When Bill Caudle was in basic training in Oct. 2009, a television news crew asked if it could come on base and videotape him. No, he hadn't been picked to star in a reality TV series about the perils of basic. And no, the news crew wasn't particularly interested in how the then-39-year-old was getting along with the other recruits. The reason the television news crew wanted to film him was simple: They wanted to know how he was holding up away from his wife.

While it's quite common for new recruits to miss their spouses during basic training, Caudle's separation was especially hard. His wife, Michelle, has ovarian cancer. When Michelle was diagnosed in 2006, the peaceful life he and Michelle had built together in Watertown, Wis. was turned upside down. Days became filled with trips to the oncologist. Chemo treatments and anxiety waited around every corner.

To make matters worse, in March of 2009 Caudle was laid off from his job as a raw materials coordinator at a plastics company. Not only did he lose his job, but he also lost the health coverage that went along with it - the health coverage that served as the lifeline to his wife's cancer battle.  

Faced with expiring healthcare and few employment prospects, Caudle made a decision: he would enlist in the Army. On his 39th birthday, he drove down to the Watertown Army recruiting office and signed up.

Caudle said he decided to join the Army because of its healthcare plan. His wife needed coverage for her cancer treatments, and he needed to find coverage before his old insurance ran out. When asked what research he put into the Army before signed up, he said he knew the important stuff. "I researched the (health) benefit aspects of joining the Army," he said. "That's what drew me to it."  

By the time he was sent off to basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., a Wisconsin newspaper had reported on his decision to join the Army for the healthcare. The story was quickly picked up by national news agencies. Even though he denied the request to be filmed during basic training (he didn't want to interrupt the work of fellow recruits), his bunkmates would get letters from home describing his story.

"People would get letters from home asking about this Soldier that joined the military for the healthcare," Caudle said. "The letters were actually about me."

After he finished basic training, Caudle went to Fort Gordon, Ga., where he completed Advanced Individual Training (AIT). He now works at Joint Base Lewis-McChord as a signal support systems specialist. Michelle is still back home in Wisconsin battling cancer. He says they have talked about Michelle moving to the Northwest, but have never seriously pursued the idea. Michelle's oncologist is in Wisconsin. Also, if he were to get deployed, Michelle would be left all alone.

Caudle travels back home whenever he can get the leave and the couple talks on the phone every day. For now, they have to be happy with that. They try to make the best out of their situation, but he said sometimes it's tough. "Every once in a while, the reality sets in and it's like, ‘I need to be home,"' he said.

He is working with the Army, he said, to figure out a way to transfer closer to Watertown. It's tough because there aren't too many bases in Wisconsin, but he has hope that his transfer will be worked out soon. His superiors are aware of his wife's illness, and the Army has been helpful given his situation, he said.

"The military is pretty family oriented," Caudle says. "They want you to take care of your family."

With all the ups and downs of being away from his wife and family in Wisconsin, Caudle says he has never second guessed his decision to enlist. He just did what he had to do.

"I'm in it to take care of my family," he said. "That's my job."

Read more about Bill Caudle here:

Wife's cancer prompts man to enlist
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/64677772.html

Couple soldiers on
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/112759514.html