How the Deployments Have Changed

When I missed my call today.. it got me thinking how our deployments have changed over the past 11 years.

Deployment 1:
Feb 1998-August 1999
Married: 10 months
Living: In California by myself plus Ariel the cat.
AJ had to leave with just two days notice. He had been scheduled to go with a West Pac(boat ride to the Middle East), but with tensions in Iraq it had to be pushed up to show a "strong presence" in the Middle East. I remember that we would E-mail once a week or so, but that he had to pay for every E-mail he got and sent out. He would call once a week on Sundays from the ship, which cost us $1.00 a minute. There was a horrible delay and we would get cut off. He then would call me from his port stops. The only cell phone I had was a big flip phone, with a huge battery. I never used it. So, if he called unexpectatly.. he would talk to our machine.

Deployment 2:
January 2000-August 2000
Married: 2 1/2 years
Living: Moved back home to live with my parents here in IL. Keegan was 6 months old.
Our communication was pretty much the same, although the E-mail was better. I had gotten my first small cell phone. I used it more often and carried it around with me. AJ would call me on my cell phone or the line I had at my parents house.

Deployment 3:
January 2003-July 2003
Married: 5 1/2 years
Living: In our house in our little small town with Keegan, and pregnant with Brady. AJ's unit was one of the first in Iraq, so we had little to no communication. Letters took 3-4 weeks to get to each other, no E-mail. We talked a total of 4 times, one was the day after Brady was born because of our Red Cross message. We used amazingmail.com all the time to send photos to him.

Deployment 4:
August 2005-March 2006
Married: Married 8 years
Living: In our house with Keegan and Brady.
The communication was better. He would wake me up with his AIM ring and we would webcam at 4 a.m. We E-mailed every couple days and talked once a week. I had my AIM set to my cell phone and would AIM when I was away from my computer, even watching a hockey game! AJ sent the occasional letter and I sent one every few days. Packages took about a month. The flat rate boxes came at the end, so packages would cost 15.00 or more to mail. Phone cards were 1.00 a minute. Amazingmail.com didn't work so well. He wasn't getting any mail for weeks.

Deployment 5:
May 2007-Spring 08
Married: 10 years
Living : In our same old house. Cell phone is attached to my hip when I am not working. I have his E-mails forwarded to my phone. I can respond on my cell or on my E-mail. E-mails were frequent, at least one a day until the last few months. We didn't start using IM or Webcam until December. Phone calls are usually once a week.. maybe twice if I am lucky. No real letters have been sent this time. I have only sent a few random cards.. but I have used Moto Mail a lot. It is free to print and send. Packages run me 8.95 for a flat rate box. I have mailed a few 10 lb boxes lately. AJ has had a sattelite phone for most of the deployment, so not as many phone cards. The phone card rate, is a lot better though.