CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait –
When deployed Chief Warrant Officer 3 Sandra Williams misses her son, Alex, she doesn’t have to do math to figure out what time it is where he is located before calling him. Because they are deployed together in support of Operation Spartan Shield, the mother-son combo not only share the same moon – they share the same time zone.
“It never occured to me I'd be lucky enough to deploy with him,” the elder Williams, a human resource technician based out of Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, said. Although Alex is 50 miles away at Ali Al Salem Air Base, the distance is close enough that on Sunday, Williams is a bus ride away from seeing him for dinner.
Spc. Williams, who serves as a missile and radar technician, said while friends and fellow Soldiers make a big deal out of his mother being on a deployment with him, he does not.
“For me, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “I feel really lucky, though, and it allows me to focus because she’s my anchor.”
During a recent visit to Ali Al Salem Air Base, the Williams spent time catching up at a local United Service Organization, played some ping-pong and had fruit smoothies, which Alex insisted he pay for. Yet, in between these light moments also exists a bond for both as they can come to work knowing the other is close by, they said.
His mom plays such an integral part of his life, in fact, that Williams joined the Army because of her.
“When I was younger, I saw how busy she was and didn’t want to join the Army,” he said. “But life changes you, and I saw that serving the Army can be beneficial to me.”
“It's comforting to have him in the vicinity," Williams said. "Going through this experience together will be something we can share for years to come."