Her sister served for 10 months aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the site of President Bush's now-infamous 2003 "mission accomplished" speech. After its four-month extension, hers became the longest-deployed Navy tour of the Iraq war.
Jamile's husband, Stefan, 32, whom she met when the two were working in 2004 at Camp Dodge, Johnston, may have married into the trend.
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During the following year's winter break, the two heard word that Stefan's 12-month deployment to Iraq, which began in March 2006, had been extended another 125 days as part of the White House's troop surge strategy.
He finally finished his tour last month, with the 1/133 infantry unit, as an executive officer dealing with the logistical aspects of rescue and maintenance missions. It marked the longest deployment of any unit in the war to date.
"We've been married for nearly two years, and we haven't hardly spent time together," Jamile said. "I think everyone was questioning, 'Why is the National Guard being deployed for so long when we have active duty military whose job it is to be deployed and to go off to war and fight wars?'"
However, although she said she has only spent just over a month with her husband since their wedding, Jamile said their strong communication during Stefan's time abroad has only made their relationship stronger.
Before Stefan left for Iraq, Jamile said she promised him she would send him a letter every day he was gone.
"I started writing letters as soon as he left, and I would keep track of the number," Jamile said. "I would just write the number in the corner of the letter, and every night I would sit down before I went to bed and would just write whatever came to my mind."
In total, Jamile sent Stefan 631 letters, in addition to 80 packages, which she sent once a week throughout the deployment.
On days she couldn't make the trip to the post office, Jamile said she had her mother, sister or stepfather cover her back.
"The next week at the post office they'd say, 'Where were you last week? We didn't see you,'" she said. "They even kind of got to recognize my mom and my sister."
The couple's time apart hasn't been easy. Jamile said she relied on the support of her family to keep her strong; Stefan said Jamile's daily letters were "just amazing."
Now that they're reunited, it's back to - or rather, the start of - life as usual. The two just returned from a vacation kayaking in the Northern Gunflint Trails in Minnesota, and Stefan will start classes at Iowa State University Monday to complete an undergraduate mathematics degree he began at Grandview College before his tour in Iraq.
"I definitely want to teach high school mathematics in any caliber: algebra, geometry, calculus, anything that they offer," he said. "Probably somewhere in the Ames area since we're here. I really enjoy where we live, so that's the idea, anyway."
Stefan said the adjustment back to civilian life hasn't been overly difficult, but he said the chaos of everyday living in contrast to the strict discipline of the military can prove to be a shock.
"I went to Target the other day and I was just surprised at how many people were out," he said. "It's interesting, the things you miss."
Newsletters from Iraq
During his deployment with the 1/133 infantry unit, National Guard Executive Officer Stefan Shirley served as editor of his Fox Company newsletter, which featured articles from soldiers written for their families back home.
A total of 15 newsletters were published, all of which can be read at www.redbullweb.com/21.html (scroll to the bottom).
