For quite some time, children (and even us adults) have looked up to famous athletes. At times we treat these sports stars as heroes. We may even wear their name and number on a jersey as we attempt to imitate their abilities. And with the onset of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or similar entertainment ventures, characters such as Black Panther, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman have become hero influences in much of the mainstream. Just look at the most common Halloween costumes each year.  

While these characters and sports stars wear really cool uniforms, did you know we have a real-life hero right here in our neighborhood? And he wears a really cool uniform, too! Adam Cranford, through his service to our country, is a hero not only to his family and friends but to all.

Captain Adam Cranford met his wife Jessica in Tuscaloosa, AL, while they were both studying at the University of Alabama. They were married in 2012 and moved to Sterling on the Lake in February 2014, right after their daughter Mila was born. In 2018, Mila’s little brother Brantley was born. Captain Cranford, a Future Operations/Base Operations Officer, has been in the Army National Guard for 17 years as of this September. Throughout his years in the service, he has served as a Paralegal Specialist, Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, and Brigade Maintenance and Transportation Officer.

During the winter of 2022, Captain Cranford learned he was unexpectedly being deployed for an 11-month assignment overseas. He served a prior deployment in 2007-2008 when he was just a sophomore in college. The family found out he was being deployed just a few weeks before his report date. Jessica said, “Though the possibility of deployment has always been something in the back of our minds, the naïve part of me honestly never thought it would actually happen.” The biggest adjustment for her was figuring out how she would be able to do everything on her own. Though Adam had been deployed before, this time, it would impact their family. Jessica and the kids had no idea what to expect. Mila and Brantley have adjusted better than the couple expected. Mila, an adventurous 8-year-old, seems to be dealing with it well. Brantley, a fun-loving 4-year-old, often asks when daddy is coming home. The time frame is hard for him to understand, which understandably is emotionally taxing on Jessica. It is difficult for children to fully grasp what it means that their daddy is deployed in the military. Jessica has done a great job of reading books with them and showing the kids videos to try and better explain it. Just as it’s hard for the kids to understand daddy’s service to our great country, it’s very hard for us as adults to truly understand the sacrifice that the family makes in allowing him to serve. Life continues to move forward, as do all its obligations. From school homework to extracurricular activities to household chores, even small things like taking out the trash are now tasks that are spread across Jessica’s schedule. Jessica is taking time away from her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist until Adam returns home in order to devote extra time to the kids’ schedules and activities and to ensure that she has time dedicated to her own well-being.  

The family is thankful for the ability to use technology daily in this situation. Even with technology, the timing was difficult at first for Captain Cranford due to the eight-hour time difference. Adam would stay up exceptionally late to see and talk with his kids once they got home from school. Now that the kids are out of school for summer, it is a lot easier to communicate.  

When asked what the hardest part of the deployment was, Captain Cranford replied, “It's simple: being away from family and friends. Not being at the kid's events to support them is difficult.” Jessica said, “I think the hardest part for me is that it can be lonely at times. Most days, I am mentally and physically exhausted and wish he was here to talk to, spend time with, go on dates with, etc. FaceTime is wonderful, but it's just not the same. I hate that Adam is missing out on the little moments with the kids growing up and creating memories without him.”

Jessica, Mila, and Brantley have received a lot of support from family and friends. A huge blessing for the family is that both Adam and Jessica’s parents live in a neighborhood down the street. Jessica says, “I have been able to spend a lot more time with my parents (maybe more than they would like), but I am very appreciative that they are close by.” Jessica also adds, “We have many friends who have sent care packages overseas and dropped baskets off at my doorstep to show their support for myself and the kids. We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood where we can walk outside and have a huge group of friends to play with or meet down at the pool.”

For all our soldiers, one of the biggest ways we can support them, other than being there for their families, is by sending care packages. When asked about what types of items would be nice to receive in a package from home, Captain Cranford said, “Anything at all. Anything is nice.” Though the soldiers have their basic needs met, things such as their favorite foods and snacks are scarcely available in other countries, if at all. For example, where Cranford is located, peanut butter is very expensive and hard to obtain. Many friends and neighbors in Sterling have already sent care packages to Captain Cranford, and that has meant a great deal. For any neighbors that would like to join in these efforts, the Cranfords' neighbors, the Fetzers, have committed to sending care packages on an ongoing basis until Cranford returns. Jossi and Tessa Fetzer are the Cranfords' 12 and 10-year-old neighbors who have been friends with Mila since the Fetzers moved into Sterling. Seth and Christi shared, “(The Cranfords) are amazing people, and we’ve been so blessed to have such great neighbors. The sacrifice they are making as a family is incredible, and we just hope to lean in with others to provide an excellent system of support.” Together, the Fetzer sisters are collecting, packing, and sending these care packages. They also are raising the money on their own to ship the packages. Doing this brings them such joy in knowing they can have just a tiny part in saying, “Thank you for your service.” 

Captain Adam Cranford and his entire family, Jessica, Mila, and Brantley, are real-life people right in our neighborhood who we can call heroes.  

If you would like more information about items you can donate for the care packages or the girls’ efforts to raise the shipping costs to send the packages, you can contact their mom, Christi Fetzer (706-271-8229).