Phil Hamrick has been remodeling the Soddy-Daisy home he purchased in early June to be near his 80-year-old mother, but lately he’s been moving at a much faster pace.
“This is an old house and (my family and I) are trying to remodel and get moved in,” the Soddy-Daisy police chief said.
On Aug. 6, he’ll have to put his share of the remodeling on hold. Hamrick, a member of the Navy Reserves, is set to deploy for about a year on his second tour in the Middle East.
“Once you’re there, you’re lonely and you miss home,” said Hamrick, who will be deployed with the Chattanooga-based Cargo Handling Battalion 12. “It’s not so much for my personal safety. I’m just ready to go over there and get the job done and get back home.”
Hamrick’s post at the Soddy-Daisy Police Department, which he has held since January 2009, will be temporarily taken by Lt. Jeff Gann, who said he will miss his colleague “in general.”
“When you tend to have a small department like this, everybody knows everybody,” Gann said. “It’s like a family environment here.”
Besides his mother, Hamrick will be leaving behind his wife of six years, Shannon; his 17-year-old stepson, Kyle; and his 14-month-old daughter, Tressie.
While she doesn’t think this tour will be as mentally challenging as the first, Shannon Hamrick, a member of the Army National Guard, said she is worried about their daughter’s father not being around.
“With the baby now, that just changed everything,” she said.
As far as the home remodeling, she explained that family and friends would be helping while her husband is away.
Thil Hamrick joined the Navy in 1984 after high school and, upon completing active duty, he was hired by Soddy-Daisy’s police force. But while working as a student resource officer at Soddy-Daisy High School in 2001, he began to crave the companionship he had in the military.
“Several of the students I became close with joined the military, and I just miss that camaraderie that the military brings,” Hamrick said.
So in May 2001, he joined the Navy Reserves.
Since then, he has grown to appreciate the efforts Soddy-Daisy takes to ensure military personnel have their jobs back when returning from overseas.
“We’re proud of all our veterans in Soddy-Daisy,” Mayor Gene Shipley said. “We really stand behind them and try to give them all the support through the city that we can.”
Shipley and two of the city’s councilmen have been showing that support even before Hamrick leaves by helping him with work at his new home. And for that, Hamrick said he’s thankful.
He said he’s also thankful for the 75 people who attended his going-away party on June 18.
“You run the whole gamut of emotions,” Hamrick said. “You’re going to be away from (family and friends) for a year. You’re happy everyone’s there supporting you but, then again, it’s a sad moment too.”