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Dwan Fairbanks was at her supervisor’s job at the Best Buy store in Clarksville, Tenn., near the sprawling Fort Campbell Army base when her cell phone rang. Her husband, Jake, was in Iraq, in the middle of his second combat deployment. Her four children were at home, enjoying a day off from school.
It was Fairbanks’ 9-year-old daughter, Katelin, calling. Two soldiers in "Army greens," the uniform worn on official occasions, had come to the door. Obeying their mother’s instructions for when they were home alone, the kids did not answer the door. The soldiers went away.
They would be back.
Dwan and Jacob Fairbanks were both from the East Side of St. Paul. Jake graduated from Johnson High School in 2004. Dwan went to Harding. They met after Jake joined the Army and was assigned to the 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border. They clicked right away.
"He was my strength in everything I was weak at," Dwan says. "We just connected. I was a single mom, and I was happy with the way things were for me. But he swept me off my feet."
Dwan, 28, was six years older than Jake and already had three children — Alexander, who is 11, Katelin, 9, and David, 5. The blended family bonded tightly, and Dwan says Jake was "an amazing parent for my kids."
They married in August 2005, before he deployed to Iraq the first time. Dwan got pregnant when Jake came home on a brief R&R visit a few months later, and the couple’s daughter, Kayla, was born after Jake returned from the war.
Kayla, 17 months old now, seemed always to be in Jake’s arms. He called her "Tati Baby" ("tati" was her word for pacifier). But being a father can change the emotional equation for a soldier. After Jake got word that his unit was being re-deployed to Iraq, for 15 months this time, a feeling of dread came over him.

startribune.com

Derrick Farley, a 29-year-old Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., has seen many people die. He served in Iraq for three year-long tours of duty with only six-month breaks between them. He remembers driving trucks along the dirt roads of Tikrit, ever alert for telltale signs of a sniper or the sudden blast of a hidden roadside bomb. His vehicle, he said, was hit 13 times.
After he returned home from his last tour, it was often the less tense moments from Iraq that ran through his mind. For months, he had nightmares during which he screamed out in Arabic as he relived run-ins with detainees. At times, the sound of shots ringing out from the firing range at Fort Bragg would launch him right back onto the roads of Iraq.
Farley is far from alone: A Rand study released last month said 20 percent of the approximately 1.6 million U.S. military personnel who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
But recently Farley has found a way to quell the symptoms of PTSD. Instead of allowing his mind to flash back to the roadside carnage, the truck driver pictures himself sitting on a yoga mat at the District’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center, taking deep, relaxing breaths.
The techniques Farley learned there from yoga teacher Robin Carnes help him to realize that he’s "actually here on Fort Bragg and not in Iraq," he explained by phone from the base.
‘They’re Not as Angry’
The Specialized Care Program at Walter Reed focuses on helping service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan leave their wartime experiences behind.
Yoga, Carnes said, has become a large part of that effort.
In conjunction with a team of psychologists, a physical therapist, two nurses, a social worker and a general internist, Carnes has worked with hundreds of service members.

washingtonpost.com

NEW YORK - (Business Wire) Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AAA’ rating to Monmouth County, NJ’s (the county) approximately $30,645,000 general obligation (GO) refunding bonds, series 2008. The bonds are scheduled to sell competitively on Feb. 21, with Public Resources Advisory Group, NY acting as financial advisor. The bonds are secured by the county’s full faith and credit pledge and are payable from ad valorem taxes without limitation as to rate or amount. Bond proceeds will be used to refinance outstanding GO debt with an estimated net present value savings exceeding 3% of the refunded par. Fitch has also affirmed the following ‘AAA’ ratings:
–$355.7 million outstanding GO bonds.
Monmouth County Improvement Authority
–$65.2 million GO county college, reclamation center and county guaranteed debt (all of which are self supporting).
The Rating Outlook is Stable.
The ‘AAA’ rating reflects the county’s solid financial management resulting in continued strong operations and financial flexibility, stable growth in its wealthy tax base, and low direct debt levels with rapid amortization. The county continues to experience positive employment growth, and unemployment levels are well below the state average. Fund balances continued to grow in 2007 based on unaudited figures due to the county’s conservative budget practices, expenditure controls, and healthy flow of revenue driven by an expanding property tax base. The county’s capital plan has grown, but remains affordable, and although primarily bond-funded, debt levels should remain moderate given the county’s conservative policies including rapid amortization rates.
The county is located along the northern Atlantic Ocean shore of New Jersey, 50 miles outside New York City. The 2000 census revealed an 11.3% population increase over that of 1990, and the 2005 estimate of 635,952 is on par with state growth trends. Wealth levels remain strong as demonstrated in the county’s high market value per capita of $200,212 in 2008, up 6.7% over last year following 14% growth from 2006 to 2007. While the health care and retail sectors still dominate private employment, strong gains in the real estate, wholesale and leisure and hospitality sectors are evident. The county’s unemployment rate of 3.6% in December 2007 remains below the state and national averages, at 4.1% and 5%, respectively, although did grow from the December 2006 figure of 3.3%.
The face of the county’s largest employers will change over the next few years with the planned closure of Fort Monmouth. The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Commission, with local, state, and county representation, is exploring redevelopment options and Fitch Ratings believes the county’s ability to withstand the base closure is strong as the economy is deeply diversified providing opportunities for the highly skilled displaced employees. In addition, demand for land in the area of Fort Monmouth is high. The 5,500 primarily civilian employees at the base represent a relatively small portion of the county’s overall labor force, which totaled 333,048 in December 2007.
The county’s financial position is strong, with 2006 unreserved fund balance at $85.8 million, or 18.9% of expenditures. While the county realized a small surplus and the unreserved fund balance was still strong, it dropped as a percentage of spending from 19.4% in 2005. Despite consistent budgeting of reserves, surplus operations occur consistently supported by conservative budgeting and effective expenditure controls. Unaudited 2007 results indicate another surplus keeping the unreserved fund balance at a strong 17.8% of spending, although below the same ratio for 2006. The county’s wealthy property tax base has expanded steadily and remains primarily residential at 84%. With the revaluation of existing property and new construction property values continue grew at double digit rates through 2007, 2008 estimates show a slowing to an annual growth rate of 6.7%.
The county’s direct debt burden is low at $542 per capita and 0.29% of EV. Debt levels are more moderate on an overall basis, with debt per capita at $2,943 and 1.57% of EV. Pursuant to county resolution, debt is amortized very rapidly, providing ample capacity in future years for continued capital investment. Amortization rates are comfortably above the 70% policy, with more than 93% retired in 10 years.
Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency’s public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch’s code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code of Conduct’ section of this site.
Fitch Ratings, New York

earthtimes.org