FORT BRAGG, N.C. — 3,000 additional Fort Bragg soldiers are being deployed to the Middle East. This comes in the aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump.
The troops are in addition to about 750 Fort Bragg soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division who deployed to Kuwait on New Year's Day. They were called to duty after an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Ronald Moeller said his son is one of the 750 original soldiers deployed, and he couldn't be prouder.
"He’s in the 82nd Airborne First Brigade Combat Team, he’s a Platoon Sergeant," Moeller stated.
Moeller said his son has been stationed at Fort Bragg for nearly 10 years. Their entire family has a military background.
"We were very proud of him to follow in our footsteps and he enjoys it, he’s doing what he loves."
Again, the Moeller's are a family of service, so they know the drill: expect the unexpected. But Ronald said he was still in shock when he got the phone call from his son, saying he was headed for the Middle East.
"He called me at 7:30 my time here in the black hills {South Dakota} on New Years Eve as he was driving into work saying ‘we just got alerted I'm going in, I don’t know what’s up,' because he hadn’t heard the news yet about the Embassy attack."
It was a quick goodbye.
"Our conversation got cut short because his First Sergeant was calling him to give him instructions I’m sure, and our last words together were we loved each other."
Moeller says deployments are hard on military families, especially sudden deployment.
"It's never a good time to deploy and most of the service families have gotten very used to their family member who's in the service knowing about a deployment months ahead of time so everyone can prepare," Moeller explained. "It’s different with a sudden deployment, there's always that initial shock but then again, pride."
All Moeller can do is wait for his son to return. He says he trusts in his training and skills.
"I hope the bad people out there realize we’re sending America’s best," Moeller stated confidently. "I’m real proud of him and I’m glad he was able to take part in this historic deployment."
