Ditmore deployed overseas again

Amy Satterwhite photo

Robert Ditmore, pictured with wife Connie, has been called to overseas military duty before. He says this deployment with the Army is a bit different than his previous experience with the Navy.

Ditmore, who is originally from Oklahoma, came to Warren County in 1999 after visiting a relative who lived here and falling in love with the place. He had served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years and served off the coast of Libya in the Gulf of Sidra in 1986.

Upon being approached by a recruiter, Ditmore decided to join the local National Guard in 2000, which required active duty service for just two weeks a year.

“Two weeks this summer has turned out to be a little long,” Ditmore said of the guard’s call to active duty, the first such call since the Korean War.

Still, Ditmore, who is a Bradley commander and section leader responsible for tending to the morale and welfare of fellow soldiers, supports the efforts in Iraq.

“It’s mixed,” he said of leaving. “I’m kind of sad I missed the fair. But I feel the same way everybody else does. I don’t really want to leave, but I feel like we’re doing the right things.”

Being on the ground with the U.S. Army is different from Navy life, Ditmore admits.

“The ground is a little scarier. It’s more personal,” he said.

One consolation, he said, was that he believes the soldiers have been trained and are ready for the mission, which will likely be centered around providing security.

Ditmore leaves behind spouse Connie, three children, three step-children and six grandchildren.

“You have to take it one day at a time,” Connie Ditmore said of her husband leaving for an extended period of time. “If you look at it at 1-1/2 years, you can’t survive. It will eat you up.”

Ditmore, who is a inventory control manager employed by Hastings in his civilian life, said the best thing people can do for him while he is gone is take care of his family.

“Take care of our families,” he said. “Pray for them.”