Graduation pass: Soldier comes home from Iraq to see daughter get diploma

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a series of periodic stories on Central Washington families with members serving in Iraq with the Army National Guard's 81st Brigade.

TIETON, Wash. -- Otto Cruz put in for the leave before he left for Iraq.

Two weeks at the beginning of June.

His oldest child and only daughter would be graduating from high school. And he wouldn't miss it for the world. Or, the war.

This is his chance to salute her.

"There's no way to express how proud I am of her," he says.

Staff Sgt. Cruz with Bravo Company of the Washington Army National Guard's 181st Support Battalion, part of the 81st Brigade, traveled some 7,000 miles to watch his daughter don a cap and gown and pick up her diploma.

Friday's the big night.

Tanya Cruz, 18, is graduating from Highland High School. And her dad will be in the Highland gymnasium, cheering, alongside his wife and his son.

"It's a gigantic milestone," says Cruz, 43, who ended up trading vacation with another soldier in order to be here. He was originally scheduled to come home mid-May, missing graduation by about three days.

"It's a blessing that I'm here," he says. "It's a total blessing."

Tanya's happy he made it home. "It means a lot to me," she says. "I'm glad he can be here to see my graduation."

Cruz returned last week and is still getting used to being home. It seems as soon as he's acclimated, it will be time to go back to Iraq. He's scheduled to return June 12.

But the end of the tour -- his second deployment to Iraq -- is nearing. The brigade -- including Bravo Company, is expected to come home for good sometime around the second week of August. The brigade, which is based at the Yakima Training Center, numbers about 3,400.

"There's no exact date yet," says John Rimel, coordinator of Yakima's National Guard's Family Assistance Center. "I wouldn't expect them any sooner than the middle of August."

This is the second tour in Iraq for more than half of the soldiers of the 81st Brigade, made up of reservists, men and women who have families and regular jobs but dedicate a weekend a month and two weeks a year to train.

*******

This week isn't about war. This week, the Cruz family is together again.

Twelve-year-old Isaak wants to throw the ball around in the yard with his dad, maybe have a BB gun fight, go on a bike ride, and catch a movie.

After a weekend away on the Olympic Peninsula -- just Angela and Otto -- the couple is looking forward to relaxing around the house with the kids, some low-key family time.

And Tanya, who's planning to attend Yakima Valley Community College and hopes to get a job at a day-care center -- "I love working with kids," she says -- is looking forward to going out to dinner with her family in honor of her graduation.

"We'll go where she wants to go, her choice," her dad says.

She already has a restaurant in mind: "I love the Olive Garden."

A week after graduation, her dad will be leaving again.

The brigade first deployed during 2004 and 2005, two of the deadliest years of the war in Iraq. Nearly 850 U.S. troops died each of those years.

Since then, the casualty rate has declined considerably. Halfway through this year, nearly 90 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.

With the end of their 12 months of active duty in sight, soldiers of the 81st are already making plans and anticipating their homecoming. At the same time, Rimel says, "they're still focused on the mission.

"It's still a dangerous mission," he says. "Until they're on the plane flying home, they need to remain focused."

In all, more than 4,300 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war started in 2003.

The soldiers of the 81st are in the final stretch, the last 90 days, of their deployment. For some, Cruz says, the last 90 days are the most difficult, most stressful.

"It's not over until it's over," the soldier says. "We cannot get complacent."

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Bravo Company, assigned to conducting convoy security in Iraq, left the Valley last August after a send-off picnic at Selah's Wixson Park. The Cruz family was there.

Back then, Tanya was anticipating the start of her final year of high school. Isaak was gearing up for another football season. And their mother, Angela, 37, was preparing for a year of parenting and running a household without her husband.

Now, there's just two months to go.

Rimel urges families to make plans now.

"The wife has her ideas of a homecoming. The husband has his ideas of a homecoming. If the ideas clash, there's a problem," he says. "They need to have it all ironed out, so there's no hard feelings, so to speak, no misunderstanding in terms of expectations."

Plans for individual families vary.

"They're coming back toward the end of the summer, so a lot of families will leave town, take vacation -- Disneyland, Disney World, cruises, that sort of thing. Then there are some families that will stay in town and just relax."

Cruz is dreaming about what he'll do. He'd like to take his wife to Mexico, the resort city of Cabo San Lucas, in particular. And he'd like to take the kids to Disney World.

After 23 years in the Guard, he's not planning on getting out just yet, even though there's the possibility of a third tour in the Middle East.

"I would go again, yes," he says. "A lot of sacrifices have to be made for freedom."

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