European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                S&9 Gary Mill Quot if you Ponder too much White he s gone you won t Deal with it Well Quot says Pamela Rozmajzl of Naples Italy. Handling the Home front far from Home by Effie Batman staff writer hardly before her husband had the words out of his Mouth Pamela Rozmajzl knew he was headed for Somalia. Quot i knew it. I knew it Quot said the 28-year-old Navy wife in Naples Italy whose name is pronounced Rose Mizl. Her husband Patrick a microbiologist for the naval base s environmental preventive Medicine unit left the week before Christmas. He is one of the hundreds of european based service members deployed in connection with the Relief Effort operation restore Hope. During his three year tour overseas the Navy lieutenant had been on several temporary duty assignments in Zimbabwe Mauritania and Egypt lasting from a few to several weeks. For this rotation though he had orders for 90 Days. This left his wife of five years to celebrate their daughter Rebecca s first birthday and first Christmas in a foreign country on her own for her it was a triple whammy friends and family were far away in Akron Ohio. She was tending House and Home on another continent. And her husband was in a starving and Lawless nation on a third. As far As she knew Rozmajzl was also one of the few wives from the base whose husband deployed to Somalia. When people were asked to Pray for them in Church she said Quot no one else raised their  at first she indulged in a bit of i a the Only one self pity she said. But then she remembered that separations Are a fact of life for Navy wives. Quot i was a Little caught off guard and i m a Little More nervous than when he went to the Gulf Quot she said. Quot in desert shield and desert storm there was a definite front line. Here in Somalia i feel there s immediate danger  she also says that she went through All the Normal emotions of anger and denial. Later she told herself Quot if you Ponder too much while he s gone you won t Deal with it  so while she Waits she s concentrating on caring for her daughter Fielding some of her husband s resist abilities and hoping that she will Nof have another Flat tire. It would be the 16th Flat tire since their tour in Naples began three years ago. Quot it s a Hazard of the Naples streets Quot she said noting that she has had to change one slashed tire when she had two babies in the car. Another trial is dealing with military bureaucracy said Rozmajzl who discovered the Quot ugly word dependent when her husband joined the Navy. For a registered nurse who had worked to put him through school it was a particularly bitter Pill to Swallow when the personnel finance office refused to take her Check the Day she needed to pay the rent. Although it was a joint checking account the people there run tired a Power of attorney and she did t have it with her. So far having a Friend take her daughter for several hours has been the pest thing anyone has done for her since her husband left she said. Rozmajzl bears it All in better spirits she says than when her husband deployed to the persian Gulf War. That s when a two week stint stretched into three months. Strengthened by that experience she also realizes that the work her husband is doing in Somalia is the fulfilment of a lifelong goal. Before he joined the Navy they both looked into joining the peace corps. She reminded him of that before lie left. And lie comforted her by telling her Quot think of this As bringing Christmas to the  family issues tips for winning wars fought at Home based on interviews with those who to been through it Here arc some suggestions for minding the Home front 1. Stay Busy with a variety of activities inside and outside the Home. Time will seem to go faster and you la be in better spirits. Be careful though not to work yourself into such a frenzy that you Don t have time to relax. 2. Do some kind of Volunteer work or Good deeds. Helping someone else will put your own troubles into perspective. 3. Don t stay glued to the to or just in your Home 4. Write letters. Putting concerns Down with pen and Ink helps to Point out accomplishments and challenges. Number them in Case some get lost in the mail.5. Avoid going Home to the states. Many family members who returned to the states during the persian Gulf War found themselves in civilian communities unfamiliar with the concerns of military families. They also did not receive information specific to their husband s or wife s unit that was available almost daily at overseas bases. 6. Stay in touch with the unit first sergeant or Oiler people designated As a Point of Contact. 7, make sure your name is on a Telephone tree or Chain of concern list for those without a Telephone. Then use it to Contact someone in the same situation and just say  most Likely someone will return the favor. U. Develop a sense of the ridiculous team to laugh at yourself and at life s knocks. I Lumur is the Best Medicine. Most people who have had to face repealed Long separations from their wives or husbands develop resourcefulness and self reliant e. Saturday. January 23. 1993 a the stars and stripes 17