 Chn twe. . . (Where My Moccasins
Have Taken Me)
*Patriotic & nomadic by nature, I served this country for 10 years in the US Army and Army Reserve. While in the military, I served
at the following duty stations:
- Ft. Lewis, WA - I was assigned to the Headquarters Battery of the 1st
Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery at North Fort... This was one of my favorite units.
Our mission was to shoot shit out of the sky.... with our big ole missiles.
Our motto: "If it flies, it dies." One of my trips to South Korea was with
this unit. We were there for Team Spirit (a huge military exercise). The
worst part of the exercise? Setting up camp on smelly rice paddy's...
The best part? Shopping! The Koreans have the best embroidery, mink blankets,
eel skin bags, and genuine imitation copies of any item you would want....If you go to
Korea and don't go shopping, you're wrong! I also went to Yellow Stone with
this unit. We helped save Yogi Bear when Yellow Stone was burning down.
Fighting wild fires is physically demanding, but we were in good shape before we
left. Our fitness routine included the usual push-ups, sit-ups, and running 2 miles
a day. But we also had to run at least 5 miles every Friday, plus we went on 12-mile
road marches with 40 lb ruck sacks once a week.
- Giessen, Germany - My assignment in Germany was not all that
glamorous... I worked in a Postal Unit... sorting mail... loading trucks.... sorting
mail.... loading trucks... (yawn). A far cry from shooting shit out of the
sky. I began hating Valentines Day and other holidays when people sent mass amounts
of cards. Lucky thing for me this assignment only lasted 9 months. My poor
brain probably would have shriveled up from doing such mindless work. I tried
working different parts of the post office: the certified room, the registered room,
canceling stamps.. boring! Every bit of it..... Not long after I got
there "the Wall" came down. That was a trip - all those east Germans
driving around in their little itty bitty 2 cylinder cars loaded with their entire
households. The things I loved about Germany: being able to afford my own BMW,
driving as fast as I wanted on the autobahn, castles, bratwurst, and pomme frittes mit
gravy!
- Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - This was another one of my favorite
assignments. I worked in the Information Management Division with the "General
Staff." High echelon shit. This was during Desert Storm. This
assignment left a lasting impression with me about the possibilities with Information
Technology. For some reason I had my own vehicle when I was there (a Mitsubishi
Pajero). This gave me lots of mobility in my off time, so of course I had to try to
see as much as I could while I was there, and meet as many people as possible. I
know it wasn't supposed to be a social event, but I just couldn't help
myself.....Sometimes I think being born to the rez has dulled my senses to impending
danger.
I also went to Korea with another unit for another exercise, and have traveled to lots
of states for training purposes. When they say "The Army is not just a job, it's a
trip," they mean it.
*Patriotic in a Native sense: devoted to defend the homeland of my ancestors.
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Outside Al-Kobar shopping center... Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia. Even during war time I find a way to go
shopping (go figure)
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