National Guard unit returns home

MOSES LAKE — For Staff Sgt. Jeff Cowles, having his son, Christopher, serve with him during their recent deployment to Iraq was both “a huge advantage” and a “struggle.” 

“I had a huge advantage, just by the fact my son was deployed with the company,” Jeff, of Moses Lake, said Friday. “It helped me because I had a piece of home with me.”                                            

Jeff and Christopher, of Port Orchard, returned home earlier this month with the Moses Lake-based based Bravo 1-161st Infantry Unit. Soldiers came home at various times through separate travel arrangements. A celebration of the unit’s accomplishments are being scheduled for October.

In Iraq, the father and son were able to talk to each other and hang out together at Joint Base Balad.

But the father said he tended to worry about his 20-year-old son more, whose primary job was doing convoy security as a medic assigned to a platoon.

Although they served in different platoons, Jeff, a supply sergeant, knew what Christopher was doing from day-to-day.

“I knew exactly what missions he was on,” Jeff recalled. “You tend to worry a little more about that.”

The deployment to Iraq was Jeff’s second and Christopher’s first.

Most recently, Jeff served as a supply sergeant and made sure everyone had uniforms, food and equipment.

But during his first deployment in 2003, he was a section leader and described it as a “totally different experience,” because he was on missions the whole time.

The first deployment was also longer by four months.

There were a few missions this past year, but more “to get out of the house type deal” as it becomes monotonous being in the office, he explained.

Jeff also didn’t get to be around the Iraqi people as much as last time.

Now home, Jeff says he has a few weeks off before returning to work at the Moses Lake armory.

After a year away from his wife, Lisa, he also has a list of “honey-do’s” to tackle around the house.

“It’s pretty extensive,” he noted. “I pretty much expected it.”

He added he was “glad to be home, spending time with my family again.”

Jeff comes from a family of National Guard members. In addition to his son, Jeff’s uncle, father, brother and cousin also served in the guard.

His brother and cousin both deployed with the same brigade as Jeff’s. They served with different battalions, but were in Iraq at the same time.

He didn’t see his cousin in Iraq, but did get to see his brother once.

Although he’s home, he described the weather conditions in Iraq as “hot” and said Friday was supposed to be in the mid 90s.

“That’s a nice day in Iraq,” he says. “When it was in the mid 90s, it was comfortable.”

It’s not known if he’ll return to Iraq a third time.

He knows several soldiers who have been on three deployments to Iraq, but they volunteered for the assignments.

“I expect we’ll get deployed every five years, but whether it’s Iraq or Afghanistan, I don’t know.”

According to the Washington National Guard, the 1-161st transported 110 million gallons of fuel, 600,000 tons of supplies and 120 million gallons of water throughout Iraq.