Depot commander's wife back from duty in Qatar

This story was published Sat, May 17, 2003

By Mary Hopkin
Herald staff writer

HERMISTON -- Lt. Col. Debbie Pellissier was focused when she left the joint operations center in Qatar, where she had been stationed since Jan. 20.

She had one goal -- to make it home in time to see her 4-year-old daughter, Olivia, perform her first tap and ballet recital.

Try telling that to Gen. Tommy Franks, to whom the Army reservist reported daily during her stay at Centcom, the central operations center for the U.S. military, where she was an information manager during the Iraq war.

The recital is today.

Pellissier returned home late Thursday to her husband, Lt. Col. Fred Pellissier, commander of the Umatilla Chemical Depot, and their three children, Olivia, Matthew, 9, and Martin, 6.

Debbie Pellissier hasn't been able to spend a lot of time at the depot since her husband took over the command post in July 2001.

That October she was activated and sent to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., where she stayed until February 2002, with the exception of spending a few weeks with her family in Hermiston at Christmas.

She left again for Tampa in May to do her normal reserve duty, and took the children with her to stay at her mother's home there.

The foursome returned to the depot in August, but Debbie Pellissier left again in November -- this time for Qatar.

She returned for two weeks at Christmas, but was back at Centcom on Jan. 20.

Working 12-hour shifts, Debbie Pellissier was a central contact for Franks and other commanders.

She was responsible for letting the commanders know the movements and actions of all the ground operations, plus naval and air operations throughout the day.

"I would give a briefing every night to about 70 people," she said.

The Pellissiers were able to keep in contact through e-mail. Debbie Pellissier's mother, Pauline Plumlee of Tampa, stayed at the depot to help her son-in-law take care of the kids.

"The two younger kids were always asking when their mom would come home, but my oldest son understood a little better," Fred Pellissier said. "It was difficult, but we made do."

Because Debbie Pellissier was stationed at Qatar, the family felt she was safe.

"It's a well-defended site," Fred Pellissier said.

Debbie Pellissier was on active duty in the Army for 10 years. She earned a Bronze Star after serving as a commander in the Gulf War in charge of Iraqi prisoners.

Although there's always a chance she could be called away again, the family is hoping she'll remain in Hermiston for the rest of her husband's command, which expires in July.

"The whole Pellissier family is glad Debbie is home," said Fred Pellissier. "A big void has been filled and we hope she gets to stay home."

 

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