Colebrook couple trades duties at home and abroad

COLEBROOK — Marine Gunnery Sgt. Dan Ward, a reservist who has served multiple tours in Iraq, gave The Winsted Journal an update on his military career recently, along with news on his wife, Leah, a reserve Army nurse on active duty in Germany who was recently promoted to major.

While in Iraq earlier this year, Ward’s engineering company was responsible for IED and route clearance, equipment upgrades and sending gear back to the United States and to Afghanistan.

More recently, his assignment while home has been to take care of the couple’s 3-year-old son, Walter, while Leah completes a tour in Germany. The couple has been trading off child-rearing duties while completing various tours overseas.

“[Leah] found out that her unit was being deployed back in December and she told me the news while I was still in Iraq,� Ward recalled in an e-mail earlier this month. “My deployment was cut short by a month since the Iraqi parliamentary elections were pushed back to March.

“They were to be held in January, while we were still there, but once the elections were pushed back again, we were not going to hold out for March since the Marine Corps focus is now on Afghanistan. My unit was some of the few hundred Marines that remained in Iraq and we were among the last in country.�

Iraq’s parliamentary elections in March were inconclusive, and rival groups have been arguing since then about the formation of a new government. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, parliamentary elections originally scheduled for May have been delayed until September amid daily violence.

Both Dan and Leah Ward have been involved in some of the most difficult missions resulting from both conflicts, receiving deployments out of Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts and serving numerous overseas tours. Dan Ward’s engineering company has had the dangerous task of clearing routes of improvised explosive devices in Iraq while upgrading and transferring equipment from Iraq to Afghanistan.

“Since we knew Leah was being deployed in May, coming home a month early was welcome news,� Ward recalled. “From February to May, I worked out of Westover, Mass., getting some of our guys ready for redeployment to Afghanistan or the Dominican Republic. We have a large crew in the Dominican Republic now helping in relief efforts and building infrastructure like hospitals and schools. I declined a two-month tour there since it coincided with Leah’s departure.�

Leah’s latest tour with the 439th CASF supports operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. “She directly supports the war effort as patients are med-evac’d from Afghanistan and Iraq within hours of sustaining injuries,� Dan noted. “She works night shift and is in charge of all preparations for the missions on day shift.�

Her missions have included transporting patients with various injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan — including treating a police dog who took a nasty fall.

“Leah also found out earlier this year that she qualified for promotion to major but there was no timing available.�

Prior to shipping out, there was a vacancy in the ranks and Leah was immediately promoted to major.

“Out of the blue, she got a phone call around 0730 from the wing commander at Westover telling her that he called with bad news,� Ward said. “He told Leah that she was out of uniform — because she still had captain’s bars on. That was his way of bringing the good news with a twist.�

Ward said his wife is expected back in the United States in the late fall or early winter and that he has help taking care of Walter in the meantime.

“My parents are able to visit about every six weeks and people in the community are always helpful,� he said.

The only problem at the Ward residence has been recent vandalism dating back to between January and March of this year, when a military banner and American flag were desecrated on their property. On three separate incidents, vandals smashed and burned patriotic displays at the residence and took down the couple’s mailbox.

Ward reported in May that residents should be on the lookout for a green Jeep Cherokee with damage on its left side. A reward for information leading to the identification of the perpetrators has increased to more than $2,000.