2nd deployment in year for Stewart family Published Feb. 4, 2009 By Susan Griggs 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, BILOXI, MISS. -- Staff Sgt. Jamee Stewart can give two different perspectives of deployment -- as an active-duty member and the spouse left behind to keep the home fires burning. "We're coming up on our third wedding anniversary, and we've only spent one together," said Sergeant Stewart, an instructor in the 338th Training Squadron's network infrastructure course. She deployed to Kuwait January-May 2008 as a communications help desk representative. "I think that being a military member myself doesn't necessarily make it easier, but it definitely makes me more understanding," Sergeant Stewart commented. "We learned from my deployment that you can't use your phone time fighting about things you can't change right then. "After my deployment, I realized that it's important for the person at home not to complain about the kids or everyday things that the deployed member doesn't have or is missing," she continued. "It's very hard to hear your spouse talk about how bad the kids were that day when all you can think of is at least you have them." Sergeant Stewart said she's appreciated the airman and family readiness center's monthly "Give Parents a Break" child care while her husband has been deployed, which her husband used while she was deployed. "They also had a ton of family activities for the holidays," she pointed out. "Our squadron has been pretty understanding of our situation since we're both assigned to the 338th TRS and this is our family's second deployment in a year," she added. Sergeant Stewart said the most difficult part of her husband's deployment has been getting everything ready for the family to make a permanent change of station to Nevada 30 days after her husband returns home. She'll be assigned to Creech Air Force Base, and her husband is going to the Las Vegas area.