For some soldiers, battle reaches home front

COLONIE -- Debra Terpening understands combat. Deployed in two wars for the Air National Guard, she helped evacuate injured soldiers. Her first Iraq case was a 22-year-old female double amputee run over by a tank in 2003.

What Maj. Terpening didn't expect was that her war work would launch a home battle for custody of her son. She says being in the service hurt her case.

"Had anyone told me that I could lose custody because of my military service, I never would have joined," said Terpening, 45, of Latham, who is the officer in charge of operations for the 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron in Glenville. She also works at the state Labor Department.

The Iraq war has spawned custody skirmishes across the country. U.S. soldiers complain their spouses wait until they leave to seek the upper hand in court. Unlike other wars, this time, many of those who fight are reservists in their 30s and 40s. And the divorce rates are higher than in prior eras.

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