We’re With Seth: A Soldier Separated from Family for Almost Two Years

By Kristen Loflin

On deployments, the days can be long, the mission intense, and the time spent away from loved ones can feel never-ending. Then comes the tough news – your deployment is being extended, and you don’t know when you’ll be returning home.

For many service members around the globe, long deployments that last months or even years are a reality they – and their families – must face. But even though the people who serve are ready to undertake these missions, it can still take a toll on their well-being.

That’s why it is crucial to support service members throughout their time on the front lines – and the USO is with them, every step of the way.

Meet Seth: a soldier who is currently deployed and has been apart from his family for nearly two years. This time away from home has been difficult, but he has made it through with the help of the USO – a steady presence throughout his time in the Middle East.

How Seth has Navigated Two Years of Separation from Loved Ones While on Deployment

U.S. Army Ohio National Guard Spc. Seth Sweet has been separated from his family for almost two years.

A fourth-generation Army transportation driver, Seth grew up as a military kid and is not new to the challenges of military life. However, now that he has joined the military, he must deal with additional stressors, such as the pressure of service, deployments and the strain of being apart from loved ones.

The National Guard is unique when compared to other military branches: service members in the National Guard serve part-time and maintain civilian careers when not activated. When not fulfilling his military service, Seth works as a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) back in Ohio. Though he is technically serving in the military in a part-time capacity, members of the National Guard and the Reserves are serving more than ever before, which means more frequent – and longer – deployments. In fact, Seth’s National Guard commitments have kept him away from home for longer than originally expected.

“I joined in 2024, went to basic [training] in October, and then got out of [deployment work up] training last year and then deployed two months later,” said Seth. “So, I’ve basically been gone for almost two years now, away from home and it has been a very wild trip.”

Seth’s unit deployed in July 2025 to Kuwait. The first half of their deployment was routine and focused on their initial mission, allowing for regular contact with loved ones back home. However, as tensions increased in the Middle East, Seth and his unit began experiencing high-tempo and ever-changing situations. As the unit’s mission continues to shift, and following their departure from Kuwait, Seth’s ability to connect with his family has become more limited due to poor cell service.

“I miss them a lot, so it definitely helps when they reach out and talk to me sometimes and just say that they’re doing okay back home and that they’re still hanging on, waiting for me to fly in and be home safe after all this,” he said. “It’s [been] a long time, so they’re ready for me to get home. It definitely helps me get through this just hearing from them sometimes.”

Being able to connect to his loved ones – even if it is few and far between – is important, as Seth is still not sure when he’ll return home. For Seth, the extension to his deployment adds more time away to a deployment that has been marked by missed life milestones – he and his wife’s first wedding anniversary, his niece’s first birthday and soon he may potentially miss the birth of his nephew.

“With how hectic and hostile things have been in the Middle East, I really have missed a lot of time in [me and my wife’s] relationship and my family’s lives,” Seth said.

But despite these challenges, Seth remains committed to the mission, and his family understands the sacrifices they all must make.

“We’ve talked it through and we know that it’s very important what I’m doing out here and that hopefully we’ll be home soon and safe.”

How the USO Supported Seth When He Needed It Most

One shining light throughout the deployment for Seth has been the USO.

When Seth first arrived on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, his command recommended he visit the USO Center on base when he shared that he was searching for a way to spend his downtime. But Seth didn’t just visit the USO – he immediately began volunteering with the Center, putting in hours every day after work. In overseas locations – especially front-line locations like the Middle East – USO Centers rely heavily on service member volunteers to assist staff in carrying out programs and events. However, for many of these volunteers, the work they put in comes back tenfold. Volunteering with the USO provided Seth with a much-needed break from the stress of deployment, and also helped him forge relationships with others that have left a deep impression on him.

“Not only with the staff and how close I got with them – and a lot of them I want to keep in touch with – but also just the other service members that would volunteer as well from different units – active, Guard, reserve – from all over the country. I would be like, ‘Hey, where are you from?’ and it would just start up any conversation. You would just be able to click and connect with everybody,” said Seth. “It was awesome because we’d all come together for a cornhole tournament and I don’t even know who this guy next to me is. That’s what I did love about the USO: how connecting it was for everybody.”

The USO continued to lift spirits for Seth and his unit even after they departed Camp Arifjan. When service members are far from a brick-and-mortar USO Center, the support does not stop – the USO team travels to remote locations around the world and provides expeditionary support – because we are with them no matter where they go.

“They tried their best just to keep morale going because of the situation we were in and everything we were going through,” Seth said. “It was very nice to at least be able to have that in the situation we were in at that base.”

For Seth, it has been refreshing to see friendly faces from the USO as his deployment continues to be prolonged. While he misses his family and friends back home, the new relationships that Seth has created through the USO have provided him with crucial connections and a chance to recharge for the mission moving forward.

“The biggest thing that stood out was just how well the USO staff helped me in general, the relationships I’ve made with them and how much they looked out for me. [One USO staff member] and I would talk all the time and she always checked on me as a person, not as a service member like, ‘How are you doing this? How is your family? How are things back home?’, making sure I was okay mentally and physically,” said Seth. “It was nice to just have that one-on-one human connection versus military [relationships]. And it was a good break to take off the uniform, be done for the day off of work, off of mission, and just go relax or even get more hours [volunteering] for the USO and just hang out with my friends.”

Many service members around the world are like Seth, navigating intense and long deployments, as well as prolonged time away from home and loved ones. However, having on-the-ground support through the USO helps ensure these troops can reset and prepare for whatever comes next – especially during such an unpredictable time.

As missions in the Middle East continue to shift for our nation’s service members, the USO’s mission remains the same – strengthening the well-being of our nation’s service members throughout their time in uniform. We stand with them anywhere, at any time.