Six-year-old Kaley Spears holds her dad's helmet as he,
Staff Sgt. John Spears, helps one of her Valley Institute
Elementary School classmates into his body armor Friday
morning. BY ANDRE TEAGUE (Bristol Herald Courier)

BY MATTHEW LAKIN
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Nov 6, 12:00 AM EST

BRISTOL, Va. – Show-and-tell took a new turn Friday at Valley Institute Elementary School as first-graders got a taste of Army life.

Staff Sgt. John Spears, home on leave from combat training with Troop F, 2nd Squadron, of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, dropped by to talk with the students and visit his 6-year-old daughter, Kaley.

Spears and most of the troop’s other members came home last week and will return Tuesday to Camp Shelby, Miss., for a Veterans Day send-off. Deployment to Iraq will follow.

The soldier has spent most of the leave enjoying the time with Kaley, along with his wife, Tara, and his sons, 2-year-old Caleb and 7-month-old Tanner. They plan to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas today.

It’s the first time Spears has seen home since the troop left Bristol Tennessee on Father’s Day.

"I’d say going back is going to be pretty tough," he said. "But I don’t know if it will be as tough as the first time."

While Spears was training, Kaley’s class sent him a collection of drawings and letters at Camp Shelby. Tuesday was their first chance to meet him.

"This a real treat for them," said Kaley’s teacher, Janie Samuel. "They’re all just in awe of him."

Spears talked with the students about his training and showed them some of the tools he and the rest of the troop will rely on in Iraq.

"It’s fun and it’s not," he said. "When you’re away from home for a long time, it’s not so fun."

The students lined up to try on his body armor, which weighed about as much as they did.

"Wherever we go, I have to carry it with me," Spears said.

"What happens if you don’t wear that?" one boy asked.

"Then I’d get hurt," Spears said. "I want to make sure I wear that all the time so I can get back to Kaley and her brothers."

The students also tried on his helmet, which weighed nearly as much as the body armor. The load was a little more than some could balance.

"Hold your head up straight, now," Spears told one girl.

Spears’ meals ready to eat – the Army’s prepackaged food – were the biggest hit. Students passed around and sampled peanut butter, pound cake, wheat bread and M&M’s.

"If I was in the Army, I would eat all that stuff in one day," a boy said.

Spears, who’s eaten more MREs than he can stomach, couldn’t keep from laughing.

Kaley helped, handing the helmet to other students – and helping herself to her father’s M&M’s.

"This is a big moment for her," Samuel said. "Kaley loves her dad so much. She talks about him all the time."

Spears stayed to answer questions, read to the children and eat lunch with Kaley.

The students wanted to know where he would sleep in Iraq, what kind of guns he carried, how hot the desert would be and what he would do.

"It’s kind of like being a cop," Spears said. "We really don’t want to fight unless we have to."

Kaley had a question of her own.

"When you go, who are you going to miss the most?" she asked.

Her father smiled.

"I’m going to miss you all the same," he said. "You and your brothers."

Samuel hopes the class can stay in touch with Spears and send him care packages and Christmas cards while he’s in Iraq.

Story Copyright to TriCities.com