I do and I'll miss you: Couple will marry just before husband deploys

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Jason Kinney and Amy Janssen are getting married this weekend in Le Mars, less than two weeks before Jason heads to final training before deploying to Afghanistan. [Click to enlarge]

Jason is deploying with about 3,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers to Afghanistan for nine months plus a few months prior to that for training.

His send off ceremony is set for the morning of Aug. 5 in Sioux City.

The wedding is this Saturday in Le Mars.

Amy said she's just focusing on one thing at a time.

"The wedding comes first," she said. "The closer it gets to the date, the more I think about the wedding and the less I think about him leaving."

Jason is deploying with the Troop A, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry out of Des Moines to serve in Afghanistan with Iowa's Second Brigade Combat Team

This will not be his first tour of duty.

He returned from a deployment to Iraq in April 2008.

But this will be his first time serving overseas since he started dating Amy.

"The month-long training they did in June was kind of hard, plus I was doing wedding planning, stuff you'd want to do with someone with you," Amy said. "I'm sure it's only going to get worse."

During that month, though, Amy only had to cook supper for herself twice.

The rest of the time people took her out to eat or invited her to their homes.

"It kind of proves my family is here for me. Both my family and his family," Amy said.

Both families live in Le Mars, which means Amy will have support while Jason is in Afghanistan.

Amy attended a family military meeting and came away with contact numbers should she need anything while her husband is away.

"My mom came to the deployment meeting with me," Amy said. "And my parents have told me they're here for me."

Amy is learning the ropes as a military wife.

She's given him the short haircut before he heads to guard training.

She's also laundered his military uniform -- he has eight sets in his closet -- and gotten them ready for him to wear.

"I'm learning how to put the badges on," Amy said. "Sometimes I put the flag on the wrong side."

But this will be one of the hardest parts -- being away from her military man.

Amy said what she'll miss most is his company.

"It's having someone to come home to, to be with, to talk about your day," she said.

What will Jason miss?

Everything, he said.

"It's having somebody you can relax with," Jason said. "Over there, you're 10 feet tall and bulletproof."

But Jason also said he is kind of excited to deploy.

"I volunteered to go," he said. "I know what's coming. I'm ready."

Jason said his unit will play a support role in Afghanistan. His job, if the unit is on a smaller base, is to cook.

"The number of people we cook for can range from 100 people up to a squadron with 500-600 people," he said.

While Jason won't likely be on the front lines in Afghanistan, the danger is still there.

"He did get injured the first time," Amy said. "It does scare me. I choose not to think of it a lot."

Jason said communication from Afghanistan might be sporadic.

"We may talk two or three days in a row and then we may not be able to talk for a week," he said.

Amy said one of the hardest parts about Jason deploying is hearing news about what's going on in different parts of Afghanistan.

Even though she knows Jason is in a separate region of the country, it will still worry her.

In a way, Amy is glad the military allows soldiers to tell their family very little about what is going on around them.

"I think it will be best that way for me," Amy said. "Hopefully I won't worry as much."

Amy said a few things will get them through Jason's deployment.

"To me it's going to be trust and the communication we'll hopefully have," she said. "And waiting for him to come home."

During the month her fiancé was gone for training earlier this summer, Amy picked up a habit of raiding his closet.

"When he's gone, I'll probably wear his clothes," she admitted.

Amy said she's going to keep reminders of Jason all around her while he's gone.

"Besides our engagement photos, we have maybe three photos together," Amy said. "But I registered for picture frames and they are going to be full."

The couple met two years ago, introduced to each other by a friend -- now the maid of honor in the wedding.

"The first time we met each other, he was being crazy," Amy laughed.

"And now?" Jason asked.

"Still crazy," she grinned.

Amidst final wedding plans for Saturday, Jason, who works at Nor-Am Cold Storage in Le Mars, is catching some of his last-minute to-do list before leaving the country.

Like, for example, driving to Chicago to see the Cubs play earlier this week.

But now there aren't many days for road trips left, and Jason and Amy aren't planning a wedding trip before he leaves.

Because time is dwindling, even the wedding celebration is going to reflect Jason's deployment.

"The reception is kind of a going away party," Amy said. "I heard he invited the entire town of Le Mars and half of Sioux City."

"And part of Sioux Center," Jason added with a grin.

At the August 5 sendoff, Jason will be boarding the bus for Camp Shelby, Miss. where one of the last segments of the unit's training will take place. By late fall, Jason will be in Afghanistan.

After kissing him goodbye, Amy will definitely be counting the days until her husband returns to Le Mars.

When he steps off that return bus next year, she wants to pick up right where they left off.

"I'm hoping for a honeymoon before he goes back to work," she said with a smile.