My story is a little long, and I have to leave out some details. In fact, a lot of details will be missing. I apologize.
First things first, I suppose. I'm in my early 20s. Single, but with a foreign boyfriend who does not live in the States. I'm a college student studying Computer Science and French. I work in a planetarium as the resident computer geek. But that's not what's bringing me to write this.
I'm a National Guardsmen and I'm being deployed overseas.
Stop.
Breathe.
It's okay. I volunteered. And like I've told friends and family and coworkers and everyone else: it's a lot of money (tax-free!), my benefits go up, and I get veteran status.
I need a year to get myself back into shape and get my life together.
A year to save money for my grand dream: a year studying French in Paris.
They asked for volunteers, so I volunteered. I deployed and spent a year in the sandbox. I came home. The Army decided I was too broken to serve any longer and gave me temporary medical retirement. I'm a civilian again and married right back in. My husband is gearing to deploy. In the meantime, I have a strange love-hate relationship with the Army. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it doesn't.
About Me
- Techno
- I'm a contradiction all by myself. Soldier and student. Stargazer and computer geek. Boots and music. Paper pusher and globetrotter. It all works out in the end.
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A bit of history...
There was a call for volunteers to deploy in Spring of 2006. I volunteered, was selected, passed the screening process, and was sent to reclassification training to go from being a bandsman to a human resource specialist. After graduation, I was home for roughly a month. I met the rest of my new unit right before we were sent to mobilization training. Once validated, we were sent overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
I left university, quit my job, dumped my foreign boyfriend, and said a few very painful goodbyes. But I don't regret it one bit.
In early August, I was MEDEVAC'd out of the desert. My unit was just a few weeks away from going home. Now my only job is to get better. The irony is that they returned to their homes before I did.The Army has offered me disability and temporary retirement pay. I'm taking it. Bye bye combat boots.
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