Allie Evans will celebrate her first Mother’s Day tomorrow with her 6-week-old son, Gideon.
As the two mark the milestone, however, Allie will be looking forward to Mother’s Day 2016, when she and the baby can celebrate the holiday with her husband and Gideon’s father, Spc. Jake Evans, currently stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the Colorado National Guard.
‘He’s excited to come back home,? said Allie, who expects her family to be reunited this fall. ‘He won’t miss any milestones, Gideon will start crawling when he gets home, he shouldn’t miss too much. It’s great being a mom, I love it. He’s wonderful, not a fussy baby.?
Gideon’s Dad isn’t the only one in the family serving his country. Allie is a specialist in geo-spacial imagery in the Army. The couple started dating while they were students at Brandon High School. Jake graduated in 2010 and joined the Michigan National Guard. Allie graduated in 2011, the pair married in July of 2012 and she joined the Army in 2013.
‘There wasn’t a reason behind it, just, ‘Why not??? said Allie. ‘We didn’t mind being apart for the training, that wasn’t a big deal to us.?
When Allie finished training and was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo., Jake transferred to the Colorado National Guard. As a member of the National Guard, he commits to one weekend per month with the Guard, as well as two weeks of training per year. Last October, they learned he was going to be deployed with Guantanamo Bay with the 193rd Military Police Battalion, assigned to the Joint Task Force Guantanamo in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The mission is to conduct safe, humane, legal, and transparent care and custody of detainees.
At the time they learned of his deployment, Allie was starting her second trimester of pregnancy.
‘Expecting a baby is not a legitimate reason to not deploy,? she said. ‘I found out I was expecting in July, and then we found out he was deploying. We didn’t really plan it.?
The couple feels fortunate that Jake was allowed to take leave for the birth of their son. An induction was planned for medical reasons, and Jake arrived a few days before the birth of their first child. Gideon Brent Evans was born at 9:06 p.m., March 23, at Evans Army Hospital in Fort Carson, Colo. He weighed 8 pounds and was 19 inches long.
‘Getting to come home was very exciting, there is nothing like being there for the birth of your first child especially with how difficult it was to arrange the timing, and I’m thankful I have good leaders that were able to make that happen for us,? said Jake in an e-mail to The Citizen. ‘The eight days I got to spend with my family was priceless, and I would pay to do it again. Going back to Cuba was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do, but it had to be done. The way I looked at it was I came home and did what I was supposed to do and now I have a job so its time to go back and accomplish the mission. That’s been my mentality with everything since I’ve been here and it’s been working out very well for me, the time is flying by.?
Jake writes that his days are fast-paced and stressful, but at the end of the day he and his fellow Guard members get to go back to their rooms, talk with their families and go to the gym or enjoy other hobbies. He plays in the flag football league, and also has a wide variety of other activities available including snorkeling, boating, scuba diving, and paintball. He is anxious to get home, however.
‘So far the only challenge has been the distance and time,? he said. ‘I am not going to be able to see firsthand of what happens these first early months, so I rely on my wife who sends me pictures and videos every day of him and that is what has really been helping making me feel like I’m not missing out. Coming home is going to be glorious, I’m going to make up for those months of not being able to be there for him or my wife and be the best possible Dad I can be. What I have to look forward to is not missing another moment of my son’s childhood, of course that’s if Uncle Sam doesn’t come a knockin? again, and the money is really nice, so hopefully we can get a few vacations in when I get home.?
Proud grandparents of Gideon are John and Kelly Evans of Brandon Township and Brent and Gerilynn Miller, also of Brandon Twonship. Great-grandparents are Kathleen Hickey of Ortonville, Carolyn Blay of North Branch, John and Carolyn Evans of Corning Ark., Judy Miller of California and Claire Miller of Fairbanks, Alaska.