Our nation at WAR : TCC student moves school, family to background for military
by David Repp, Reporter

   The war in Iraq has separated many military families. The Rodgers family, separated for over a month, is one of them.
   Capt. Wendy Rodgers, a TCC student, was deployed with the 807th Medical Command, out of Seagoville, Texas, in February. While her husband Gary Rodgers says he had mentally prepared himself for separation, Capt. Rodgers was not as concerned.
    "At the time, I thought the chances of my being deployed were slim to none," she said.
    Capt. Rodgers holds a bachelor's degree in administration, but was attending TCC to get the extra courses needed for medical school when she was called up.
    She had two classes left at TCC before she could attend medical school, but 48 hours later, she was at Fort Hood, ready to go to Turkey.
    Her orders were for deployment for up to a year. However, because Turkey did not allow U.S. troops to attack from their land, the 807th is still at Fort Hood, ready to go any day.
    Capt. Rodgers was not the only one affected by her deployment. She had been married to Gary Rodgers for just over two years when she received her orders. While Gary Rodgers is concerned for his wife, he supports her and her mission.
    "It is cool to have a wife who protects her country and supports freedom," he said.
    Gary Rodgers said everyone he knows has been very supportive, offering any support possible. However, he has been upset by some of the protests he has seen on television. "There seems to be a missed message," he said sternly. "Our troops are very important to us. Without them, we would not be able to protest." Capt. Rodgers agrees.
    "It breaks my heart that people don't believe in the freedom this country has earned. They don't understand history or what it took to get here," she said. Capt. Rodgers fully understands she is giving up many things to defend her country, including a husband and a delay in her education, but still is more than willing to do so.
    "In my 20 years in the army," she said, "I have never been deployed. It's my duty, my turn to stand up for what America believes in."