Roads to Love

During his yearlong tour in Iraq, Sgt. Matthew Carver risked his life for love, traveling the bomb-riddled roads north of Baghdad that connect Camp Taji to Camp Anaconda.
The convoys might include 20 vehicles. Trucks in front of the pack were occasionally hit with small-arms fire, though Carver might not learn of it until after the convoy arrived. Carver usually rode in an armored Humvee with three other soldiers.
As the convoy rolled along, Carver, dressed in battle gear and sweating from the heat inside the Humvee, would scan the passing desert for broken-down vehicles and wires that might indicate the presence of an improvised explosive device. Every person, every vehicle came under suspicion.
If all went well, the 40-mile trip to Camp Anaconda was over in an hour.
And Sgt. Monica Aviles could breathe easier. Her fiance was safe.
"Any time we did convoys to her camp, I was the No. 1 volunteer," said Carver, who is from Wilkes County. "She didn't like me risking my life, but it was fun."
Carver is right. Aviles did not like him riding in those convoys. But reading her e-mails and hearing her voice on the telephone were not enough. Carver wanted to see her.
"It was stressful," Aviles said. "I didn't want him on the road any more than necessary. And simply to see me? You don't have any kind of communication with him while he's on the road, so you're waiting for him to show up."
Carver worried about her, too.
Though Aviles spent most of her time in an optometry clinic at Camp Anaconda, she was also in harm's way. About 20,000 troops are stationed at Camp Anaconda, a former Iraqi air base that is a frequent target of mortar attacks.
Aviles said that about five mortars hit the camp each week during her tour. A few mortars exploded within 100 yards of her.
Carver, 24, and Aviles, 29, are back at Fort Bragg after a year in Iraq, where they served as medics. Carver arrived in Iraq a month after Aviles.
They met at Fort Bragg about two years ago. She was his superior officer for about a month before he was promoted.
Love among the ranks is not unusual. In 2005, 748,610 out of 1.36 million service men and women were married. Of those marriages, 85,017 were dual-military couples, according to the Department of Defense.
The number of dual-military marriages has been on the rise since the 1970s and '80s, when more women enlisted in the armed forces, said Dennis Orthner, a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina. Orthner has also consulted with the military on family issues.
"It occurred in Vietnam," Orthner said. "But it was still unusual."
Women make up about 15 percent of the Army. The opportunities to meet and marry another soldier are high, he said.
Army installations have gotten progressively larger as well.
"In a place like Fort Bragg, where there are 50,000 people, there is a much better chance of developing and sustaining a relationship over time and potentially getting promotions in that area, which used to be not that common," Orthner said.
Carver and Aviles' relationship is a classic case of opposites attracting.
She is a chatty, gregarious New Yorker, and he is a country boy with an easygoing nature.
She loves to joke around, Carver said. "To her, everything is OK. Whatever the situation is, it'll be OK. I just love that."
"Nothing gets him down," Aviles said. "He's always calm, cool and collected."
They like to play golf and snowboard and toss the football in the back yard.
Carver and Aviles became engaged about five months ago during their two-week leave, some of which they spent together in Wilkes County.
They were cleaning out his car after golfing in Wilkesboro when Aviles nearly found her engagement ring tucked in the center console.
Carver decided that he might as well propose.
"It was a pretty day outside, and I thought to myself, 'Go ahead and do it,'" he said.
He sneaked the ring into his pocket and began to pace. Then, he started feeling nervous. And sick. And faint.
He collapsed on one knee, but nothing came out of his mouth.
"I was bad off," Carver said.
Not long after, the couple were back in Iraq.
Carver is trained as an infantry medic with the 3rd Infantry Division. While in Iraq, he spent several months teaching combat medic skills to Iraqi soldiers. He taught them such things as how to transport trauma patients and how to treat combat injuries.
"We worked hand-in-hand with them every day," he said. "They are such good people and eager to learn. I miss some of those guys."
Aviles is also trained as a medic. While in Iraq, she helped treat soldiers with eye injuries.
She returned to Fort Bragg in November, and Carver returned in December. Neither had much trouble re-adjusting to life out of a war zone. Having each other helped.
"It's definitely easier for him to relate a story to someone who knew what was going on," Aviles said. "I could envision what was going on."
Carver said that when he first got home, he kept looking for his weapon. He would eat a meal then reach for his gun. Loud noises also bothered him for a little while.
"It didn't take long to get back in the routine," he said.
Carver enlisted shortly after graduating from Wilkes Central in 1999. His family has a long history of military service. Five great uncles on his paternal grandmother's side served in the military. His grandfather, John Carver, was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.
He was shot down while parachuting into Holland. His injuries were so severe that he spent the rest of his life on disability.
Carver grew up listening to his grandfather's war stories.
"Pretty much every story he told started with 'Back in the army.' He had real fascinating stories," he said.
Carver's service with the Army will end April 30 unless he decides to re-enlist. If he doesn't, he may look into becoming a state trooper or working at an academy for troubled kids. He may also work in Iraq as a civilian.
Aviles has another 11/2 years of service and may be redeployed to Iraq. Once she gets out, she may pursue teaching.
The big-city girl and the country boy aren't sure where they will spend their post-Army years. Carver went with her to New York during the holidays.
"It's a little too much for me," he said.
"I think Charlotte," Aviles said, "is the biggest he could go."