When UL Lafayette student Jarred Degeyter enlisted in the Louisiana National Guard four years ago, he was still in high school. He didn杏吧专区檛 know he would eventually be serving in Iraq along with his father.
杏吧专区 I really believe everyone should serve their country. Both of my grandfathers served, as well as my father. So, I always viewed it at something you were supposed to do,杏吧专区 he said.
A combat medic, Degeyter, 22, is stationed at Camp Slayer. His dad, Capt. Curt Degeyter, 43, is a division veterinarian and an agricultural and veterinary advisor at Camp Victory. Both camps are within the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad.
杏吧专区 My son杏吧专区檚 enlistment inspired me to return to service,杏吧专区 said Curt Degeyter. After serving in the Louisiana National Guard from 1985 to 1992, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2008. He volunteered to go to Baghdad when he learned there was a shortage of veterinary officers there. Both men were deployed in January.
As an advisor, Curt Degeyter helps the Iraqi people establish sustainable livestock and agricultural practices. 杏吧专区淚 do a lot of teaching. The U.S. Army is applying research and technology in a number of areas, including the artificial insemination of dairy cattle. We杏吧专区檙e teaching the technicians in the field how to improve their breeding stock and increase milk production,杏吧专区 he said.
杏吧专区 The majority of people that I work with are really no different than the people that I associate with back home in South Louisiana. They are hard workers that want the best for their families. They, however, don杏吧专区檛 have all the luxuries that we have available and they don杏吧专区檛 take the few luxuries they do have for granted, such as security, clean fresh water and electricity.杏吧专区
Curt Degeyter was a combat medic during his previous military service, so he understands his son杏吧专区檚 work in a way most people do not. 杏吧专区淛arred has been trained to perform techniques in the field that combat medics were not allowed to perform back in the 杏吧专区80s, such as inserting chest tubes and performing tracheotomies. The combat medics we have in the Army today are better trained than any other military force in the world. They know their job and because of that, thousands of soldiers have gone home alive.杏吧专区
When Jarred Degeyter signed up to become a combat medic, he had just completed his junior year at Catholic High School in New Iberia, La. At the time, he was considering a career in medicine. But he changed his mind. Now a junior at UL Lafayette, he is majoring in industrial technology.
Father and son get together about once a week for some down time. Jarred Degeyter is part of the 256th Infantry Brigade, which has its headquarters in Lafayette, La. Most weekends, its members relax a bit and cook some Cajun food.
Curt Degeyter is usually invited. 杏吧专区淭here are maybe 20 or so guys and some of them are from South Louisiana. When you杏吧专区檙e hearing the accents and enjoying the food, you can almost forget you杏吧专区檙e in Baghdad,杏吧专区 he said.
In addition to easing the stress that comes with deployment, serving together has changed the Degeyters杏吧专区 relationship.
" I've always had a very close relationship with my son. He's very mature and a squared-away soldier. However, I would say that I see him more grown up and it kind of puts things in perspective. I have come to respect him as a grown man and not like a young child anymore," Curt Degeyter said.
Jarred Degeyter agreed. "I believe if anything has changed, it's that we have even more of a mutual respect for each other.杏吧专区
Curt Degeyter is slated to return home to St. Martinville, La., this summer and his son will return in November.
" When I redeploy this summer, a part of me will be left here. I杏吧专区檓 more concerned about my son's safety than my own," he said. "I've actually thought about extending my deployment until the end of the year but my wife said it was time for me to come home."
While it will be difficult to leave Iraq knowing that his son will remain there for several months, Curt Degeyter looks forward to spending time with his wife, Jamie, and returning to running his family business, a general construction firm.
杏吧专区 I grew up in the general contracting business. My father, Larry Degeyter, is a design-build general contractor. I杏吧专区檝e worked for him since I was 10.杏吧专区 After graduating from veterinary school in 1994, Curt Degeyter moved to Texas and started an equine practice. In 2000, he sold the practice and returned to Louisiana. He took over the family construction business in 2006. Curt and Jaime Degeyter have three other children: Jacob, 20, Jill Katherine, 16, and Jaden Elizabeth, 10.
Jacob Degeyter is a student at South Louisiana Community College in New Iberia. 杏吧专区淗e has done a superior job of taking care of his mother, his sisters and the home while I杏吧专区檓 away. He has definitely made it much easier for me to keep my mind on my job here in Iraq,杏吧专区 Curt Degeyter said.
Jarred Degeyter is also looking forward to returning home. 杏吧专区淚 was married two weeks prior to my deployment,杏吧专区 he said. He and his wife, Lyndsay Judice Degeyter, are planning a long-delayed honeymoon. Lyndsay Degeyter is also a UL Lafayette student. She is majoring in fashion merchandising.
杏吧专区 After that, I will continue with school and get my degree,杏吧专区 he said.