Groveland Twp.-Air Force Technical Sgt. Mackenzie Lombardo spent Christmas this year at the the Groveland Township home of her parents, Terry and Rick Geary.
She was happy to be there and they were happy to have her and their two grandchildren, Mackenzie’s daughters Addison, 3, and Riley, 2, for the holiday. But the family wasn’t complete. As difficult as it may be to arrange for military leave for one family member, it is twice as hard for two. Mackenzie’s husband, Patrick Lombardo, is also an Air Force technical sergeant and currently is deployed to Balad, Iraq.
The couple has been married for almost five years, and, Mackenzie estimates, they have spent maybe half of that time actually together.
‘In the five years we’ve been married, there’s been a lot of back and forth, gone and away, with school, deployments, and temporary duty,? she shrugs. ‘We knew what we were getting into.?
What they didn’t quite plan for was to have two children while they were both serving. Their daughters were ‘surprise? pregnancies and while the Air Force tries to make sure married couples with children are not deployed at the same time, the Lombardos are required to have a family care plan in place. Mackenzie’s parents and Patrick’s parents are both on the plan.
Mackenzie, 30, joined the Air Force eight years ago because she wanted an education and to travel. She met Patrick, also 30, in 2002, when both were stationed at the Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. They married two years later in 2004, she reenlisted, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since.
Both were working on their degrees that year, when he got orders to Greenland for a year. She was later deployed to Baghdad for 110 days. As she was on her way home from the desert, Patrick received orders to Guam. The pair had leave to go to Chicago where Patrick’s parents live, for two weeks, then they returned to Alaska for two weeks before Patrick left for his new station. Soon after the leave, Mackenzie was surprised to learn she was pregnant, but she only had two months left in Alaska before she could join her husband in Guam, where she knew they would stay for two years.
‘My career field (human resources) doesn’t deploy much, so I wasn’t concerned then,? Mackenzie said.
Addison was born in June 2005 at the Naval Station hospital in Guam and both sets of grandparents visited.
Mackenzie learned she was pregnant with Riley, another surprise, while taking an Air Force class in Japan. Riley was also born in Guam, but the family arrived back in the U.S. and their new duty station at Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Miss. in December 2006.
Mackenzie deployed to Iraq the day after Christmas in 2007, leaving the children with their father.
‘It was my first deployment since they were born,? she said. ‘I knew Pat was going to be home, so I was OK. The hardest part is the anticipation and knowing and thinking about it. Riley was too young, but Addison was crying and saying, ‘I don’t want you to go, Mommy,? and it was the day after Christmas.?
Mackenzie felt fortunate that Riley walked for the first time two weeks before she deployed so she didn’t miss it. It’s hard to miss firsts, but she believes deployments will be even more difficult the older the girls get, when they have a better concept of time.
While she was gone, she learned Patrick was going to be deployed. She returned in May 2008 to Mississippi, and two months later Patrick, part of the Security Forces, left.
She was relaxing the day after Christmas, at her parents? home. But the next day, the whirlwind would begin again, as she planned to drop her daughters off in Chicago with their paternal grandparents before she returned to Mississippi to take a 6-week course in Biloxi. After her course ends, she will return to Columbus for a week, pack up their home by herself, and the movers will ship everything to Alaska, where their orders put them next. But while their stuff is being moved, she will be in yet another state? Alabama, where she takes a 4-week course. Patrick will return from his deployment during this time and meet her there, and together they will fly to Chicago, reunite with their children and spend 10 days, then spend another 10 days here in Groveland before flying to Alaska, where they are on a housing waiting list. She expects to be flying to a new home with her family on April 18.
Mackenzie recently reenlisted for another four years of what may seem to be a chaotic lifestyle to some; however, it makes sense to her and she plans to serve in the Air Force at least 20 years until she is eligible for retirement, and perhaps maybe even after that.
‘I don’t mind deployment,? she said. ‘A lot of people don’t like it and don’t want to do it, but it’s the reason I joined and am still in. It’s harder with kids, but a lot of things have changed. When I joined (the Air Force) it changed me as a person. I believe in what we’re doing over there, what we’re doing for the people and the countries… I hope to teach my chidlren that if you believe in something you should go for it and fight for what you believe in.?