Ft. Stewart Adventure
The day had finally warmed up enough for me to come out of my field jacket. I found myself lying on a stretcher being carried by four soldiers with a medic at my side. All together, they slid me into the helicopter and hoisted my stretcher into the brackets, placing me above one soldier and below another. As I was hauled back out, I squinted up in the bright sun at the second bunch of soldiers and medic who carried me to the field hospital. I could hear the sound of the Chinook warming up a little further down the airstrip. Then I was inside the field hospital with doctors and nurses rushing around, removing my kevlar helmet, hanging IVs, and ordering x-rays. One examined my left arm as he received report of the traumatic amputation I had suffered below the elbow. One shined a flashlight in my eyes, and said, "PFC, is that your real eye color?" I started laughing. I guess he'd never seen gray eyes. My helmet was handed back to me as I was pulled up from the cot and out the door I went. I heard my name and jumped on another stretcher for another trip through the disaster scenario.
Annual training for the Georgia State Defense Force was at Ft. Stewart, Georgia this past weekend. Our convoy arrived late on Friday evening after a 9 hour drive. Why it had taken so long I really have no idea. I have made it in less than 5 on many occasions. We signed in, got our barracks assignment, and carried our gear in. All of the medics had a meeting in one of the male barracks - which was appreciated I'm sure by all the guys - and got our team assignments for the exercise the next day. Finally we climbed into our bunks, closed our eyes for a minute, and got back up for breakfast. It was nice to see so many people from IET again. We gathered our gear and headed for formation, where male and female alike shivered in the morning chill. Then we were loaded onto buses for the trip to Wright Army Airfield. I was assigned to 1st Battalion as one of their two medics, and was the only female in the group. The lieutenant thought I looked cold, took pity on me, and offered me his gloves. Later he found a balaclava, which is like a ski mask, and was going to have me put that on. I respectfully declined. Can you imagine how I would have looked if I had taken it off? My hair would have had so much static I would have looked like a blonde dandelion! I looked funny enough in the heavy kevlar helmet and goggles you had to wear on the airstrip. We all formed up in one long line and walked the strip, picking up any debris that could become airborne under the Chinook's big blades. It was soon discovered that the 12 porta-potties that had been placed there the day before were now gone. Five brigades now had to share ONE bathroom with ONE stall in it! That was fun. The battalion I was assigned to was split into two shifts and I got second. That meant that while first worked, we rested. We dropped our gear in a sunny spot on the grass and everyone kicked back. The guy to my left began to snore, so I propped my head on my helmet and closed my eyes. I was warm in the sun and dozed a little. I kept having weird little mini-dreams filled with bits and pieces of the conversations going on around me along with the air traffic. Finally we were roused for lunch, and then off we went for our turn. We were simulating what occurred with the hurricane evacuations from Katrina and Rita with the help of teens from the National Guard Youth Challenge. They played our evacuees and victims for most of the day. Clark Howard, the financial guy on the radio and TV, is also a member of the GSDF, and he was filming the exercise. If you see someone in ACUs who is a little smaller than most of the other guys, and looks like a mushroom in the helmet, that would be me!
We finally boarded the busses and returned to the main post. Supper was either very good or I was starving! After another meeting at the colonel's quarters for all the medical personnel, I took a minute to fill Barry and Granny in on the day. She had a lot to tell Mrs. Lucille tonight! I finally took a long hot shower and crawled in my bunk. Sunday morning we got up and went to breakfast. Then we had to clean the barracks and put our gear in the vehicles. We had a big formation and marched across the parade field to the chapel for JAG briefings. The first JAG major up there informed us that Saddam Hussein had been found guilty and sentenced to hang by a jury of his own people. A loud "HOOAH" went up. Maybe he'll finally get the idea that he is no longer in power now! We were really packed in for the rest of the briefings, and I kept almost dozing off. I sure am glad I was in the back! They concluded by showing the new Army Strong recruiting commercial. Barry had already shown it to me, but it still brought tears to my eyes with the line "there is nothing on this green earth stronger than a US Army Soldier!" That received the loudest HOOAH of all.
Finally we were in the vehicles and headed back to Atlanta. I was tasked with getting our convoy out the back gate of Ft. Stewart and through the tank ranges to the interstate since I'd been there before. Ha ha. Why on earth did they really want to follow a slightly sleep-deprived natural blonde? I had already warned them that the road was long and through the middle of nowhere, so at least they didn't think I'd totally gotten them lost. We didn't end up quite where I thought, but it was at the interstate. Only the female PFC I was riding with knew that I had begun to pray and worry that I'd look like an idiot! The rest just said, "Boy, I'm sure glad you knew where we were!" If they only knew!!!!
Barry picked up the boys from his dad's house and called to see where I was. I had already retrieved my vehicle and was headed home. We decided to meet at Cracker Barrel for supper. Before we could even be seated, a lady came up and handed us a $25 gift card and thanked us for our service. It really is humbling when that happens, although the kids just think it is cool to sit there with the two of us! We ended up paying less than $2 out of pocket for our meal!
It is an honor to serve, even in a small way. It is an honor to wear the uniform. I love this country,and this gives me a way to do something without having to sacrifice my family's well-being. My children will only be little once. Barry can't say no if he is called, but I have that option if needed. It is, however, good to know that I can make a difference.
Annual training for the Georgia State Defense Force was at Ft. Stewart, Georgia this past weekend. Our convoy arrived late on Friday evening after a 9 hour drive. Why it had taken so long I really have no idea. I have made it in less than 5 on many occasions. We signed in, got our barracks assignment, and carried our gear in. All of the medics had a meeting in one of the male barracks - which was appreciated I'm sure by all the guys - and got our team assignments for the exercise the next day. Finally we climbed into our bunks, closed our eyes for a minute, and got back up for breakfast. It was nice to see so many people from IET again. We gathered our gear and headed for formation, where male and female alike shivered in the morning chill. Then we were loaded onto buses for the trip to Wright Army Airfield. I was assigned to 1st Battalion as one of their two medics, and was the only female in the group. The lieutenant thought I looked cold, took pity on me, and offered me his gloves. Later he found a balaclava, which is like a ski mask, and was going to have me put that on. I respectfully declined. Can you imagine how I would have looked if I had taken it off? My hair would have had so much static I would have looked like a blonde dandelion! I looked funny enough in the heavy kevlar helmet and goggles you had to wear on the airstrip. We all formed up in one long line and walked the strip, picking up any debris that could become airborne under the Chinook's big blades. It was soon discovered that the 12 porta-potties that had been placed there the day before were now gone. Five brigades now had to share ONE bathroom with ONE stall in it! That was fun. The battalion I was assigned to was split into two shifts and I got second. That meant that while first worked, we rested. We dropped our gear in a sunny spot on the grass and everyone kicked back. The guy to my left began to snore, so I propped my head on my helmet and closed my eyes. I was warm in the sun and dozed a little. I kept having weird little mini-dreams filled with bits and pieces of the conversations going on around me along with the air traffic. Finally we were roused for lunch, and then off we went for our turn. We were simulating what occurred with the hurricane evacuations from Katrina and Rita with the help of teens from the National Guard Youth Challenge. They played our evacuees and victims for most of the day. Clark Howard, the financial guy on the radio and TV, is also a member of the GSDF, and he was filming the exercise. If you see someone in ACUs who is a little smaller than most of the other guys, and looks like a mushroom in the helmet, that would be me!
We finally boarded the busses and returned to the main post. Supper was either very good or I was starving! After another meeting at the colonel's quarters for all the medical personnel, I took a minute to fill Barry and Granny in on the day. She had a lot to tell Mrs. Lucille tonight! I finally took a long hot shower and crawled in my bunk. Sunday morning we got up and went to breakfast. Then we had to clean the barracks and put our gear in the vehicles. We had a big formation and marched across the parade field to the chapel for JAG briefings. The first JAG major up there informed us that Saddam Hussein had been found guilty and sentenced to hang by a jury of his own people. A loud "HOOAH" went up. Maybe he'll finally get the idea that he is no longer in power now! We were really packed in for the rest of the briefings, and I kept almost dozing off. I sure am glad I was in the back! They concluded by showing the new Army Strong recruiting commercial. Barry had already shown it to me, but it still brought tears to my eyes with the line "there is nothing on this green earth stronger than a US Army Soldier!" That received the loudest HOOAH of all.
Finally we were in the vehicles and headed back to Atlanta. I was tasked with getting our convoy out the back gate of Ft. Stewart and through the tank ranges to the interstate since I'd been there before. Ha ha. Why on earth did they really want to follow a slightly sleep-deprived natural blonde? I had already warned them that the road was long and through the middle of nowhere, so at least they didn't think I'd totally gotten them lost. We didn't end up quite where I thought, but it was at the interstate. Only the female PFC I was riding with knew that I had begun to pray and worry that I'd look like an idiot! The rest just said, "Boy, I'm sure glad you knew where we were!" If they only knew!!!!
Barry picked up the boys from his dad's house and called to see where I was. I had already retrieved my vehicle and was headed home. We decided to meet at Cracker Barrel for supper. Before we could even be seated, a lady came up and handed us a $25 gift card and thanked us for our service. It really is humbling when that happens, although the kids just think it is cool to sit there with the two of us! We ended up paying less than $2 out of pocket for our meal!
It is an honor to serve, even in a small way. It is an honor to wear the uniform. I love this country,and this gives me a way to do something without having to sacrifice my family's well-being. My children will only be little once. Barry can't say no if he is called, but I have that option if needed. It is, however, good to know that I can make a difference.
posted by Jennifer at 10:20 PM
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