By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG
CHAZY -- For more than a year, Robert and Carol Dunlop often found themselves surfing the Internet and watching TV for any updates on the turmoil in Iraq.
With their youngest child stationed in Baghdad during her latest tour, the Chazy couple waited nervously for Bonnie Dunlop's safe return earlier this month.
"It's constantly in the back of your mind ... We did a lot of praying," her dad said as he listened to his daughter recall her experiences overseas.
The Dunlops were surprised when Bonnie announced her interest in the military during her last year of law school in Kentucky, knowing the dangers it could pose.
But they were proud she wanted to serve her country and help bring change abroad.
"The Army allows me to feel good about what I do. And the best way to change something is to be part of it," the 31-year-old Army captain said.
"I never felt like I was compromising my personal integrity in the military. I always felt like I was living up to my beliefs."
Those beliefs are wrapped in ideals of law, order and justice -- something she proudly helped the 18th Military Police Brigade instill in Iraqi interrogators and police recruits.
During her two tours in the war zone, Bonnie worked with intelligence officials to help train interrogators about due process and the Geneva Convention and helped organize the first mobile-training team.
She toured Abu Ghraib prison after the torture scandal, spoke with detainees and also served as a command-judge advocate and legal counsel to her fellow soldiers.
"And while we were there, we changed the rules of engagement," she said.
"After that, we didn't have a single innocent Iraqi casualty or injury due to the use of force."
She said the troop surge helped calm Baghdad before the election, but the daily sound of gunfire and abrupt violence still haunted her unit throughout their deployment.
"It (the war) has been a long, slow and painful process, but I think we're finally getting to a point where we're seeing progress."
As the holidays approached, officials worked to make sure Bonnie's unit made it home in time.
For her parents, her return gave them "the best Christmas ever."
Before returning to her base in Germany late last week, Dunlop said her main goal was to spend time with her family and pets.
Looking back on the experience, she said she learned some important life lessons.
"You definitely learn to develop coping mechanisms. I exercised a lot," she said lightheartedly before taking a serious note.
"And you realize what's really important -- your family, faith and health. You learn to live in the moment because time isn't promised."
avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com
