Ohio stepfather, son deploying overseas on same day

HUBER HEIGHTS, OHIO — A Huber Heights family with strong military ties will send two members into a combat zone

Ellie Carr said Wednesday her husband and son, both members of the Ohio Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, are preparing to deploy Saturday to Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Ellie Carr’s husband, 1st Sgt. Robert Carr — expected to be promoted to the rank of sergeant major this week — will head to Afghanistan, while her son, Pfc. Dustin McReynolds, will take off for Iraq. Both will be gone for a year.

“We found out first my husband was deploying to Afghanistan,” Ellie Carr said.

She said her son enlisted in 2016 and completed basic training in January -- this will be his first deployment.

“It worried me a little bit at the time because I really didn’t want … my son being so new in the military, I was worried about him,” Ellie Carr said.

Ellie Carr said some of that worry has since subsided after meeting her son’s chain of command.

“They’re a great group of people; I’m thrilled he’s going with them,” she said.

During the next year, Ellie Carr said she’ll be going through major life changes as well.

She quit her job of 10 years working in logistics to enroll full-time in nursing school. She said it’s been a dream of hers.

“This will definitely keep me busy,” Ellie Carr said. “It’s just going to be me and my dog,” Lexi, a miniature Australian Shepherd.

Robert Carr, who previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, and McReynolds are just two of more than 2 million military service members who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001.

“It makes me proud,” Ellie Carr said.

She said her family has a strong military history. Her father, who recently died, retired from the Army after 25 years, she said.

“It was natural,” she said, of her son joining the military. “If you’ve never been around it, it’s different. Military families are unique.”

Ellie Carr said holidays will be the toughest part of her husband and son deploying, especially because her immediate family is out of state.

Come Saturday, “The emotions are going to be running crazy. I’ve been trying to be strong,” Ellie Carr said.

The family plans to Skype and write letters to stay in contact. And Ellie Carr said her son will be getting plenty of deliveries of Airheads and Zebra Cakes.

Cox Media Group