Brothers share deployments, faith, love for family

Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Deployments aren’t generally regarded by families as happy occasions – unless you’re one of the Treanor brothers.
For the second time, Army Maj. Stephen Treanor, executive officer of 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Air Force Maj. Don Treanor, a civil engineer commanding Detachment 3, 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, are serving simultaneously in Iraq.
“I knew coming into it that Stephen would be here toward the end of the deployment,” Don said. “It was something to look forward to.”
Stephen agreed. “Leaving my family is terrible but getting to see (my brother) here kind of eased the transition,” he said.
The majors were last deployed to Iraq in September 2005, when Don was attached to a unit in the 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT). They were based about 100 miles apart though, and only saw each other periodically when missions brought Don to Stephen’s location.
There was a seven-month overlap for the last deployment, but this time it’s only six weeks. “We’ve kind of made a point of trying to get together on the weekend and that’s been nice,” Don said.
Before arriving in Iraq, the brothers had not seen one another since last Christmas. “We see each other more deployed than we do in the States,” Stephen said.
The Treanors were raised in Prattville, Ala., and graduated from Auburn University in Alabama. Their parents, sister, grandparents and other family members live in Northport, near Tuscaloosa, Ala. But the brothers say the place they call “home” changes from time to time.
Stephen joked, “Home is where the Army sends you.”
Stephen and Don agree that “home” to them is wherever their wives and children are. Stephen has been married for 12 years and has three daughters; Don has been married for 16 years, with two daughters.
Don has been in the Air Force for 15 years; Stephen in the Army 18 years total – five National Guard, 13 active. Two years seem to be a pattern with these two.
Stephen is two years younger than Don, has two less years of active-duty time in the military and was promoted to major two years – to the date – after his older brother.
“I never really thought of myself as following in his footsteps, but I think he created a heck of an example,” Stephen said of his brother.
Not only do the brothers share a love for family, the military and Auburn football, but they both have a strong faith that is particularly helpful during deployments.
Don and Stephen both said the Air Force and Army values, respectively, align perfectly with their Christian values.
“Having a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ means that I don’t live in fear while I’m deployed to Iraq,” Don said. “I know that God is in control always.”
Stephen echoed his brother’s sentiment, adding that his faith in God allows him to focus on the mission at hand and not be plagued with fear or worry.
“I’ve probably never expressed it, but my brother has been a tremendous Christian influence throughout my adult life,” Stephen said. “Besides being a successful officer, he has always been a strong Christian.”
The brothers have been able to attend a couple church services together recently, something they hadn’t done in years.
As Don prepares to return to his home station at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., he and his brother look forward to meeting somewhere other than the Middle East.
“I hope this is the last time we see each other in Iraq,” Stephen said. “I prefer to see him in Florida, but we’ll take Iraq if it’s all we can get.”