Seabee’s Wife Counts on His Vow to Come Back Home Safely

Sandy Clary is surprisingly cheerful, considering her situation. Her husband, Terry, a Navy Seabee from Port Hueneme, has been in Saudi Arabia since September.

She fields questions daily from her two young daughters, who wonder when their father is coming home. “Soon,” she tells them, but she doesn’t know. No one does.

As hopes dim of settling the conflict in the Middle East without war, there are plenty of reasons for Clary to feel down. But she has faith that her husband will return safely. She simply will not allow herself to think otherwise.

“I have no doubt he’s coming back,” Clary said at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Monday. She paused, then added, “He promised he would.”

On the eve of the deadline for Iraq to pull out of Kuwait, the attitude on the base was upbeat. There are now 1,200 Seabees from Port Hueneme in the Middle East.

“It’s human nature to hope for the best,” said Barbara Conlee, the director of the Navy Family Center, which offers counseling to Seabees and their families. “From what we’ve seen, the wives have very positive attitudes.”

When the buildup in the Middle East started five months ago, family center officials stepped up their counseling efforts to assist Seabee wives and children.

“We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re alone,” she said.

And so far the response has been good. About 15 women attend a special support group twice a month. She said the meetings have helped the wives deal with the uncertainty of the situation.

Clary, 29, said she knew when she married her husband four years ago that he would be traveling a lot on Navy missions, but, “You never think this is going to happen,” she said of the potential for war in the gulf.

When she first learned that her husband’s battalion was being sent to Saudi Arabia to build watchtowers, tents and other facilities, she was scared. But Clary said being frightened got her nowhere, especially with two children to take care of.

She decided not to watch as much TV coverage of the gulf situation. “There’s a lot of false rumors out there,” she said. And she pledged to occupy her time with work, family and friends. She talks to her husband twice a month on the phone and writes every week.

“I keep myself busy,” said Clary, who works as a clerk at the base.

Clary said she supports the U.S. efforts in the gulf and is angry about the growing number of protests.

“Right now their morale is high,” Clary said of her husband’s battalion. “I stand behind the U.S. . . . and I expect everyone else to.”

On the eve of the deadline, Clary had a special plan--to paint welcome-home signs for her husband and the other members of his battalion. After all, she said, it’s only a matter of time until they get home.