Home from Afghanistan
Raymond Konkel said he hopes to remain home until retirement
Fifteen months is a long time to go without seeing a loved one, especially when that loved one is serving in the armed forces, and especially during a time when newspapers and television reports the deaths of U.S. soldiers every day. For one Williams family, that long wait ended recently with a joyous reunion and celebration. For the Konkel family, the 15-month absence may be the last time they have to be separated.
Raymond Konkel returned to Williams Sept. 29 after serving in Mazar-e-Sharif in the northern part of Afghanistan. Konkel, all smiles, said he is thrilled to be back home with his wife Teresa Konkel and the rest of his family.
"The grandchildren are great," he said. "I definitely missed Teresa."
Though retirement is a ways off, Konkel said he has no plans for another tour of duty overseas.
"This is going to be it, no more. I should be able to retire now," Konkel said. "Seven years from now I can retire, but I am at the bottom of the list for deployment."
Konkel served as a maintenance mentor for the Afghan Army during his recent stint abroad. When not on a tour of duty, he works regular shifts at Camp Navajo in the maintenance yards.
"I was the 209th Corps Fifth Battalion Maintenance Mentor in a town called Mazar-e-Sharif, just a small town in Afghanistan. It was big enough to have a base there," Konkel said.
Konkel served in three tours of duty, including Desert Storm, Iraq and finally Afghanistan. The latter location, he said, consisted of a number of elevation changes and rough terrain, which made military travel a tricky endeavor.
"There were drastic elevation changes. There are no roads; everything was dirt, one-track roads. It was tough traveling. To travel from (Williams) to Flagstaff, the 33 miles could take 35 minutes, there the 33 miles would take four, maybe four and a half, hours because of the terrain differences and the speeds you had to go."
Konkel said his name is close to the Afghan name for candy, which drew a lot of kids to his side during his recent posting.
"They thought they were saying candy, when they were just saying my last name. They heard Konkel and were thinking, 'Candy, candy candy,' and they just surrounded me," he said.
Since returning to Williams, Konkel has kept himself busy on a number of chores, including winterizing his daughter Naomi's home among a number of other jobs.
"I'm at about number 10 on the list," he laughed. "We made the list together, it wasn't waiting for me. I got to ride my motorcycles a couple of times, just getting back into the routine. Thursday of last week I went and signed back in at work, so the vacation is almost over."
Konkel also spent a lot of time visiting with his grandchildren during his break and was surprised at how they had grown during his absence. Another surprise that awaited Konkel upon his return was the chance to take a Mexican cruise. Teresa Konkel, who won the cruise during a recent "Biggest Loser" challenge, kept the news, as well as her weight loss, a secret until Konkel's return home.
"It was fantastic. It far exceeded my expectations," Teresa Konkel said of the Mexican cruise. "I never knew anyone who went on a cruise. No one had ever told me."
"It was our 30th anniversary - apart for 15 months - honeymoon," Raymond Konkel said, adding that he had no idea his wife had won the recent Bankers Real Estate contest and had no idea about the cruise until she began to ask him about available dates.
"I didn't have set dates of when I'd be back," Konkel said, adding that he finished his duties four days sooner than expected, with plenty of time to go on the cruise.
Teresa Konkel said that having her husband back from Afghanistan was like breathing a "sigh of relief."
"You feel complete again, you're life is whole again," she said. "You have to put your life on hold. You try and do everything that you can to stay connected, with e-mails and phone calls and cards, so we definitely needed this re-acquaintance time."
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