Staying strong, then falling apart: How a military family grapples with the Iran war

Jessica Serrato talks on the phone to her partner who is deployed to the Middle East while she gets her children ready for school in Southern California. Stella Kalinina for NPR hide caption toggle caption Stella Kalinina for NPR LOS ANGELES — When Jessica Serrato's boyfriend called a few hours into her morning, she was finally able to breathe. His call meant the internet at his military base wasn't disrupted by any Iranian strikes. It meant that his unit wasn't relocating for their safety like they have before. Most importantly, it meant that he's still alive. As she whisked pancake batter, Serrato cradled the phone on her shoulder and ran through her routine questions: "How was guard duty today?" Serrato asked. "Have you had dinner?" No matter how busy the mother of two kids was, Serrato always answered her partner's call. She missed him. But since the war with Iran broke out, Serrato's need to hear his voice was also driven by worry. Is he safe? How is he holding up mentally? What if this is our last chance to talk? About 50,000 American troops are currently deployed across the Middle East as hostilities between the U.S. and Iran grind into a third month. The two nations are once again at an impasse — with President Trump on Monday calling Iran's latest demands "garbage" and warning that the ceasefire was on "massive life support." Military life has always involved some degree of uncertainty. …