US army families feel the strain

By Ian Pannell
BBC news, Fort Stewart, Georgia

It is a hot, steamy afternoon in Georgia and anticipation fills the air.

Reunions are reserved for the lucky

The stands are already packed with children clutching multi-coloured balloons, babies in stars and stripes jump-suits being cuddled, lovers clutching red roses and parents parading photos.

Behind the stands, two women with shiny faces struggle against the elements to paint a face fit for a returning hero.

Some of the boys and girls from the 3rd Infantry Division are finally home.

The band strikes up, the speeches are made and finally the crowds surge across the parade ground for a welcome home like no other.

President George W Bush has long since declared the war over - increasingly his country, the troops and their families do not believe it

These are incredibly moving and emotional reunions but they are also reserved for the lucky ones.

Continued instability in Iraq has kept more than 10,000 of their unit comrades still serving and fighting.

Their homecoming has been put on hold.

The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, told the Senate Armed Services Committee recently that the 3rd Infantry Division would have to stay longer than expected in Iraq.

The reaction at Fort Stewart, Georgia, has not been good.

Painful wait

Cheeks stained by tears, 14-year-old Britney gasps for composure as she rages against the realities of military life on the home front.

She and her younger sister Leonie put away their "Welcome Home Papi" banner... here will not be any celebrations just yet.

I feel they've done their part over and over and over again, and they're being disappointed Dianna Molina soldier's wife

Dad is Sergeant Kenneth Molina, a platoon leader currently stationed in Falluja.

The town north of Baghdad has become synonymous with anti-US resistance in Iraq.

After more than nine months in the region, he was due to leave this month but continued instability has put the plans for a grand homecoming on hold.

Last Saturday the call came through to the quiet house on the outskirts of Fort Stewart.

Dianna Molina says this is a nightmare she and her daughters cannot wake up from.

Many find the extended tour of duty of a loved one hard to deal with

Although they accept that they are a military family and with that come times of sacrifice, they also feel betrayed.

"I feel they've done their part over and over and over again and they're being disappointed," says Dianna.

She knows that every day he stays on, his life is in danger.

The hardest part of all, is telling her two daughters that "Papi" is not on his way home:

Britney expresses her frustration: "They keep telling us this date and then they say it's going to be another date."

Dianna wipes away the tears rolling down Britney's cheeks. Leonie, too, begins to cry.

Nagging doubts

Assuming his homecoming is not delayed again, Kenneth Molina will have been away for a year by the time he gets back.

"He's missing out everything like the main parts of our lives. I feel like it's not fair for him," his daughter says.

Telegraph poles adorned with yellow ribbons and business awnings eulogising "our heroes of the 3rd ID" tell a bigger picture of the deep patriotism and intense loyalty of local people.

Few, if any, have criticisms about the war in Iraq, but doubts about what passes for peace are growing.

There is unease at the almost daily deaths of US servicemen and their evolving role in the country.

The anger expressed by some army families is not universal but neither is it possible to ignore.

President George W Bush has long since declared the war over - increasingly his country, the troops and their families do not believe it.