Provo councilwoman headed for Kuwait

PROVO — It's a busy week for Laura Cabanilla.

Monday afternoon, her 22-year-old son Cliff was sworn in as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. On Wednesday, her 19-year-old son Marc is expecting his call to serve a mission for the LDS Church.

And on Friday, Cabanilla herself, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves, will leave for Fort Benning, Ga., where she will spend a week before being deployed to Kuwait for a year as a logistics specialist with the 3rd Army.

But Tuesday night, the Provo attorney who was elected to the Provo City Council in November participated in one final City Council meeting before her official deployment.

"I'm sorry to be leaving this position at this time," Cabanilla told community leaders gathered at the city center Tuesday for a send-off. "At the same time, I'm grateful for the opportunity to fulfill my obligations and my duty to my country."

At the send-off, council members and other community leaders signed a community covenant that pledges community support to members of the military and their families in the community.

Cabanilla's fellow council members voted to keep her council seat vacant during her one-year deployment.

Military service is second nature to Cabanilla, who joined the Army Reserves in 1981.

"We are a military family," she said. "I have three siblings who are in the military as well. So was my father."

So are her four children, including a set of triplets.

In addition to Cliff, daughter Paige, 22, is a reservist, and another daughter, Sierra, 22, is dating a soldier who just returned from Iraq.

Dave Cabanilla said his wife's deployment came as a surprise.

"But we have lived with this for 27 years, and we are kind of used to her absences. This is just a big one," he said. "We just feel lucky that she was not activated until the kids were older. We don't have to make the sacrifices that the families of younger soldiers have to make."

Marc, who will be gone from the family twice as long as his mother, respects her choices.

"It's cool because you don't see a lot of women going into the Army," he said.

Cabanilla was initially told she would deploy to Iraq but learned recently that she would actually be serving in Kuwait. Still, she said, her work as liaison with private contractors and the military could take her into more dangerous areas.

"It's possible that I'll be doing some traveling, and Afghanistan is where most of the action is now," she said.

Fellow council members said Cabanilla's contributions will be missed."

"I am sad she is leaving. She's become an integral part of our council," said Council vice chairman Rick Healey. "But I am glad there are people who are willing to go and serve our country. I hope she serves and comes back quickly."

e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com