War on terror comes first for husband, wife

Advertiser Staff

Lots of young married couples have obstacles to overcome, but few face the challenges encountered by Iven and Courtney Sugai.

Iven Sugai's unit worked to rebuild schools in Mosul, Iraq. Sugai, shown in uniform, found the schools lacked toilets, electricity, exterior doors and usable chalkboards, while students lacked supplies. Sugai family photo

"Between Iraq and Afghanistan. We haven't had much time together," Iven Sugai said yesterday.

That's putting it mildly.

Iven is an Army Ranger from 'Ewa attached to the Crusader Battery, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He just completed his 10-month tour in Mosul. When not providing artillery support, he was helping rebuild schools in Iraq.

Courtney, from Koloa, Kaua'i, is with the 626th Forward Support Battalion of the 101st. She spent her 11-month tour in Tal Afar, about an hour away from Iven's unit. But they rarely saw each other.

"A couple of times in 11 months, we saw each other," Courtney Sugai said yesterday. "Sometimes a supply convoy would drive into Mosul and we would link up and talk story for an hour or two at the most."

She completed her tour a few weeks after her husband did and they are now luxuriating on a 30-day leave.

"We're spending 24 of them in Hawai'i," she said.

Iven's regiment has been rebuilding seven Iraqi elementary and secondary schools that have suffered from decades of neglect.

"You could go into some of the most run-down buildings in any U.S. city and they'd be better than some of these schools," Iven Sugai said. "It really makes you thankful you're an American."

Iven and Courtney Sugai during one of the rare times they were able to meet up in Iraq. Sugai family photo

"I really admire the kids in Mosul," he says. "They were determined to go to school regardless of the horrible conditions. They'd have to huddle next to each other to stay warm, and study in near darkness because there wasn't electricity."

Iven Sugai was impressed by the respect that students had for their teachers and school administrators. "They were very well-mannered and eager to learn," he said. "It's something you don't always find in the U.S."

He and his soldiers were also struck by what they found inside the schools — armaments and munitions left there by the Iraqi army. "It was just like you see on TV — the stockpiles of military equipment and ammunition inside and outside the schools without regard for the children," he said.

Raised on an 'Ewa sugar plantation, Iven Sugai attended Campbell High School, and graduated in January 2001 from Hawai'i Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in economics.

To help rebuild Iraqi schools, he turned to HPU, requesting pencils, notebooks, pads of paper and other classroom supplies. The school responded with cases of materials and a plea for HPU student clubs to join the donation drive.

More than a dozen schools nationwide wound up participating in the campaign, which enabled the 377th regiment to garner supplies such as notebooks, writing pads and pens, pencils, chalk and chalkboards, which were not readily available through Army channels.

Courtney Sugai graduated from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in 2000 with a degree in Education.

They were both commissioned through ROTC.

They were just settling into their new lives when the Sept. 11 attacks resulted in Courtney deploying for six months to Afghanistan. They have lived together only one of the three years they've been married.

As for her two tours, she said being in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was more primitive than Iraq. She lived in hard-sand buildings and tents with no plumbing. "But Iraq was six months longer and we were on the move every few days," she said, "so that was tougher."

Iven just wants plenty of meals with rice. "A meal without rice has potential, but that's it," he said.

They are in Hawai'i until March 12, when they return to duty.