimes, because soldiers love their daughters,” the chairman replied, drawing applause.
“And as much as your Daddy would prefer to be here right now hugging you, he wants to make sure that you get to grow up in the same United States that he got to grow up in,” Pace said.
“There are bad people out there who want to change that. Your Daddy is going to make sure that they don’t,” he said. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The original published version of this article contained some inaccurate information. This article is being republished with correct information and additional information.)
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