Five years later and still married to the military.
Susanna Weyburn, a lab technician in the biology department, has stood by faithfully for the past five years as her husband, Aaron Weyburn, a senior in Middle Eastern studies, has served in the U.S. Army as a member of multiple units, including the 2nd Ranger Battalion, with experience in Korea, Aghanistan and Iraq.
After a two-month courtship, he proposed, and four days later they were married, in December 2004. Shortly after their marriage, in March, he was deployed with his battalion to Afghanistan.
“It’s not fun having a husband in a war zone, no matter how safe he says he is,” Susanna Weyburn said.
At one point during his employment, a bomb went off near his location, hitting Aaron Weyburn’s trailer with shrapnel &- a detail he didn’t mention to his wife until he had already come home because of the sensitivity of his mission and all information involved.
With so much stress surrounding his military life, Susanna Weyburn said she did her best to conceal the stresses of everyday life from him.
“You try to keep it positive in the homefront,” she said.
Susanna Weyburn said she turned to her sister, Karen Elliott, whose husband has served as a chief warrant officer for the past 15 years, for advice on how to cope with the separation from her husband. Elliott told Susanna Weyburn to stay busy, avoid news on the war and ignore gossip of other Army wives concerning the whereabouts of their husbands, which was kept secret because of the nature of their operation.
Susanna Weyburn started a nonprofit organization called Real Army Wives, Inc., which helps educate wives of military personnel about maintaining good credit scores, lowering debt and planning for retirement. The organization encourages “me time” and further education to help keep wives in healthy mindsets while their husbands are away.
“It’s something I want to do because I know that it’s a need that exists,” she said.
In June 2005, Aaron Weyburn returned home and, with the Army behind him, decided to pursue an education at the U where he could be close to his family.
When the couple discussed the future, the military wasn’t in the plan. Aaron Weyburn was planning to learn Arabic and become an independent contractor, which would allow him to be involved with the military but have the ability to decide whether to be deployed.
While at the U, however, Aaron Weyburn was convinced to join the U’s ROTC program by a former comrade with whom he had served in Afghanistan. Susanna Weyburn said she resisted supporting the decision.
“This was not what I wanted, this was not on the radar,” she said. “It took a while to understand that when he decided to become an officer, it did not mean that he loved his country more than he loved me, because that was how I originally felt.”
Aaron Weyburn’s decision to join ROTC came only one month after the birth of their first daughter, Coleen Weyburn.
The couple is already planning how to cope in case he is deployed again. Susanna Weyburn said she plans to videotape the family and special events and to use online video conferencing in order to maintain a more personal communication.
After he graduates in August 2010, the Weyburns will move to New Mexico temporarily and then to Germany.
“I’ve never traveled to Europe, so I’m very excited,” Susanna Weyburn said.
Editor’s Note — This article has been edited to include a clarification of Aaron Weyburn’s military experience.