Mother, Son Deploy Together

By Spc. Lindsey M. Frazier

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind.- Many mothers sit at home and wonder what their deployed son or daughter is doing. Wondering if they are fine and when they might call next. A mother getting deployed with her son may sound great to some, but what onlookers don't think about is what is left back home.

Spc. Roschell Eaton, 3175th Military Police Company, from Warrenton, Mo., knows this scenario all too well.

Eaton explains how her youngest son Devlin, a high school senior, is staying with his grandmother while she deploys with her eldest son, Spc. Jason Hutchins, also an MP in the 3175th, all natives of Troy, Mo.

The duo is currently in mobilization training here, for their upcoming deployment as part of Kosovo Force 10, Multi-National Task Force (East).

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind.-Spc. Roschell Eaton and Spc. Jason Hutchins, mother and son, both from the 3175th Military Police Company, train at Camp Atterbury, IN. for their upcoming deployment as part of Kosovo Force 10, Multi-National Task Force (East). (Army photo by Spc. Lindsey Frazier)

KFOR 10 is the 16th rotation in an ongoing peacekeeping operation. The KFOR mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for all of Kosovo.

Eaton and her sons have never been apart; it has always been the three of them. She has raised the boys on her own since Jason was a toddler.

"Were best friends," sighed Eaton. "But sometimes you have to leave the ones you love to do what you love."

Eaton served eight years in the Navy prior to joining the Missouri Army National Guard. She began missing the camaraderie that she had in the military when she would watch Jason come home in his uniform. So in 2006, after a 12-year break from the military, she decided it was her time to get back in.

Hutchins said, "While I was in advanced individual training my mom called me and told me she joined the guard. She talked about joining, but I didn't think she really would."

They are both currently military police in the same company and were in the same platoon before the deployment started. Devlin, the youngest of the brothers, joined the Army National Guard last year and completed basic training the summer before his senior year. He will continue on to AIT for military intelligence as soon as he graduates high school in May.

"It's really cool having my mom in my unit; it made us even closer than we were before. The part that is hard is leaving my brother behind," said Hutchins.

The hard part for Eaton is that she won't be home to be Mom. She said she has always been a mother first, but being a mom has to come second since the Army is now first. As she expressed her pride in being a mother she paused, turned her head to the side and looked away. Taking deep breaths was all she could do to keep the tears from falling. The moment hit her, thinking of not being there for the special moments in her youngest son's life.

"He graduates high school this year and there's prom," said Eaton softly. "I want to be there for the big things and the little things. Devlin says he understands, he said that I was there for his basic training graduation and that meant more to him than anything."

Eaton smiled as she gained her composure. With a big grin she said my boys and me are a tight trio. Knowing both of her sons are safe and not sitting on the couch wondering is the best thing she could ask for.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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