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Faces of War
By Beth Schwartzapfel
(page 3 of 4)
Lieutenant Colonel Denis Riel deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar from April through September of 2005 where he was commander of the 143rd Aerial Port Squa-dron in the Air National Guard. He now works full time as the Public Affairs Officer for the Air National Guard. Garrett Riel, the youngest of Lieutenant Colonel Riel’s three sons, lives with his mother in Lincoln. I met Garrett in Lieutenant Colonel Riel’s office at the National Guard Headquarters in Cranston. The alt-rock band O.A.R. was blasting from Garrett’s iPod; his dark hair curled out from under his backward-turned baseball cap.Garrett Riel, seventeen
twelfth grade, Lincoln High School
I really didn’t think about it, about his being part of the Air Force, working at Quonset. I really didn’t think he was going to have to go. He told me, some of his guys had to go, he felt bad, but I didn’t know if he was ever going to have to go or not. It just didn’t cross my mind. Then he told us he was going, and I was like, wow. Then it really sunk in that he was leaving. We were scared. At the airport, it was not cool when we had to say bye. Before it was like, wow, my dad’s leaving for five months. Something could happen. But no tears hit. But once we got to the airport, everyone was crying and sad, like, I hope he’s okay, I hope nothing happens. I worried, but he told us, ‘I’ll be OK. I’ll hang in there. Don’t worry about me. Just get your stuff done.’ Usually when he says that, I trust him. He’s a pretty smart guy.
Five months away — five and a half months — plus he’s my hockey coach, so we’re together all winter long. Because high school hockey is like mornings, afternoons, meetings and games on weekends. So we’re together all the time. I wasn’t going through a tough time, but it’s definitely different, not having your father around. Knowing he’s in the middle of the war.
He’d call us. He couldn’t call us much but we emailed a lot. He would tell us his day-by-day plan. ‘110 degrees out at night, with all my equipment on.’ And one email was funny, I saved it. He says, everyone came down with the stomach flu, a stomach virus, and the crapper, it’s a hundred yards away, so everyone’s racing for it, running. That’s funny. I could picture that.
I didn’t even have my license yet, so it was tough. Summer hockey, he’ll usually help coach the team. Or he’ll just bring me
everywhere. He usually pays for hockey, and he lives in Burrillville, so it would be tough to go to his house, to my stepmom, get money, and then go to hockey and pay. Or get to hockey. So it was kind of awkward at times. My dad would email me, ‘Did you go to hockey today?’ I’d be like ‘Yeah,’ but I didn’t.At one point it was kind of like a nice break because he’s a little stubborn. But when he’s away you start to miss him. Hanging out with him is different than hanging out with your mom. It’s better when he’s around, because every time he’s there, he’ll come hang out with the friends, and everyone likes him.
He says it was for us. Everyone is along the same lines — defend your country — but it’s also for your family. Even for his guys. He tells us all the time, sending guys over there — it’s the worst feeling in the world. But when he gets them back, he feels good. But he’s always gotta send out more. He’s like, ‘If I’m going to send them, then I’m going to go.’ I’m proud of him. I think it was a pretty loyal thing to do. But I don’t really agree with the whole war. I don’t know in detail what it’s about, but I know he doesn’t really agree with it, and I don’t really agree with it. I’m proud of him for going, because I think it was the right thing to do, but I don’t think the war is really the right thing.
I want to get into the Air Force. I want to be MP [military police]. I want to go to college, be a police officer, kind of follow the footsteps of my dad. While I’m in the Air Force, I want to go to college. I’m sure when I get into the military, which will be about six months from now —July, I turn eighteen — I’ll ask him for a lot of advice. I’m kind of following in his footsteps already because he’s shown me a good way. He’s definitely a good role model.
