CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – The anxiety that many military personnel feel when separated from Family members can be an overwhelming vexation, especially when children are involved. The knowledge that spouses and children are taken care of and receive the love and attention they need can help alleviate these anxieties.

Maj. Allan Dollison, a Los Angeles native, who is a husband and father of two children, has become familiar with the many opportunities available through the military that are designed to assist the Families of deployed service members. Dollison serves on a civil affairs planning team with the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion, assigned to 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

“Military OneSource was described to me in such a way that if a deployed Soldier had a need, like a busted water heater in his house, OneSource could get a plumber out to the house to get it fixed,” Dollison said.

Dollison explained that over the last four and a half years, he has been mobilized three times, twice for deployments in the Middle East and once for a training stint done stateside.

Dollison’s wife, Martha, has become very familiar with Military OneSource and its benefits, finding ways to keep their children anxiously engaged while her husband is away.

“My wife got online and found out about a scholarship program they have that engages children in sporting activities,” said Dollison, “so she applied for the scholarship and got it. So now the Army, through Military OneSource, is paying for my kids to get karate lessons, which is really cool, and I’m very thankful that they were able to do that.”

Karate has given Dollison’s son, Robert, 8, and his daughter, Alicia, 9, a distraction three times a week and has simultaneously provided them valuable lessons in hard work and physical fitness, which has driven them to excel in other areas.

“They actually competed in a karate tournament yesterday,” Dollison said. “It certainly keeps them busy. You know, they go to school and take these (karate) classes three times a week so their minds are off the fact that their daddy is away from home. My son just won student of the month for September at his school, so they seem to be excelling despite the fact that I’m not there.”

With his kids at karate practice and his wife given a nice break three times a week, Dollison said he can focus on his job while away from them. His knowledge and experience as an attorney in the United States provides him an edge in Iraq’s judicial and political battlefield.

“As a civilian, I am a deputy district attorney for Humboldt County, Calif.,” Dollison said, “so I prosecute rapes, robberies, murders, sexual predators, people that attack cops, people that sell drugs – you name it. Here in the G-9 (civil affairs) section we’ll be working with governance and rule of law issues .. the whole civil affairs fight.”

As an undergraduate, Dollison went to California State University and proceeded on to law school at the Western State University College of Law, both located in Fullerton, Calif. Given this extensive knowledge in the field of law, his opinion and input will be vital to policies that will be discussed and implemented in meetings within the civil affairs realm while on his tour in Baghdad.

“He brings the element of realism to the table for the implementation of policies, not just idealism,” said Maj. Ekkahard Grimm, a colleague and friend of more than 19 years, who is a native of Anaheim, Calif., and serves with the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion. “He deals with the reality of prosecution, and with that in mind, east and west are very different. So, when we try to recommend policies, he can give experienced input.”

The demands on Dollison’s time are high and extensive as a deployed Soldier. However, he rests assured knowing that his Family will be taken care of while he is gone through sources like Military OneSource and other similar programs that center on Families faced with the hardship of having their beloved Soldiers abroad.