Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sgt Lori: We're going to Afghanistan
This is the post I blogged when I found out my unit was going. Seems a lifetime ago! Sgt Lori: We're going to Afghanistan
Welcome Home A Troop of the 1/108 RSTA!!
This past week I was down at Ft Stewart outside of Savannah Georgia. Ft Stewart is the staging area for Mobing or mobilizing Georgia troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Ft Stewart is also the receiving center for Demob or demobilizing those troops when they return home.
I recruited for the 1/108th RSTA A Troop for over three years. I put in over 75 or more soldiers and helped to put in many more. Those soldiers were my guys. When they left for Afghanistan I had a lot of mixed emotions. I felt a part of me was gone, like I should have been over there. I had volunteered to go but it didn’t work out for me to go.
March 1st they touched ground at Ft Stewart. My guys were home. As soon as I was able I drove down under the pretense of recruiting them into the officer ranks through Officer Candidate School (OCS) and Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS).
The first day there I spoke with one of the Unit Commanders. He recognized me first. He smiled and then the recognition hit me. I went to shake his hand and he offered a hug. I was struck by his eyes. The relief was there, yes, but also the incomprehensible weight of command during a time of war had been lifted but residue of that worry was still etched into his face and eyes. Tears came to my eyes and I had to cover them by looking away.
Later, I drove to the main receiving station. Before I even got out of the car I spotted one of my first enlistments. Now a Staff Sergeant and looking fit and seasoned, I ran and shook his hand. He looked so happy to be back. I entered the building and immediately saw a group of guys I knew, they called to me as I approached and I stuck out my hand for a hand shake, it was brushed aside and I was told "No way Sergeant Fields, I want a HUG!". We were all grinning from ear to ear, as "Good to see you!" was met with "It's good to be seen!" nervous laughs and heads nodding knowingly.
The next day, more of my guys, more yells across the drill hall of "Sergeant Fields!!" Hugs and more hugs. I sat with many of them and told them how proud I was of them.
I was really moved. So many of them enlisted four years ago as boys, were now grown men. Many of them now married and with their first children. I know their wives, their families. I broke out my phone in front of one Soldier called his grandma and handed him the phone; fulfilling a year long promise.
So many hugs, the looks of wonder, cutting up, slapping backs…. The best part was when occasionally they would speak to me privately and tell me thanks. Thanks for being there, thanks for helping them, thanks for making a difference in their lives. I was glad to not be wearing make-up so I could break out a tissue, swipe at my eyes quickly and then vigorously clean my glasses pretending to be a hardened E-7 and not Mama Fields!
I had to leave earlier than the Troops. They will arrive home in Rome on Tuesday. I will be there, but as a fly on the wall watching them see their loved ones for the first time in over a year in some cases. I know I will be harboring feelings of pride and satisfaction mixed with relief. Oh and I did get one lead for WOCS!
I recruited for the 1/108th RSTA A Troop for over three years. I put in over 75 or more soldiers and helped to put in many more. Those soldiers were my guys. When they left for Afghanistan I had a lot of mixed emotions. I felt a part of me was gone, like I should have been over there. I had volunteered to go but it didn’t work out for me to go.
March 1st they touched ground at Ft Stewart. My guys were home. As soon as I was able I drove down under the pretense of recruiting them into the officer ranks through Officer Candidate School (OCS) and Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS).
The first day there I spoke with one of the Unit Commanders. He recognized me first. He smiled and then the recognition hit me. I went to shake his hand and he offered a hug. I was struck by his eyes. The relief was there, yes, but also the incomprehensible weight of command during a time of war had been lifted but residue of that worry was still etched into his face and eyes. Tears came to my eyes and I had to cover them by looking away.
Later, I drove to the main receiving station. Before I even got out of the car I spotted one of my first enlistments. Now a Staff Sergeant and looking fit and seasoned, I ran and shook his hand. He looked so happy to be back. I entered the building and immediately saw a group of guys I knew, they called to me as I approached and I stuck out my hand for a hand shake, it was brushed aside and I was told "No way Sergeant Fields, I want a HUG!". We were all grinning from ear to ear, as "Good to see you!" was met with "It's good to be seen!" nervous laughs and heads nodding knowingly.
The next day, more of my guys, more yells across the drill hall of "Sergeant Fields!!" Hugs and more hugs. I sat with many of them and told them how proud I was of them.
I was really moved. So many of them enlisted four years ago as boys, were now grown men. Many of them now married and with their first children. I know their wives, their families. I broke out my phone in front of one Soldier called his grandma and handed him the phone; fulfilling a year long promise.
So many hugs, the looks of wonder, cutting up, slapping backs…. The best part was when occasionally they would speak to me privately and tell me thanks. Thanks for being there, thanks for helping them, thanks for making a difference in their lives. I was glad to not be wearing make-up so I could break out a tissue, swipe at my eyes quickly and then vigorously clean my glasses pretending to be a hardened E-7 and not Mama Fields!
I had to leave earlier than the Troops. They will arrive home in Rome on Tuesday. I will be there, but as a fly on the wall watching them see their loved ones for the first time in over a year in some cases. I know I will be harboring feelings of pride and satisfaction mixed with relief. Oh and I did get one lead for WOCS!
The NEW, the IMPROVED SGT Lori!!!
I started a blog four years ago called SGT Lori. http://sgtsledgehammer.blogspot.com/ I have long since lost the password and login info and blogger is unable or unwilling to retrieve it for me! So, I have been posting short posts on Facebook. Facebook is limited and I want to post more than 462 characters at a time so hence the NEW Sergeant Lori!
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