MPs head for duty in Kosovo

                  By Venita Jenkins
                  Staff writer

                  The first e-mail Staff Sgt. Scott Howe will get at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo is likely to be an announcement of the birth of his son.

                  Howe was one of 185 members of Fort Bragg’s 16th Military Police Brigade who left from Pope Air Force Base Sunday for a six-month deployment to join the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

  The troops are scheduled to reach Camp Bondsteel,located just east of Urosevac in the American sector in Kosovo, on Tuesday.

                                                  U.S. troops have been in Kosovo since June. Several units from Fort Bragg have been part of the peacekeeping mission.

                                                  On Sunday, Maj. Gen. John Ryneska, deputy commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, told the military police that their mission is a ”noble and pure endeavor.”

                  The soldiers will be running military police substations throughout the
                  country.

                  ”The military is the last and best hope in this war-torn country,” Ryneska
                  said.

                  The families of the soldiers said they were sad to see them go, but proud of
                  what they were going to do.

                  Howe’s wife, Stephanie, is due to give birth on Wednesday. She said when
                  the couple found out about the mission, she was upset because her husband
                  would not be there to witness the birth of their son. The Howes had been
                  trying to have a child for some time, she said.

                  “We had enough time to talk it over,” she said. ‘‘This is something that I will
                  have to deal with. I know that hundreds of military wives have gone through
                  the same thing.

                  “I just hope he doesn’t worry about me because
                  he’ll have a lot to worry about over there,” she
                  said.

                  Howe is used to deployments. She also served
                  in the Army for nine years.

                  But she said she can’t help worrying about her
                  husband. This is the first time they have been
                  separated for an extended period of time.

                  “There is a natural concern about any
                  deployment,” she said. “But, I have confidence in
                  his ability and in his unit. I think they’ll be all
                  right.”

                  Teresa Hall and her three daughters said
                  goodbye to Spc. Timothy Hall.

                  “This is the first Christmas that he’s been away on a deployment like this,”
                  Hall said. “With him being in the military, we know it’s something he has to
                  do. He has to go where he’s needed, when he’s needed.”

  Hall said this Christmas will be a lonely one, but
                                      she will have her children to keep her company:
                                      Madilyn, 7 months; Rebecca, 11; and Leslie, 12.

                                      Leslie and Rebecca said they are less
                                      concerned about missing their father at
                                      Christmas than they are about his safety while
                                      he is gone.

                                      “The only thing that I am worried about is that he
                                      may run into enemy soldiers,” Leslie said. “I
                                      know that he’ll be armed and I know that he’ll be
                                      OK.”

                                      Rebecca agreed. “I know that he’ll be out there
                                      doing his job,” she said.

                                      There will be other holidays Hall will be able to
                                      share with his family, the soldier said.

                  “We had a good Thanksgiving,” he said. “Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July
                  are the holidays that we really celebrate. Hopefully, I will be back for the
                  Fourth.”