At Life of Dad, we’re proud to honor heroic dads who serve for our country, as well as their family.  Today, we feature Justin Westbrook, of the U.S. Army.

Justin is blissfully married, and is father to three wonderful children. He has served for ten years in the United States Army both as an Arabic Linguist and as a Military Intelligence Officer. Justin has just recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. He is also a contributor at 8BitDad.com, the fatherhood lifestyle blog for dads of the “8-Bit Generation.”

Since a very young age, Justin always wanted to be a father. It was a role he got to fulfill only a few years after meeting his wife, Leisa. They met on their last day of boot camp, in the airport on their way to the Army language school. Leisa was also a linguist in the Army for a few years, but separated after the birth of their first child. They have spent the years since then expanding their family as they moved all over the United States, relocating seven times in six years!

“Army family life is pretty challenging,” Justin says, “whether that means working 18-hour days, or working on Christmas Day, or having to leave home for months at a time for training or deployments, but we do our very best to prioritize our family.”

Justin spends time with his family either gardening, or attending the kid’s weekly activities. He and Leisa also spend a great amount of time homeschooling their three children, and involving them in family fitness activities. Justin really enjoys reading to his children, and listening to them read to him. Justin especially loves “dance-party Fridays” where he, Leisa, and the kids turn up the music and “shake their booties.” Dance-party Fridays have been a weekly tradition for a few years.

Now that Justin is back from Afghanistan, he is excited to reintegrate back into his family, and re-learn where he left everything in the house. He is especially excited to begin a new year of homeschooling with his children.

Make sure to go and connect with Justin at 8 Bit Dad!  You should also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Do you know an American hero who we should feature on Life of Dad?  If so, e-mail me at tom@lifeofdad.com!

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