The National Guards of the states of Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia were chosen to provide units for the 38th Division. That division was organized according to prevailing American military doctrine as a “square” division of two brigades and four infantry regiments. The 149th Infantry from Kentucky and the 150th Infantry from West Virginia formed the 75th Brigade, and the 151st and 152nd of Indiana formed the 76th Brigade. The 38th Division, with its two component regiments, assembled at Camp Shelby, Mississippi there it remained for the duration of the war, having never been deployed to the battlefields of France. In 1919, the division was released from Federal service.

The component units of the 38th Division returned to their respective states, and during the next two decades, the 76th Brigade remained an Indiana National Guard unit, composed of the 151st and 152nd Infantry. The Brigade was under state control for over two decades, and fulfilled its state mission while remaining a force capable of federal service if the need arose.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Army again called upon the National Guard to supplement the regular forces. In January 1941 the 38th Division was activated for federal service. The states of Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia again supplied 75th and 76th Brigades, with the same “square” organizational structure that had been used in World War I. However, during the years between the wars, Army doctrine shifted from the “square” division of four regiments and two brigades to a “triangular” division of three regiments, thus eliminating the brigade as a component of the division. This re-organization of the 38th Division was carried out in 1942. The 150th Infantry of the West Virginia National Guard was detached from the division, and the 75 and 76th Brigades were abolished. The 38th Division went on to fight with distinction in the Philippines as the “Avengers of Bataan”, but the 76th Brigade had ceased to exist as in identifiable military organization.

After World War Two, the 38th Division returned to its peace-time duties as a state controlled military force of Indiana and Kentucky. The “triangular” organization was retained through the 1950’s, with the 149th Infantry in Kentucky, and the 151st and 152nd Infantry in Indiana. In the early 1960’s, the Army began the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) project. This was designed to create a more flexible structure, and re-introduced the brigade as an organizational component of the division. The 38th Infantry Division began its re-organization in 1963 with the creation of a 1st and 2nd Brigade. The 1st Brigade was re-named the 76th Brigade in 1965, thereby restoring for the first time in two decades the designation of one of the original brigades formed in 1917. In 1966, the 76th Brigade headquarters was located in Columbus, Indiana, in 1969 in Edinburgh, Indiana, and in 1977 re-located to Bedford, Indiana, where it would remain for the next seven years. During that time the 76th Brigade was a component of the 38th Infantry Division, and remained under state command.

By the early 1990’s, the collapse of Communism, the disintegration of the threat of the Soviet Union in Europe, and the first gulf war caused the Defense Department to review the organization and role of the various divisions of the National Guard. Concluding that a smaller, lighter force was more appropriate to the strategic defense needs of the United States, the Army announced the creation of 15 “enhanced” or “separate” brigades from existing Army National Guard units. Separate brigades would operate independently of a division, and would have organic combat support and combat service support elements that would enable a more robust mission performance. The separate brigades would also receive more funding, equipment, and training to create smaller but more flexible units that could be rapidly mobilized and deployed.

The new Separate Brigade, nicknamed the “Nighthawks”, began the difficult and challenging task of building a totally new military organization, absorbing new equipment and personnel, and learning and applying new doctrine in the light of a changing strategic situation. Initial focus was on preparation for deployment to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The Nighthawks went to JRTC in the summer of 2000, and were one of the first new separate brigades to successfully complete that rigorous training.

With the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent war with Iraq, the Nighthawks found themselves called upon to use the skills they had gained at such great cost. Two infantry battalion were activated in 2003 and deployed to combat in Iraq, where they performed there duties with skill and valor. In the spring of 2004, the Nighthawks were mobilized for deployment to Afghanistan for service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Under the leadership of Brigadier General Richard Moorhead, the Nighthawks mobilized and trained at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and deployed to Afghanistan during the summer of 2004. There the brigade formed the core of Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix III. The mission for that Task Force is to train, mentor, and assist the Afghan National Army as it prepares to restore the rule of law and civil society to the shattered country.

Courtesy of www.in.ng.mil

Baptism By Fire

The 160th received its baptism by fire during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983. While conducting an assault on simultaneous targets, the unit suffered its first combat loss. Since that time, the unit has responded to numerous missions at the request of the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. On Oct. 16, 1986, the tough Warrior spirit of the Airborne and the tenacious determination of the Night Stalkers were joined as the Task Force further evolved and became an Airborne unit. With re-designation as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group (Airborne) came the honored and rich tradition of the Airborne Soldier. In September 1987, Night Stalkers participated in Operation Prime Chance, engaging and neutralizing an enemy threat while using aviator night vision goggles and forward-looking infrared devices over water, the first successful night combat engagement under these conditions. The successful Mount Hope III operation in June 1988, performed in the most demanding environmental flight conditions imaginable, clearly demonstrated the ability of man and machine to strike deep, accomplish the mission and return safely.

Operation Just Cause

In December 1989, Night Stalkers were called upon to spearhead Operation Just Cause, the liberation of Panama. Soldiers of the 160th deployed from Fort Campbell during the harshest winter conditions on record into the sweltering heat and darkness of Panama, again simultaneously engaging multiple targets, which resulted in two combat losses and two aircraft destroyed. The organization continued to grow and was officially activated as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) in June 1990. In 1991, the reckless and senseless destruction of Kuwait was met by the swift introduction of Special Operations Aviation into the Southwest Asian theater of operations during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Both operations proved the 160th’s ability to conduct complicated night missions and sustain combat operations as a unit against a determined enemy.

Black Hawk Down

In October 1993, while supporting the requirements of the President of the United States, Night Stalkers engaged an unconventional, hostile force in Somalia. The Soldiers of the 160th entered into an 18-hour firefight of intensity that had not been encountered since Vietnam. This battle resulted in the loss of five Night Stalkers and eight aircraft damaged or destroyed. The dedicated efforts exhibited by these Soldiers to overcome adversity and rescue fellow comrades once again demonstrated that “Night Stalkers Don’t Quit.”

Operation Uphold Democracy

The Regiment supported Operation Uphold Democracy in late 1994, validating the Adaptive Joint Force Package concept, by conducting missions from the aircraft carrier USS America. Since February 2001, the Regiment had been comprised of three assault battalions, 1st and 2nd Bns. at Fort Campbell and 3rd Bn. at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; the Headquarters Company at Fort Campbell; the Special Operations Aviation Training Company at Fort Campbell; D Co., 160th, forward deployed in support of U.S. Southern Command; and E Co., 160th, forward deployed in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

Since 9-11

Since the devastating attack on our nation Sept. 11, 2001, the 160th SOAR(A) has been continuously and actively engaged in combat operations. Night Stalkers first deployed in support of the War on Terror in October 2001, for Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan, with a short period supporting OEF-Philippines. In spring 2003, the 160th deployed its first assets supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the organization continued maturing to meet the nation’s special operations aviation requirements, the Regiment stood up a fourth assault battalion, 4th Bn., 160th, at Fort Lewis, Wa., in December 2005. Following the deactivation of E Co., 160th, on July 31, 2007, the USPACOM area of responsibility was handed over to 4th Bn., which was formally activated in December 2007. On April 24, 2008, D Co., 160th, was officially deactivated with 3 Bn. assuming the responsibility of the USSOUTHCOM area of operations. Today, the Regiment maintains a sustained forward presence in both Afghanistan and Iraq, while simultaneously providing increased training support to USPACOM, an in-extremis force for USSOUTHCOM, and maintaining a national mission alert force.

The courageous response of the Army’s only special operations aviation unit has successfully deterred aggressive and provocative threats by those who seek to harm our country, bolstered national morale and prestige, and supported national foreign policy goals. Today, as in the past, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) continues to take the fight to the enemy and is constantly ready for the next mission, anytime, anywhere, and is poised to arrive time on target plus or minus 30 seconds.

Units of the 160th SOAR(A)

• Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
•  1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
•  2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
•  3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
•  4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wa.
•  Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion

Courtesy of www.campbell.army.mil

Upon graduation from high school, Patrick enlisted in the Army becoming a paratrooper medic. The first unit that he was assigned to was 3^rd Battalion / 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).  Patrick deployed to Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm back in 1990. During his tenure with the 160^th, Patrick had the opportunity to grow both as a soldier and as a medic. He attended SERE school (Survival training), went to Army enlisted flight medic school at Fort Rucker, and attended Primary Leadership training at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He deployed both stateside and overseas with the 160^th and spent some time on the USS. Theodore Roosevelt. During his time with the 160^th, he was on both on enlisted crewmember flight status and parachute status. 

 He then joined the Kentucky Army National Guard. Patrick deployed twice toEcuadorduring his time with the Kentucky Army National Guard. He continued to grow in the medical field and nursing field and started nursing school atEasternKentuckyUniversity.  Patrick’s first job as a nurse was as a registered nurse at theVeteranHospitalinIndianapolis,Indiana. Patrick transferred to the Indiana Army National Guard where in 2000, his entire brigade travelled toFort Polk,Louisianato participate in the combat simulations at theJointReadinessTrainingCenteror JRTC.

 He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in nursing in May 2003 from MarianUniversityin Indianapolis, Indiana.  In 2004, he deployed with his unit, the 76^th Infantry Brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His unit was part of Task Force Phoenix. This task force trained the conventional Afghanistan Army and had soldiers embedded into theseAfghanistan units both during training and combat operations. Patrick worked briefly as a liaison for Task Force Phoenix at Bagram Airbase before going back out into the field.

Patrick started on his master’s degree to become a Family Nurse Practitioner upon returning from combat in 2005. He graduated from IndianaWesleyanUniversityin December, 2008. Patrick then transferred to the 138^th Field Artillery Brigade, part of the Kentucky Army National Guard, where he remained till he retired in January, 2011. Patrick currently works part time in a medical intensive care unit part time and works full time in a urgent and primary care clinic as a nurse practitioner.

 Hobbies include Corvettes, working out, Star Trek, and reading medical books. He is married to his wife Connie. They have a dog named Rocco and two cats named Savannah and Georgia. He named his cats after the beautiful city of Savannah and the other cat after the state of Georgia when he was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, in Savannah,Georgia.

His awards and decorations include the Combat Medical Badge, 2^nd award from both Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. The Meritorious Service Medical from Afghanistan, the Air Medal from Desert Storm. Patrick also has earned the Expert Field Medical Badge and the enlisted crewmember aviation wings.

The author  felt compelled to write this memoir after returning from Afghanistanin 2005.  He felt that his experiences as a combat medic during Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and fifteen years later during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan made me the best qualified person to tell about the combat medic. He was a medic with experience and had some perspective.

The story of the modern day combat medic is something that is not being told. There have been television shows on such about infantry forces in Vietnam, movies about Special Forces soldiers, even movies about the 160^th and the Army Rangers.  No stories about the modern medic specifically.

The author has talked with other combat medics who wish that they could write about their experiences. Originally, the author thought about getting several medics together and all write about about the different experiences from different wars. None of the other medics were interested in doing this. Patrick soon realized that not only is it a story about combat, but a story about life.

Patrick writes about growing up as an Army brat and moving every couple of years, about dealing with post traumatic stress disorder. I write about the training of a medic and how I used that training in combat. I write about being a seasoned older medic giving some dear advice to a new medic. The book itself is not just combat. The book is about the Journey that he took. He has entitled the book, “My Journey as a Combat Medic : From Operation Desert Storm to Operation Enduring Freedom”  for this.

Patrick was a naive new medic at first and as the years had gone by, he was the seasoned old medic. Looking back, he remembers those old seasoned medics he would look to for advice and inspiration. Patrick wrote this book because he wants  the public to know about the people that are the first ones to take care of the injured in combat. Enough stories and documentaries have been written about the surgeons in combat hospitals. A true story needs to be told about the medics who took care of the wounded first.  That is this story.

“Great Book! I purchased this book for my son who will be leaving for basic training next month and will learn to become a medic. My son and I both read the book. This book is very insightful for anyone that is considering this as their career in the military. Patrick shared his experiences in the book that my son felt will be helpful to him to better serve the soldiers as needed. I am glad that you mentioned the post traumatic stress, this way it will help him to recognize it and to know it is normal. Thank you for sharing with us all. “  ShiningStar

“This book provides a true to life in-depth look at what it means to be army medic. The author pulls no punches in providing a real life look at the invaluable service that these men and women provide to our servicemen in the field.” Dave

“This book is very easy to read. It is insightful and interesting. Mr Thibeault shines a much needed light on the combat medic’s job.” MoneySaver

The jumpmaster started out by yelling, “Get Ready.” I looked around at the other Airborne students, they seemed as scared as I was by the look in their eyes. The jumpmaster then yelled, “Outboard Personnel, Stand Up” This was my cue to stand up. It was hard to stand up with that parachute on and the turbulence from the airplane. Salty sweat was burning my eyes. My adrenaline started to flow in me, and my legs began to tremble. I was getting a little bit nervous. The next order given was to, “Hook Up”. I hooked my parachute static line to the metal wire going down the length of the airplane.

My heart was pounding; I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right decision in doing this. It wasn’t too late to back out, nobody would say anything, and no one would even remember me. I thought about the past two weeks of running my ass off at Airborne School. I hate running. No, I was going to go through with it. We approached the drop zone. My stomach was tied in knots.

Chapter Two: The Army Brat

I am an Army brat. I might be a combat veteran with two combat tours under my belt, but I am an Army brat first. I spent my whole childhood around the Army. My father spent thirty years in the Army, so that is what I knew growing up. When people ask me where I am from, I tell them nowhere or everywhere. Sometimes I would say planet Earth. I never had a geographical hometown, the Army was my home. Our family moved every few years to different locations both in the United States and in several foreign countries. I was indifferent to where we lived. I associated with the Army post that we lived on. Having lived in foreign countries did not seem foreign to me. I felt that living in the American South for the first time was more foreign to me than when I lived in Europe and Asia.

Chapter Three: Desert Storm

One night on a mission, one of our helicopters dropped a combat team off in an undisclosed location for combat operations. A bunch of Iraqi soldiers had surrendered to the team. The unit had no choice but to treat them as prisoners of war. A prisoner of war is not considered a combatant anymore. The team off-loaded these men from the helicopter to the front of our hanger. Our medical section was called out to evaluate and stabilize them. We were in the middle of the desert and about to do our thing. I was finally getting a chance to do something combat related. Not too many nineteen-year-old medics can say they worked on prisoners of war fresh off the field of battle. They brought back about fifteen enemy prisoners of war with them. I seriously doubt that they were “captured” in the military sense of the word. I heard about how Iraqi soldiers were surrendering to reporters.

Chapter Four: Army Training

After establishing what platoon we belonged to, the Drill Sergeants started making our lives miserable for the next eight weeks. The first training exercise we did was a stand up and sit down exercise. The Drill Sergeants would yell, “Stand up” and another Drill Sergeant would yell, “Sit down.” This stand up / sit down exercise lasted for a couple of hours. I was getting so sore from doing something so simple.

The next event that occurred was to meet our Drill Sergeants face-to-face. The Drill Sergeants talked to each individual soldier for a few minutes. I heard what the Drill Sergeant was saying to the other soldiers. He commented on our facial features, places we were from, questioned our gender and sexuality, or what we did before we joined the Army. I dared not laugh, but some of the shit these guys said was hilarious. When the Drill Sergeant asked a basic trainee where he was from, the guy just answered, “Yes Drill Sergeant,” and said nothing more. The Drill Sergeant stared at this basic trainee expecting an answer and he started to cry. The Drill Sergeant just shook his head in disbelief and went on to the next guy in line.

Chapter Five: Medical Training

The most nerve racking class at the time was the intravenous therapy class. We practiced on a dummy arm a few times to learn the basics. After that we would practice on each other. I got stuck several times during this part of my training. The testing portion was quick-paced also. We had to demonstrate how to spike the bag of fluid and all, but we didn’t start any fluids. We just stuck each other until we got a good IV in. Some soldiers passed out as they were getting stuck, others just bled profusely. I enjoyed it, it was fun. Learning to start on IV on someone was what being a medic is all about!

We practiced on training manikins for the skills that we could not do on each other such as applying tourniquets, airway management, needle decompression and learning to assist mothers during childbirth. Those manikins are not the same as real-life, but it was a good starting point. I was sure I did not want someone putting a tourniquet on or sticking me in the chest with needles! The field portion of our medic training was one week long. We marched a few minutes to the field site every morning that week. It was late April in 1990. The weather in San Antonio was warming up. The training area was really muddy. We wore the old-style steel pot helmet. The insert of the helmets was made of steel. Back in the day, soldiers used the steel pot as a sink while in the field to hold water. The newer helmets are Kevlar helmets, but they too got the name K-pot for short.

A good portion of the field training included mixing the medical Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) Sergeants with our basic medic class. These Sergeants were already seasoned medics. The training they were going through was more advanced and they were learning more Army leadership skills. A few of us followed this medic around and she told us what to do. She taught us field skills that were not in the book.

We had specific training lanes that we had to go through. The lane I enjoyed the most was the massive casualty exercise. We had about a dozen wounded people and we went through the motions of evaluating and stabilizing them. We applied neck braces, splints, and dressings, nothing invasive in the field, but it was still fun. After we stabilized them, we put them on the green Army litters for evacuation.

Chapter Six: The Combat Medic

The helicopter landed and the Syrians loaded the three wounded men onto the floor of the helicopter. The smell of spent ammunition, of burnt flesh and the exhaust from the helicopter are the smells that I remember most. I looked at these three men in front of me and thought to myself, this is for real. I hope I don’t screw this up.
The soldiers were moaning and I tried not to pay attention. Instead I focused on keeping these men alive while they were in my care. They already had tourniquets applied to the stumps. There was a moderate amount of bleeding from the stumps. I made the tourniquets tighter. I decided to dress the amputations to cover them up. One of the wounded was looking up to me. I don’t know how confused he was due to his blood loss, but I heard him moaning for Allah, Allah and I could not understand what else he was saying. I looked at him and smiled.

Chapter Seven: The Army and the Army National Guard

I was on the ground and watched the team parachute in. We started our patrol to where they were going to set up the landing zone. After the team set up the landing zone, a call came on the radio that we had to escape and evade. I knew this all along, but I played along. We started our patrol in the jungle again. It was dark and hot outside, and we walked through warm swamp water about knee high. One of the soldiers slipped and fell into swamp.

He was carrying the squad automatic weapon or SAW. The Sergeant gave me his SAW. I had to keep a closer eye on this guy now. We all took turns carrying the extra weapon. A few kilometers later, he slipped again, this time he passed out and his head fell into the murky swamp water. He was head first in the water. We all ran to him to prevent him from drowning. He was completely out of it. We quickly found some dry land and I went to work.

I started an IV and decided he needed to be evacuated. The team had to set up a landing zone for real now, helicopters don’t like landing in swamps. The helicopter took thirty minutes to arrive. I was going to go with the soldier on the helicopter, because our other medic had arrived. I had done everything I could for the guy, I was worried that he swallowed swamp water and that some of it had gotten into his lungs. The jungle in Panama is wild and unforgiving.

Chapter Eight: Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan

The biggest threat in Afghanistan was land mines and improvised explosive devices. We learned that the only real safe way to get out of a landmine was to go back the way that you came, be it in a truck or on foot. The improvised explosive devices were something different. The Taliban set up hidden, roadside bombs to kill and maim American forces. These devices could be set up remotely. We learned in our training that the only effective thing to do was to hit the gas pedal and get the hell out of the kill zone.
Our training period ended in July, 2004 and we were ready to go. I was in pretty decent shape at this point. I was eager to get it over with. We had a weekend to say good-bye to our families. We flew from Indianapolis to one of the former Soviet Republics called Kyrgyzstan. There were a few Air Force bases in that country. We unloaded our gear and put on our body armor. We had to wear the body armor because we were going to fly into Afghanistan.

We flew into Afghanistan in a C-130 cargo plane. This was it; our unit going into the combat zone. There was a lot of tension during the short flight; many of the soldiers had not been to war. I was not particularly worried, I have never heard of a C-130 being shot down over Afghanistan. I was more worried about what would happen when we landed on the ground. The flight itself was bumpy; I had been on bumpy rides before, but this was bad. The highlight of the flight was when the plane took a sudden, nasty, nosedive to the Earth. The crew chiefs on board the plane warned us about this before we took off. The airplane dropped altitude quickly to avoid getting hit by anti-aircraft missiles from the Taliban. After the nosedive, the plane leveled off and we landed in Kabul.

Chapter Nine: Camp Victory, Afghanistan

A newspaper reporter from the Stars and Stripes was attached to Task Force Phoenix in early 2005. The Stars and Stripes is a newspaper printed for military and civilian personal working for the military overseas. The reporter was at Camp Victory in Herat to see how the Regional Command was doing. He had spent time at Camp Phoenix before coming out to visit us. The medical section had the glorious task of making sure this reporter was taken care of. He was a likeable enough man, we had some pretty interesting conversations, and we were just as curious about him as he was about us. I guess as a nice way of thanking me for the hospitality at our camp, he quoted me in the paper.

The big story at the time within our Task Force was about a little child from a refugee camp in Kabul who had a congenital cardiac abnormality and the medical staff at Camp Phoenix arranged for this young boy to have corrective surgery at Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana. This was a very noble gesture, showing that the Americans cared about the kids.

Chapter Ten: Healthcare in the Military

I remember how it worked; we would show up for physical training at 6:30 in the morning. This would be the first formation of the unit. The person conducting the physical training would call out anyone who has a profile or anyone who wants to go on sick call to step out of formation. Other soldiers would see those who get out of the formation and that too could be humiliating.

Bear in mind that not every unit is like that, and in defense of First Sergeants, they have to look out for the health and welfare of their soldiers. If that means that they have to be an asshole, then they have to be an asshole. Some soldiers do abuse sick call to get out of doing duty and physical training. I have seen this as a medic doing morning sick call. A soldier can be charged with malingering. This is considered to be an offense in the military. The term “sick call ranger” is used to describe a soldier who goes on sick call all the time.

Chapter Eleven: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The wounded Syrians I worked on during Desert Storm were screaming in Arabic. I don’t know what the hell they were saying, but I have a general idea. Hearing Arabic is a trigger for me to have a flashback. When I hear a person speaking in Arabic, some of these memories flood into my head. One time during a Medical Code at work, one of the physicians started screaming loudly, he was of Middle Eastern origin. This man walked in during the code and started barking orders without getting a history of what we had done already. No one was listening to him so he started flailing his arms around. I had to get away from the situation. I couldn’t handle being in this code; it triggered a flashback. I told one of the nurses standing by that she needed to take over; I was done. It did not help that we had a mild earthquake several hours before the code. Since the hospital is a federal building, my first thought was it was being bombed. The sad thing is, I thought terrorists were doing the bombing.

Chapter Twelve: Dear New Medic

Dear New Medic:

Welcome to the best job in the world. There is no job like that of an Army medic. You will travel to places and see things that others can only imagine. It is not an easy job, but it is a rewarding one. The rewards are not badges, ribbons, or bonus money; the rewards come from the good feeling you get from to helping people. You will learn new skills on the battlefield that doctors are not taught in medical school yet. You will experience highs when you save a life. You will experience the lowest of lows when someone dies on you. It comes with the job. Don’t let it get to your head either way.

Your job requires many things of you. You have to stay physically fit and mentally alert in order to do your job. Believe me; no one wants a medic who cannot carry his or her own load on the battlefield. In fact, you will often be called to carry someone else’s load on the battlefield. You never want to be a liability instead of an asset. Just because you don’t have to do physical training with your unit, does not mean you don’t have to stay in tip-top shape. Nothing is worse than having the medic struggling to keep up with everyone else. You don’t want to be that medic.

Chapter Thirteen: The Final Years

I don’t think life ever really gets normal after coming home from war. I guess I should say I wanted things to be as normal as possible. It was hard getting used to being a full-time civilian and a part-time soldier. I was used to going everywhere with my body armor on and having my weapon at my side. I would wake up in the middle of the night in my bed at home and feel for my weapon. I would wake up startled not being able to feel it. Then I remembered I was at home, not in Afghanistan.

I worked as a registered nurse at the hospital. I had not forgotten how my boss gave me a hard time when I asked her permission to take some leave when I learned I was going to be activated-in to train for the war in Afghanistan. She told me no because of staffing issues. She granted me only a few days. Another soldier, who worked on the same floor as I did, abused the system. Maybe she thought I was doing the same thing. I don’t know.