Monday, June 9, 2008
Describe the Most Adverse Conditions You Have Experienced
We've all experienced some pretty harsh conditions while deployed or in the field for training. Describe one of those events where you experienced some discomfort while America slept or entertained oblivious to our activities. It could be a particular difficulty you overcame, or the hottest/coldest days you've spent in the field. Everyone has experiences seared in their memories, share them with us, and humorous anecdotes are a big plus!
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3 comments:
Probably the most disagreeable thing to me is the rain. I can deal with the heat, the cold is even better as you can always put something else on. But to be wet is pure misery. My most memorable rain event is from Officer Candidate School when we visited the Ranger Program at Fort Benning, Georgia in January 1985. We had several indoor classes on patrolling before we went to the field to conduct a 1-2 day practical patrolling application. As we trucked out to the patrol start point the skies opened and it poured buckets. It only got worse as we unloaded from the trucks and began walking.
The wet weather gear only caused me to sweat, and so in just a few minutes I was soaked. We came to a halt after a couple of hours. The patrol leadership moved out for reconnaissance of the objective while the rest of us laid down on the wet grass, and the rain continued. And it was in the 30’s, not a happy time. I was miserable, and cold, and began shivering, but still doing OK. As it continued to rain my body got colder and colder, and still I was OK, until the cold rain water ran down my backside to my most remote body location. That got my attention and completed my miserable condition.
At that point I decided I would not volunteer for Ranger School when I went to the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course later that year. In the end I did sign-up for Ranger School and graduated right on schedule, but as part of the last summer class for the year, and the rain and cold were not factors at all in one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life.
Probably the most adverse condition I have experienced while in the Army was a single part-day experience that had nothing to do with weather, terrain, restricted diet, or separation from family. It was not a training event, though frankly I don't believe any sort of training can prepare you for what I had to do.
I had just taken command of my company the day before, and on this day we were getting ready to conduct an 8-hour mounted roadmarch (by Humvee) to Ft. Stewart to provide O/C support to another battalion getting ready to go to NTC. Only a few of us from the company were going: me, the platoon leaders, a platoon sergeant, and our drivers. I had gotten to know some of the Soldiers in the company in a superficial way during change-of-command inventories, but I really didn't know any of the guys all that well.
As I was going to the battalion headquarters to do some final coordination prior to SP, someone intercepted me with the most terrible news I think I had ever heard, and it was my duty as the commander to deliver it. I had to tell the soldier who was supposed to be my driver for this exercise that his father had killed his mother and then he killed himself. How do you break that kind of news to someone? That's not the kind of thing they teach you at the post-sponsored company commander/first sergeant course. Compounding the problem was my commander's insistence that we needed to get underway for the drive to Stewart, and that this unforeseen circumstance should require as little of my time as possible so that we could get rolling.
(At the time, nothing seemed less important to me than getting to Ft. Stewart. I think of the Army as a people-centric organization, and we don't take care of our most important asset, than what good are we? Reflecting on it now, I still hold to the belief that my commander's position was insensitive and unnecessary given the magnitude of what had just happened to this Soldier as compared to a routine training event.)
As I made my way back to the motor pool, I was preparing myself for how I would break the news to this kid. Though I didn't know it or think about it at the time, the skills of a chaplain would have come in handy. Ultimate responsibility still rested with me, but having a chaplain there as the subject matter expert for the fallout would have been invaluable. Unfortunately, we didn't have a battalion chaplain at the time, so I had to go all by myself. There's no prep course to teach you how to break the news to someone that their world as they know it is gone. Having delivered Red Cross messages before, it's different when you have to give the bad news to someone who sort of expected it (e.g., about an elderly family member with terminal cancer); it's still sad, but not completely unanticipated. In this instance, it was going to be a crushing blow.
Once I got to my vehicle, I took the Soldier around back and away from everyone else, and I put it to him as gently and straightforward as I could. It was a gut-wrenching experience for me, which I know sounds very self-absorbed given the circumstances. The poor kid took it as badly as can be expected, but fortunately his buddies and some of the chain-of-command who knew him better than me were there to comfort him. For that, I was extremely grateful.
I later found out that he was the oldest of his siblings and that the burden of taking care of his minor brothers and sisters had fallen to him, a 21-year old who wasn't much older than them.
Given the totality of the situation, there's no way in the world that that day should be one of the most difficult days in my Army career as compared to what it was for my Soldier. Nevertheless, being unexpectedly thrust into the private grief of someone else can in itself be an emotionally draining experience. It is one that I hope never to repeat.
Major Garrett Jones
Student, US Army Command & General Staff School, Ft. Belvoir, VA
I concur. The most difficult situation I ever encountered in the Army was not in training, combat, or oversees deployment. It was my assignment as a casualty assistance officer.
I was called from my normal day job to help a family throught the loss of their son - a U.S. Army soldier, killed in action in Iraq.
Unlike a notification officer, who has the unenviable job of telling someone that their loved one has died, I was assigned to help them negotiate the maze of paperwork and benifits, as well as be their liaison to the Army.
Meeting them for the first time was gut wrentching. It was the only time I can remember being trully intimidated by a middle aged mother and her college aged daughter.
I had been throught the 2 day training course on how to do notification and assistance duties, but that can hardly prepare you to deal with greiving family members face to face.
I was suprised at the emotional connection I made with this young soldier that I only met post mortum. His family is trully incredible. They questioned his death, mourned his loss, but through it all remained strong - and devout supporters of the Army.
I knew that my duties may have been unpleasent, but that sacrifice pales in comparison to the families that give us the soldiers that make up the Army today.
It was an honor to be able to provide some modicum of assistance to the family of a soldier who had made the ultimate sacrifice. That the Army dedicates so much manpower to the process is a further testiment to the value we place on soldiers and their families.
MAJ John Checco
Student, US Army Command & General Staff School
Ft. Belvoir, VA
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