Ruppersberger: Military Should Pay for Trips Home for Soldiers Deployed in Egypt

Marisa Buckholdt brought her two children, 2-month-old Khloe and 2-year-old Caiden, to the SGM Jerome Grollman Armory in Dundalk Wednesday morning. Her husband, Cpl. Kenneth Buckholdt, serves in the Maryland National Guard and was recently deployed to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as part of a peacekeeping mission associated with the Camp David accords.

The 24-year-old mom and her young children came to support Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger’s effort to make sure Buckholdt's husband can return home when he takes leave later this year.

Currently, the Buckholdts—not the U.S. military—are responsible for paying for the round-trip airfare from Egypt, which could cost close to $2,000 around Christmas.

“They have to see their dad,” Buckholdt said. “Caiden’s 2 and he asks every day where his dad is. I tell him he’s at work, but he doesn’t understand it all.”

Surrounded by Maryland National Guard family members at a press conference inside the Dundalk armory, Ruppersberger announced that he plans to introduce an amendment next week to the National Defense Authorization Act to include Egyptian deployments in the military’s rest and recuperation absence program.

Under current U.S. law, Egypt is not included in the program, which covers expenses for troops to come home for family emergencies and for simple leave.

Currently, the program includes 17 countries. Adding Egypt would make deployments to the nation permanently part of the program.

For many Maryland National Guard families such as the Buckholdts, the decision to return home for a week or 10 days is weighed against busting the family budget, Ruppersberger said.

“We have to remember the families, too, not just the men and women that are serving,” said Ruppersberger, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

A total of 440 soldiers from four companies—Frederick, Silver Spring/White Oak, Towson and Elkton—and the headquarters company in Dundalk make up the 175th  Infantry Division. The division has been deployed to the Sinai Peninsula for one year.

About 130 soldiers are part of the headquarters company at the Dundalk Armory.

Cindy Ricklin, a Dundalk mom with an 11-year-old daughter at Sandy Plains Elementary School, said her husband, Spc. Michael Ricklin, is on his second deployment after previously serving in Iraq. She said her husband and daughter participate in the Marathon Kids program together in Baltimore, among other activities.

“That’s something that they do together that I can’t do with her,” Ricklin said, explaining that she suffers from seizures and can only work one day a week, underscoring further the need for the military to pick up the airfare costs. “The cheapest flight he found so far was $1,300, but he told me at Christmas and other times of the year the price goes up.”

Ruppersberger cautioned that he does not know if his amendment will pass, especially given the ongoing budget fights on Capitol Hill. He said if it doesn’t pass and he has to introduce a bill, the process will take much longer.

He added that he hopes Republicans and Democrats will set aside their differences in considering the amendment. He also noted that the situation in Egypt is potentially more dangerous in light of recent political developments.

“This outdated policy ignores the current dynamic of a country next to Libya and Sudan facing its first real election since the 1940s,” Ruppersberger said afterward in a statement. “It also ignores the fact that our citizen soldiers have put their lives on hold to serve our country, just like our troops elsewhere around the world. In this difficult economy, we shouldn’t be adding to the financial burden that our military families are already facing. We need to show our troops—and their families—that we are grateful for their service and sacrifice. This is one small way to do that.”

In 2003, Ruppersberger launched “Operation Hero Miles,” which encourages people to donate unused frequent flyer miles so troops and their families can receive free connecting flights home. Legislation making the program permanent was signed into law in 2004.