Husband And Wife Military Family Deals With Deployment

Jessica and Fred Woodruff are back together after Fred's first-ever deployment to Iraq ended in late October.

“I really missed a lot of things with the kids, the start of the school you know, summer vacations,” says Technical Sergeant Fred Woodruff. He says he passed the time through phone calls and e-mails with Jessica and their two children Bailey and Weston.

“Because you want to make sure you stay involved with the kids and the family life and you want to make sure that they're staying active and involved,” says Fred. For the remaining family left behind, they've got to learn how to adapt quickly.

“I think that you have to take everything with stride meaning I think the thing that kept our kids close is that during that separation you are living two different lives, says Fred’s wife, Master Sergeant Jessica Woodruff. Jessica works at the Airmen and Family Readiness Center at Keesler Air Force Base. She went from helping families split by deployment to becoming one.

“Meaning I knew exactly what they were talking about when they said everything's going to break as soon as he leaves and it does, we have a house and you don't realize how much you're partner really did until he left,” says Jessica. She says it was tough keeping a brave front at home while worrying about Fred overseas.

“So I kind of had to keep a nice brow about it and not let my kids know that I was upset because then obviously they'd get upset,” says Jessica. The Woodruffs say they're happy to be reunited and will be ready if the call of duty comes again. The Woodruffs are just one small part of tonight’s hometown tour. We’ll broadcast live from Keesler Air Force Base at 6pm for our final “Salute to the Troops” of the season.