Keeping Your Family Safe While Your Soldier Is Away - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

Crime is up this holiday season, and so are deployments, and that can make military spouses who are used to having their soldier around feel vulnerable.

Luckily, there are some things any lone parent can do to help keep their family safe.

"This is probably the window I check more than anything, because it's so close to the ground," says Army wife and veteran Rosalyn, as she walks toward a ground-level window in her Fort Hood housing unit.

She's home alone with two kids this holiday season, so she's locking up tight, while her husband Jacob is in Germany, training up for III Corps' spring deployment to Afghanistan.

"When he left last week, suddenly when I went outside to take the trash out, and there were some boys walking down the street, that's when it hit me, I'm here by myself," said Rosalyn.

That's why each night, she double checks every lock and window.

SGT Andrew Samarripa with Fort Hood Police says that's a great way to disinterest or slow down crooks.

"Also another key thing is that, if you can, put your lights on timers inside the house, like a lamp, stick it on a timer, so it goes off at various parts of the night and makes the house appear more inhabited," said Samarripa.

Outside the home, something as simple as untrimmed bushes can give criminals the edge.

"It's real easy for somebody to hide behind or use as concealment," said Samarripa.

Also, it's nearly impossible to be an Army spouse without talking deployments on Facebook.

As she sits at her computer, Rosalyn says, "Probably my last few messages are about coming home."  

But advertising that you're alone on public forums could make you an easy target for criminals.

Samarripa says, "You don't want them, the undesirables, to get any information about what's going on inside their house, how many kids they have, where their spouses are at."

For now, Rosalyn is checking her locks, and checking them twice, but she says she'll feel a lot better when Jacob comes home.

"When he comes back, I'll probably sleep a whole lot better."

Until then, she's pulling out all the stops to protect her family.

Fort Hood Police say nothing compares to watching out for each other.

So they recommend the buddy system and always reporting suspicious activity.

Reporter: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com

Photographer: Chris Buford cbuford@kcentv.com