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Northland service family receives strong support

For more than two centuries American soldiers and their families have been called to make sacrifices in the name of freedom.

Doug Gibson of Kansas City North knows just how fluid that freedom can be.

The major in the U.S. Army National Guard returned from Kosovo earlier this year after close to a year’s deployment.

There, the country’s people are still learning to live with their relatively newfound freedom.

“For some I got the feeling that it was just too challenging. It was just too much, too quick, too soon,” he said. “For when you have that freedom, you do end up with more responsibility. You’re not just counting on someone else to take care of you.”

In America, where people have lived with freedom for so long, he said there is still a lesson to be remembered.

“It’s a huge sacrifice on the front end to make the change, to make it happen,” he said. “Most people, though, don’t think about how that must continue for freedom to stay strong and not go away.”

As for his unit’s specific duties in Kosovo, Gibson cited two in particular.

“We helped maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement,” he said. “Those were our big things.”

It was not the first time he has served.

Gibson was in the Army for six years after college.

“We were married our senior year,” his wife, Wanda, said.

Their first two children, Courtney, 16, and Taylor, 14, were born in Europe, the destination of a recent vacation during spring break, after Doug’s return. Timothy, 12, and Camryn, 9, are the couple’s other two children.

“We had always told them we’d take them over there,” Wanda said. “It was the right time.”

Doug recalled the time the family had been there before.

“We moved six times in six years,” he said. “For us it was challenging professionally and personally, but it really helped us to become a family that could count on each other.”

That was important with the last deployment, where the Gibsons faced the challenges that come with the rapid transition from civilian life to active duty.

“This was different, very different,” Wanda said. “We had about six weeks to prepare; there was a lot to do.”

That’s when a group of friends stepped in.

“Families adopted us each month,” Wanda said. “They also gave us a go-to list with families I could call (with different areas of expertise).”

That list would prove invaluable when a storm door was blown off the back of the house on Father’s Day 2008 and one day when plumbing assistance was needed for a leaking pipe in the basement.

The families also provided meals two to three times a month as well as gift cards.

Further assistance came from the staff at Shoal Creek Elementary.

Doug, an IT manager for Cardinal Health when not on active duty, also credited his employer for the support he received.

“They were great about working with me,” he said. “They went above and beyond.”

Both are very grateful and hopeful that through sharing their story other service families will receive the same kind of support.

“It was incredible,” Wanda said. “God totally took care of every need we had.”

a call to serve

Doug and Wanda Gibson said there are many ways to support families with service members overseas.

Call on a regular basis.

- “It’s good to know that people remember what you’re going through, that they care,” Wanda said.

Follow up on your calls.

- “It’s good to say, ‘I can help,’” Doug said. “Come behind it then with, ‘I can do this

for you, I can do that.’”

Bring friends and neighbors together to assist the family

- “All it takes is one person to organize it,” Wanda said.

Send packages to those overseas

- “Packages were always nice, especially with anything homemade in them,” Doug said. “Hometown newspapers and handwritten notes are also good to get.”

Senior writer Mark Johnson can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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