CONWAY, Ark. (Nov. 3, 2009) – Dr. Lisa Leitz, an assistant professor of Sociology at Hendrix College and the wife of a U.S. Naval aviator currently deployed in support of the war in Afghanistan, was featured Tuesday on CNN’s American Morning program. The full content of Dr. Leitz’s opinions regarding the country’s military strategy in Afghanistan is posted on CNN's website.
In her public comments, Dr. Leitz, along with members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), asks President Obama to consider the sacrifices of military families while weighing the country’s strategy in Afghanistan, saying military families “are being crushed by the weight of the current wars.” She points out that last month was the deadliest month in the eight years of fighting in Afghanistan, and more than 500,000 veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq wrestle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Dr. Leitz’s husband, Lt. David Dufault, is currently stationed aboard the USS Nimitz from which he flies missions over Afghanistan as an F/A-18F aviator.
“Hundreds of thousands of us strive to keep marriages and families from falling apart as our loved ones repeatedly deploy without the recommended and necessary down time,” Dr. Leitz said. “Personally, I have barely seen my husband in the last three years … When he returns from this deployment, he will have served away from his home base for 26 out of the last 36 months. These deployments have meant a life on hold. It added years to my time in school, I’ve had to move and set up our first house without him, and we have postponed dozens of decisions about our family’s future.”
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.