Back on the front lines at City Hall

LYNN – When a dog bit his son, Michael Sweeney could not give the boy a hug. When his fiancee reported her car vandalized, he could not call their insurance company because Sweeney, like thousands of other Americans, was overseas voluntarily serving his country.The Lynn resident and city veterans services director returned to work this week after spending nearly a year away from his family, including six months as an active duty soldier in Afghanistan.?I?m happy to be home,” he said. “So many people had it worse than me.”Sarah Keller-Likins used video chat technology to communicate with Sweeney and give his sons (from his first marriage), Matthew, 6, and Ryan, 9, a chance to talk to their father. The boys and Keller-Likins took a picture holding a sign with “merry” written on it and combined the photo with another showing Sweeney holding a sign reading “Christmas” to create their 2014 holiday card.Keller-Likins drew on her work helping veterans? families as director of Boston-based Military Friends Foundation to get her through the long months. Sweeney relied on fellow soldiers to help endure being away from his family.?The way you get through it is by being with good guys,” he said.Sweeney, 43, served in an engineer company with the rank of sergeant assigned as a motor pool mechanic. He lived in Bagram, Afghanistan, in a barracks and spent his days working. If he traveled in Afghanistan, it was along assigned, secure routes.A 1989 Classical High graduate who went into the Army right out of school, Sweeney had nine years of military experience under his belt and 11 years service as the city?s veterans director when he decided in 2011 to rejoin to the National Guard.He launched himself on an “eat less, move more” weight loss regimen and deployed in 2014.After training for the first half of the year, Sweeney went to Afghanistan in June.?I figured I had more to give,” he said. “The biggest challenge was doing my job with my family at home,” he said.Sweeney considers himself lucky to return home last year in time for Christmas. He completed the transitional requirements the Army insists returning troops participate in and got back to work in his civilian job this week.?When I got home, my 5-year-old said, ?Can you quit the Army??” Sweeney said.He intends to stay in the Guard and he knows he could deploy again, but he compares his service to the multiple tours of duty abroad other military personnel have logged over the last two decades.?Being in a military family, you are asked to give up a lot,” he said.