Mother Reenlists for Her Son
Sending In The Cav; A Soldier's Story
By 1st Lt. Kristy Schaffer 20th Engineer Battalion Public Affairs

Dontrell BAGHDAD, Iraq,Ð There are many reasons why Soldiers reenlist in the Army, a monetary bonus, change of job, even a change in duty station; but Spc. Tronda Powers, Headquarters Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, reenlisted for an entirely different reason. She reenlisted for her son.
Powers gave birth to her son, Dontrell Treyvon, on Dec. 14, 2003, just three days after her 21st birthday. She was only able to spend four short months with Dontrell before joining the rest of her unit in Iraq. Powers, a supply clerk for 20th Engineers, though devastated at the prospect of having to leave her newborn son, was ready to join her military family in Iraq. She knew that her year in Iraq would be a tremendous help for a single mom raising a son by herself. She hopes to use the money she saves from being deployed to buy a new car to replace the old and unreliable one she had been driving.
Powers is also getting plenty of support on the home front. Powers and her parents, Ronald and Gwen Cozart, are originally from Temple, Texas. Her stepfather served in the Army for 22 years. Her mother is taking care of Dontrell for the duration of the deployment. She said that without the support of her family she doesnÕt know where she would be at this time.
So when it came time for Powers to decide whether to stay and reenlist in the Army or get out, she had only one deciding factor to think about, her son Dontrell.
ÒI want my son to have better opportunities than I had,Ó she said. ÒI want him to go to college.Ó
And to do that she knew that by staying in the Army she would be able to provide those things for her son. So the phrase ÒStay ArmyÓ means so much more to Powers and her son.
To them it means staying a family.