Families of Fort Bragg soldiers deployed to Middle East preparing for new normal
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The new year did not bring celebration and joy to the Ferry family in Fayetteville.
Brianna Ferry's husband, David, received a phone call telling him he was going to be deployed to the Middle East.
"We got to say goodbye at 2 a.m. on New Year's Day. So for us, New Year's wasn't all exciting and bubbly like everyone else's," Ferry told WXII.
David is one of the thousands of Fort Bragg soldiers now deployed to the Middle East following escalating tensions with Iran after a U.S. airstrike that killed the country's top military general.
The military and the local community groups are stepping up to help families of deployed soldiers, but Ferry said it's impossible to replace the memories David is going to miss.
"He'll be missing her first steps and her first birthday. All her firsts that we would normally get to experience as a family," she said. "Daddy used to put her to bed. Daddy used to get up with her in the middle of the night. So, it's harder on me now learning how to deal with it. Essentially, I'm becoming a single parent until he comes home."
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Still, Ferry said she understands her husband is doing his job in order to protect the things she and other Americans value.
"That's their job. At the end of the day, they are there to fight for our freedom and protect us. So at the end of the day, I can go to the park with my daughter," she said.
