Military family gets good news

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 29, 2003

WOODVILLE &045; For Wyvonna Kettley, the prospect of a second war with Iraq has been a

rollercoaster of emotional turns.

In 1992, the Woodville native was called to active duty, stationed with an Army transportation unit in Saudi Arabia.

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And for the last two weeks, her 30-year-old husband, Robert, was on stand-by at Fort Stewart, Ga., attached to the 296th Transportation Unit and awaiting transfer to the Middle East.

But just at the end of President Bush’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Kettley’s phone rang.

It was Robert.

&uot;They told them today that they had been taken off the list,&uot; said Kettley, who left the reserves in 1997 after nine years and now works as a correctional officer at Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Earlier in the day, she was resigned to accept her husband’s mobilization.

&uot;The old Bush got me, and it looks like the new Bush got him,&uot; she said.

The mother of two is now hopeful that her husband will be home soon.

&uot;The girls are close to their daddy, especially my baby, and it affects them,&uot; Kettley said. &uot;I understand why the president wants to do this to protect us, but this is my husband, and it’s hard on us,&uot; she said.

The Kettleys met in the Army reserves and married five years ago.

Robert is a self-employed truck driver.