Hearts remain apart as war closes

President Bush may have declared the major combat in Iraq to be over, but Sally Chesnes knows that doesn't necessarily mean her daughter, an Army reservist in Kuwait, will be coming home any time soon.

"No, I think Colleen will stay there because of what she's doing. She's going to be helping get the Iraqi people what they need as far as food," she said of her daughter, a sergeant with the Army Reserve's 32nd Transportation Group out of Tampa.

For thousands of military families across the country, the end of combat does not mean the end of their separation. Soldiers and sailors still will be overseas. Many troops will remain in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries for months.

It means Chesnes, 55, who runs a housecleaning business, will continue to communicate with her daughter by computer, rather than the daily telephone conversations they shared before Colleen's deployment. She must wait a while longer to invite Colleen over for grilled burgers or steaks at her home in St. Petersburg, like she did every week before the war.

"Family members are going to have to be patient, American citizens are going to have to be patient. We're going to be engaged there for some time," said Jon Myatt, a spokesman for the Florida National Guard. He noted that most National Guard soldiers were mobilized for a year, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

Myatt said Bush's speech Thursday, "is the president announcing that the goal we set out for regime change, that the combat portion of that has happened. ... but that doesn't mean that the work is complete."

He expects to see a slow trickle of troops returning over several months, as well as new units occasionally being activated and sent overseas.

Some have yet to go. As recently as a week ago, the Tampa-based 810th Military Police Company and the 317th Military Police Battalion were temporarily stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga. They were awaiting deployment to a location that most assumed would be in the Middle East.

"It's kind of like, still holding your breath," said Desyree Hooper of Oldsmar, whose 22-year-old son, Desmond, is at Fort Stewart. She said it's hard that he's gone, but she's proud of him for joining the reserves, even though it meant he had to leave the Tampa Police Academy when he was called to active duty in March.

"It was the decision of a man and he's grown up and I have to accept that ... he's proud of his country so he wants to do something to do his part."

If anyone knows that the end of fighting does not mean everyone will return home quickly, it's Sonya Reigelsperger, of St. Petersburg, whose husband is a Navy petty officer whose specialty is Special Operations communications.

Timothy Reigelsperger, 40, is a reservist, but has been deployed three times during the past 18 months, including stints in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Jordan.

Before that, the couple had never been separated for an extended period during 10 years of marriage.

"That was hard, him not being here every night, and basically not being able to have my best friend with me. It was like a part of me was gone," said Sonya Reigelsperger, 36.

With three children at home, she stays busy. That's a key to coping, she said, but things are harder in the evening when the kids are asleep.

"I get lonesome for him, but you just pick up, go do the dishes and go to bed. You just have to somehow keep some type of a normal routine."

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