Reporters Notebook: Fort Hood, Texas

ByABC News
October 20, 2006, 11:09 AM

Oct. 20, 2006 — -- ABC News has spent much of the past month at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, as the 1st Cavalry Division once again deploys to Iraq. We have met so many remarkable men and women in the 1st Calvary that "World News" has named one as its Person of the Week.

Watch "World News" tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET for the full report on Col. Larry Phelps

Fort Hood is one of those places where you could find and tell a compelling story every day.

For many of the soldiers being deployed, it will be the second time they're sent to Iraq. For some, it will be their third tour of duty. One soldier told me he knew his chances of coming back alive diminished each time he went over to that battlefield.

When you stand there on a dark runway watching these kids (and some of them are only 19) get on an airplane to go to war, it is hard not to cry. You know they all won't come back home to their families.

We met Col. Larry Phelps at Fort Hood. Phelps, a big bear of a guy with a personality that makes one wonder if he plays Santa Claus in his spare time during the holiday season, is staying behind to help families cope as their loved ones are at war.

Not that he has much spare time. He is the commander of the Rear Detachment, and that means he is responsible for the families of the 18,000 soldiers of the 1st Cavalry who are spending this next year in Iraq.

Phelps goes to the airport and says goodbye to every soldier deploying to Iraq. He shakes their hands, helps them with their gear, and reminds them to write to their moms as soon as they land overseas.

He is usually the last guy standing on the tarmac when the airplane lifts off. He always salutes and says a quick prayer. Phelps has been in the military since 1978 and has served in Iraq. He knows that as commander of the Rear Detachment he has an important job that must be done in Texas but wishes he was going with his friends and fellow soldiers to Iraq.

"Watching the soldiers flying away without me," he said, "is the hardest part of his job."