10:25 AM PDT on Tuesday, September 4, 2007

 

 

The Breeden brothers.

Sgt. Charlie Breeden, a medic for the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, is a Portland native.

Ironically enough, he and his brother, Staff Sgt. Eric Breeden, a weapons squad leader from Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, said it would take a deployment to Iraq and Charlie's promotion ceremony from corporal to sergeant on Sept. 1 to bring them back together.

"It's kind of hard that it has to be during a time of war, but this is really great and it's good just to have his ugly mug down here," Charlie said with a laugh.

"You know, it's not happening under the best of circumstances, but we're happy to be here together," said Eric, who claims Salem, Ore. as home. "It wasn't too hard being apart though, over the years we stayed in touch with phone calls and emails."

It was a reunion that Charlie said he wasn't sure would actually take place.

Charlie knew his brother was in Iraq and knew what Eric's unit was, but was unable to find him because Eric's working email address had recently changed.

But Charlie was driven to find his brother.

"Like the big brother that he is, he kept pushing me to get promoted, so it was really important for him to be here, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for us to see each other," Charlie said. "I had to find him."

Charlie and his wife, Colleen, sent emails to the 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. which contacted the 4th SBCT, 2nd ID Public Affairs Office on Taji to help arrange the reunion. The 4th SBCT PAO located Eric and scheduled a flight for him.

Eric, who is based out of Camp Warhorse, which is not far from Camp Taji, had just gotten off a long patrol when he received a special message just a few days prior to his brother's promotion ceremony.

"I was asleep and there was a knock on my door," Eric said. "My first sergeant told me, You're going down to Taji to promote your brother.

The brothers said their family has the same wish that many families have for their loved ones who are deployed to Iraq.

"Our family supports us while we're here and they support the troops in Iraq, but they would much rather have us and all the other Soldiers come back home," said Eric.

The families back home are already busy making plans for when the brothers do get back.

"I talked to my wife and grandma and they'll be hooking me up with a big family reunion when I get home," said Charlie, who returns to Fort Hood sometime in early 2008.

Although, their reunion on Taji was short, the two brothers said they wouldn't have traded the time they spent together for anything in the world.

"It was awesome," said Eric. "I'm glad that 4-2 let me come down here, it makes me feel good to know that they would go to all the trouble to do this for me. It was also a great honor to come down here and see how the guys in Charlie's unit and the 1st Cavalry Division are working."

"It was a pleasure to have him down here, at least for a day, and we took the little time we had here and made the best out of it," Charlie added.

Next year, the brothers and their families will have many more opportunities to see each other as Charlie will be taking an assignment to Fort Lewis, Wash., where Eric is currently stationed.

(Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs, contributed to this article.)