Self-portrait at a B&B in between duty stations, Leavenworth, KS, 2014.
Motherhood and the Military (2013-Present)
I arrived at Fort Irwin, California, in 2013 without knowing much about military life. I started making pictures in order to engage with and learn more about this community. I soon fell into a familiar rhythm of packing and unpacking as we moved from California to Kansas to New Jersey to Georgia. My children were born in between moves and deployments. All along, I have documented this life, sometimes with a baby on my back, and at one point, I realized I was no longer an outsider.
John holds Teo, the night before leaving for his first combat deployment as a...READ ON
John holds Teo, the night before leaving for his first combat deployment as a father in 2015, Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Teo draws close to John, who wears a hearing aid, in 2021, in Fort...READ ON
Teo draws close to John, who wears a hearing aid, in 2021, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Service members are at greater risk than civilians of hearing loss due to repeated exposures to high intensity noise such as small arms fire, artillery fire, and explosions from training exercises and deployments.
Mila touches the scar on John's shoulder from being shot while on a 15-month deployment.
Teo waits to see his dad after a nine-month deployment in 2018, Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Jiyeong Laue cares for her daughter, Serenity, behind their home in 2014 in...READ ON
Jiyeong Laue cares for her daughter, Serenity, behind their home in 2014 in Fort Irwin, California.
Denise and Andy Buissereth, before deployment, Fort Leavenworth, KS 2015.
Cheyenne Croney has journaled while her husband was away on a year-long...READ ON
Cheyenne Croney has journaled while her husband was away on a year-long deployment to Guantanamo Bay. She wrote, "It’s been a challenge doing everything on my own especially when I’m not connected to my husband. The man I’ve built this life with that I love unconditionally.”
Homecoming. They arrive in the middle of the night. Eyes sleepy, searching...READ ON
Homecoming. They arrive in the middle of the night. Eyes sleepy, searching for their families. They look like ghosts- in this space between deployment and home. Some of the soldiers are crying. Maybe it's just mine. Fort Stewart, GA, 2018.
Jennifer Herbek nurses her son, Isaac, in Leavenworth, Kansas in 2014....READ ON
Jennifer Herbek nurses her son, Isaac, in Leavenworth, Kansas in 2014. "We all grew up fast, courtesy of war," she says.
Major Alice Kim, whose husband is also in the Army, poses in 2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Alice Kim and her sons Jacob, Nathan and Joshua in 2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Teo climbs in an 1117 Armored Security Vehicle during a family day visit to...READ ON
Teo climbs in an 1117 Armored Security Vehicle during a family day visit to Fort Stewart, Georgia, in 2016.
Self-portrait through John's night vision goggles, San Bernardino, CA 2012.
Teo crawls through his father's deployment gear in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2015.
Ryder climbs a tree in a play army combat uniform, Richmond Hill, GA, 2017.
Teresa Wiles and her son Major Josh Wiles, and his daughter Mackenzie visit a...READ ON
Teresa Wiles and her son Major Josh Wiles, and his daughter Mackenzie visit a house Teresa and Josh lived in from 1990 to 1992 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Between 2014 to 2015, Josh himself was stationed at the base with his wife Amber, who also lived in Fort Leavenworth as a child since her father served in the Army.
I arrived at Fort Irwin, California, in 2013 without knowing much about military life. I started making pictures in order to engage with and learn more about this community. I soon fell into a familiar rhythm of packing and unpacking as we moved from California to Kansas to New Jersey to Georgia. My children were born in between moves and deployments. All along, I have documented this life, sometimes with a baby on my back, and at one point, I realized I was no longer an outsider.