Editor's Note: Extra context has been added in italics.
CRESTVIEW — Christine Chandler's is a familiar tale of household debt, debt and more debt.
The family of six, including her husband, Charles, a parachute specialist with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base, moved to Crestview in 2012, but it took Christine nearly two years to find a job. She now works as a pharmacy technician on Eglin AFB.
And the bills have been piling up.
Last year, Charles requested deployment to Afghanistan to relieve the family's financial condition. Personnel serving overseas receive an additional $600 in monthly income and pay no federal taxes, Christine said.
That's helped some. Christine said she has paid off nearly $6,000 in debt since Charles' deployment last November.
But one project is always overlooked.
Charles' 2005 Dodge Durango has had a faulty anti-lock brake system module for nearly two years. The vehicle is drivable, but the ABS module drains the Durango's battery power.
"I just want to find someone (in the community) who would be willing to work with me in repairing it," Christine said. "This would be one less thing he would have to worry about when he comes home. I would really like for him to just relax when he gets here."
That doesn't mean a handout, she said in her initial letter to the newsroom.
"I am not asking for the car to be fixed for free or anything to be given. I am simply asking if you may have a way to reach out to someone that may be able to assist me with getting his car fixed," she said. "I have some money still saved up that I could use but it isn’t nearly $2,000. Everywhere I call they explain how labor intensive it is and that it is an expensive fix. I totally get that … I would be willing to make payments. Shoot, I would even be willing to do the work on the car myself if someone was willing to just stand beside me and talk me through it. At this point I would do whatever it takes to ensure when he gets home he sees that everything that he has done is appreciated and not taken for granted. The ABS module would cost nearly $2,000 to replace, but debts must be paid off first," she said.
Christine just wants to surprise her husband when he returns, and said she'd appreciate the community's help.
"I want to show him how much he is appreciated," she said. "He always puts himself last. He is thinking about what me and the kids need instead."
WANT TO HELP?
Email Christine Chandler, justtaylored2@yahoo.com, to help repair her husband's 2005 Dodge Durango.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Military wife hopes to surprise deployed husband with truck repair