Return to the Army green... Part four (Staff Sergeant)

In September of 2004 I was promoted to Staff Sergeant (SSG), a promotion that came less than 2 years after my promotion to Sergeant (SGT).  This is a rank for which I was honored to finally achieve, it was the one promotion I never saw coming, didn't have a clue it was going to happen, to date it the only promotion or advancement that was kept quiet prior to being awarded to me, I was very, very surprised.  The promotion would be my last as an enlisted soldier, and it would come in a unit for which I still have fond memories and great respect for the individuals I served with during those years in Utah.  As a SSG I joined a core group of NCOs, all SSG, that I feel was collectively, one of the strongest NCO groups I have ever been associated with.  Our mentor and acting First Sergeant, Chuck Rackham, was a man I still am in contact with to this day (thanks facebook), and a man who was instrumental in my promotion to SSG.  He has been, and always was, a huge supported in my endeavors as an NCO and my decision to become an officer.  I almost wasn't an officer, my most cherished military goal was to be a Sergeant Major, not gonna happen, but now I have different goals for my military career, and none have anything to do with my personal rank.  They have to do with maintaining medical readiness for my fellow Guard soldiers, so when the state, or nation calls, they can perform their duties.

CPT Horning (right) and SSG Thompson
(left) in Nicaragua, date stamp is wrong,
butuniform of those years was the 
Battle Dress Uniform (BDU)

I am sure early on, Master Sergeant (MSG) Rackham, had his concerns with me.  I was not completely sure after being promoted to SGT if I wanted to continue to serve in the Guard.  I had even at one point tried to contact a recruiter to see if I had an option to transfer back to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), that never materialized.  I am certain MSG Rackham thought closely about whether or not I should have been an NCO during those early years, but his patience paid dividends in the end.  I stayed with the Medical Command and as difficult as it was early on to feel that I belonged, eventually, I became comfortable.  The only reason for that was my fellow soldiers.

Along with MSG Rackham, there was my great fellow NCOs SSG Troy Thompson, SSG Eric Sivertson, SSG Sherill Peacock, and SGT Dan Andrews, just to name a few.  Most of them now hold different rank, are with different units, or are out of the Army National Guard.  However, looking back, those times during the initial years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) we had a good group of individuals, a good group of NCOs, and an absolute great group of fellow Americans I am proud to have served along side.

View into the Salt Lake Valley from
Little Cottonwood Canyon, home to many of my
former fellow Utah Guardsmen.

It is funny when looking back, reminiscing on old times, and thinking how much life has changed.  How experiences in life have changed the course or path that we as humans travel.  How the hardships, difficulties, and challenges we endure impact us in ways we never can comprehend and are blind to at specific times in our lives.  It is something that I touch on in my book, it is a fundamental aspect of being human, accepting challenge, facing fears, making mistakes, and walking through the fire to reach the other side, where ever that may be.  Looking back, knowing the great citizen soldiers I have shared my service with, I have no doubt that the strength we shared those many years ago, helped push me through to the place I am today.  For those friendships in service I am grateful, for that time we spent together I am honored to have stood side by side with each fellow soldier during those years, and for many more to come.

Visit my new website that is under construction: www.terrycropf.com

 

Return to the Army green... Part three (NonCommissioned Officer)

The U.S. Army NCO Education System (NCOES) has made some changes since I have attended the Basic NonCommissioned Officer courses in 2010.  Mainly, the names of the courses have changes, the content, not as much.  While a Specialist (SPC/E-4) during those early years in the Army National Guard I was very inpatient at advancing to Sergeant (SGT/E-5).  I had been advanced to SPC while still active duty, sometime in 1999, I would remain that rank until 2003, what seemed like an eternity, but actually, would be less time than I spent at the Staff Sergeant (SSG/E-6) rank. 

So, after the Olympics, I was placed into a slot for the first of the NCOES schools, what is now known as the Warrior Leaders Course (WLC), but at the time was the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC).  I attended in early 2003 and accepted a SGT position at Utah's Medical Command located at Camp Williams in Riverton, Utah.  This was also the location I attended PLDC.  I had some excellent instructors in PLDC, good NCOs, that took their jobs seriously and wanted to pass on the required resources and knowledge to those of us attending to make us better junior leaders in the Army.  I understand the need for the NCOES schools, but honestly, not anyone can, or should be, an NCO.  I have had this discussion with some close military friends in the recent past.  Years ago,the Amry had SPC rank that advanced past the pay grade of E-4, it was meant to allow for soldiers to advance through the pay grades, but not have the burden or responsibility of an NCO.  It may be time to look at bringing this advancement of the SPC rank back, that way we are not pushing individuals not qualified into NCO positions.  This doesn't mean that the individuals are not worth retaining in the military, most can do their job well, but fall short in leadership ability and skills.  I went through PLDC, graduated, and was promoted to SGT in May 2005 within Utah's Medical Command (MedCom).  I was hesitant going to this unit, it is purely medical and "top" heavy.  That just means there is many officers, seems most medical units are like this.  Medical professionals have rank handed to them, even if they com in off the street.  This is another topic I touch briefly on in my book, Combat Support; The True Burden Of Sacrifice.  As unfair as it seems, it is hard to get and retain physicians and physician assistants, the demand of their civilian jobs are exceedingly keeping those in provider positions from joining the military ranks.  I am one of those individuals now, and I can honestly say, we are treated different than basic branch officers.  I can save that story for another blog post.

I transitioned into MedCom without issues. Found a home as part of the Screening and Immunizations team.  During the time I transitioned to MedCom, the state of Utah was deploying soldiers to both Afghanistan and Iraq at a rapid pace.  Seems like all we did during my early days there was have Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) events multiple times a month.  It was a pace that would slow, but never completely stop while I was a member of the Utah Army National Guard.  Eventually it would be my turn to attend an SRP, but before that, I had a job to do in MedCom, and another promotion awaiting me before I ever saw an SRP.  The job would take me to Fort Bragg for the first time to help the demobilization process for one of the Army National Guard's Special Forces Groups.  Then it would lead me to a very rewarding 2 week humanitarian mission deep into the countryside of Nicaragua to witness 3rd country living at a level greater than what I saw in the countryside of Korea.  It was a good time, with some great people, it was the beginning of my career as an NCO, as a SGT, a rank I had finally achieved and was grateful to have.  And I was ready to lead from the front.

 

Return to the Army green... Part two

After only a few short weeks with my new Army National Guard unit word came that the 211th Aviation Group had a moderate number of group members being activated for around 45 days to work security at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.  I actually wanted to be assigned to this detail, but unfortunately there wasn't a shortage of volunteers and I was told I would not be needed. Or maybe I wasn't told that I "was" needed to fulfill any role in the security operations at the games.  I was a little disappointed, but would survive.  How often does the opportunity arise to work the Olympic Games, especially as part of the military?  Almost never, the games only happen every four years, or every two if you toss in the summer games, so it would have been an experience that would be etched as one of the defining moments in my military career.  I thought it wasn't meant to be.....

I recall a early Sunday afternoon at our home in Magna, Utah.  My wife was working, I was home with the kids, Dylan and Destiny were still young, Dylan approximately 10, Destiny 8, and Dakota, well she wasn't even one year old yet, boy, seems like forever ago.  Anyways, I was all wrapped up in the last game of the New York Giants season, I think it was the game against the Green Bay Packers when Michael Strahan sacked Brett Farve to become the all-time sacks leader in the NFL.  I actually recall getting very frustrated with the lackluster end to a disappointing season after going to the Super Bowl the year before.  I received a phone call, land line of course, not sure I even had a cell phone at that point in time.  Funny how the cell phone is now just another accessory, back then it was almost a privilege to own one.  Back to the Giants (then the phone call), I have had several episodes of anxiety and panic attacks over the years watching the Giants (true in the present day also), but luckily, at the end of the 2001 season I knew there wasn't hope for the playoffs, but a win against Green Bay would have allowed the Giants to finish at 8-8 on the season.  I looked at the caller ID and it was the last name of my company commander, oddly, I had no idea why he would be calling me directly.  I picked up the phone and he seemed confused as to why I did not report the our armory for the first day of activation for the winter games.  He wasn't upset, but we were both confused, I had never been told to report or been given orders, but he told me to just show up on Monday and begin the process of being trained up to perform security.  This began a fun experience, although, I was still new to the unit and didn't really know anyone.

We all spent a few weeks being trained on how to check vehicles for hidden devices and explosives.  Following 9-11 there was a big push to make sure that the games would go off without a catastrophe.  The Secret Service was in charge of security and they were a nice, slightly arrogant, bunch of guys and gals, but respectful none-the-less.  Even though I was a medic and not assigned to the Utah Army National Guard's Medical Detachment, I wasn't involved in medical activities at all.  The Medical Detachment had set up various locations to provide aid in case of medical emergencies in coordination and collaboration with local and state emergency medical services.  So, I was assigned to searching vehicles for two weeks, then I transitioned to a detail at one of the entrances to the large venue in downtown Salt Lake City where pedestrians would enter to attend events.  Our days were actually quite relaxing, we arrived early, but the venue would not accept pedestrian entrees until approximately 11 AM, so we had time to kill.

Most mornings I would head to the Gateway Mall with a small group of fellow soldiers to get breakfast and browse the various shops.  We spent quite a bit of time at Barnes and Noble and discussing our future military careers.  At this point, being in an aviation unit, a few of the guys were looking at becoming Apache or Blackhawk pilots.  I was still focused on expanding my medical career, but I was almost talked into pursuing a career as a pilot.  Obviously I decided against that, I had spent the last five years working in the medical field, so I would continue down that path, initially I thought I would go to nursing school, but during those years, PA or medical school were also interesting to me. 

I didn't encounter too many celebrities or athletes in my Olympic experience, but I did meet Ahmad Rashad when his vehicle came through our security check point, he had to exit the vehicle so a few people struck up conversation with him.  I have never been star struck, but it was interesting to see these TV personalities in the flesh.  I also passed by Apolo Ohno while walking through a venue and also saw Evander Holyfield and Merlin Olsen while working the pedestrian entrance.  Otherwise it was just enjoyable being around the individuals I grew to know during those days and spend time with.  Funny how that after the games we all went back to our perspective sections and rarely saw one another during the time I was assigned to the 211th Aviation.  I would soon attend the Primary Leadership Course (PLDC) and move to another unit for a long awaited promotion to Sergeant.  A rank for which I desired since I was a private in the regular Army.

The games ended, no major emergencies or catastrophes to note.  But a great beginning to my Army National Guard career, and a great introduction to the type of soldiers I would serve alongside for years to come.

Next... PLDC and my promotion to Sergeant.

Reflection

I have done much thinking today on where I am in my military career, and to where I may be headed.  I have never been concerned about future deployments, or whatever my Country may ask of me to perform as a member of it's Armed Forces.  But reflecting today, and after spending a long day with my little girls yesterday (something that I rarely seem to have time for anymore) I seem to be at a crossroads.  I have less than a year left on my current contract to the military.  I have nearly 16 full years of service spread between the Army and Army National Guard, and now I wonder how much more of my time should be spent giving all I can give to my country when my children are growing up rapidly before my eyes.

When I was in the regular Army and our two oldest children were young, we spent many hours together, wrestling, watching movies, playing games and video games.  The only commitment I had during those years was the Army and my family, it was easy, it was manageable.  I remember those days fondly, everything seemed easy, there was little stress, there was just work, play, and relaxation.  Now, after many years of bearing with the military through this great transition into a high level of readiness for combat activity I find that nothing is easy anymore, and life has grown so much more complicated.  Our two youngest children have not had the luxury of me being home for wrestling and horseplay like the two oldest, it seemed most my time is absorbed in recovering from the weeks work schedule, which now includes a full time job as a neurosurgical physician assistant along with what many in our country believe is a part time, one weekend a month and two weeks out of the summer, job with the National Guard.  I am here to tell you, with the level of readiness we need to maintain, there is no such thing as a part time job in the Army National Guard.  It would not be possible to maintain the level required just acting on the limited time that we are allotted by our part time military careers.  The weekends seem to filter into the week, many tasks needing completed on our own time, after we arrive home form our civilian jobs, and at times, into the following weekend. 

This is not something for which I am bitter, I do it out of loyalty to my nation, loyalty to the men and women I serve with and the need to maintain the level of medical readiness that has been battered by multiple deployments for many, and the lingering effects of those deployments on many individuals psyche.  I think what I am getting at is that I have to weigh these facts carefully as I get closer to contemplating retention in the Army National Guard.  I want all my children to have fond memories of me, not memories where all they recall is the absence of their father.  I can only hope that when all is said and done they all will understand why I chose to wear the uniform and serve my country.  I hope that if they hold any animosity towards me for not being at every dance class, or sporting event, or school function that they can look back at this time in our Nation's history and at least have some understanding to why I was gone and how hard it was for me to know that with each day I spent away, a small part of our history as a family was left with a small void, a void I can never go back and fill.

Sometimes, I have great sorrow when thinking about this.  That sorrow is usually something that can be washed away with the knowledge that if I was not doing this, if there were not thousands of us doing this, the history of our individual families might be completely different and foreign to what we currently know.  Regardless of how many days I spend away, I know that when the mission ends, my family will be right where they were, waiting for me.  I know that I am not alone in these feelings, we as the United States Armed Forces are barreling down this path together, and the hardest it will ever be, is in the very moment that we are away.  But while we are away, we have the knowledge that together, as a unit, as a team, we can make it through anything, any time, any condition, any situation the enemy of our Country tries to toss our way. 

But individually, for the long term, choices must be made.......

Return to the Army green... Part one

So, I had heard stories about the Army National Guard (ARNG), none good, while I was in the regular Army.  Many stories based around how weekend drills were essentially parties, time for the ARNG soldiers to get away from nagging wives, or escape from the realities of their civilian lives.  Kegs of beer, hangovers, no true training at all, no readiness to defend the state, nation, or deploy in support of foreign wars.  Well, those stories, especially in the post 9-11 world, were just that, stories.  As fictional as Harry Potter, and although some of the stories may have had a component of truth, they were significantly stretched beyond the grips of reality as we know it.  Now, the ARNG is not the regular Army, never has been never will be, but there are both positives and negatives to both. Here are my thoughts:

Contrasting and Comparing the ARNG and Army:
1. Location, no ETS, I can stay in the same damn unit for eternity, as long as there are slots for the specialty I hold as I progress through the ranks.  However, this is very difficult to accomplish, but I know people who have been in the same ARNG unit their entire careers.
2. Along the line as #1, if I want to move to Hawaii, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, or any other state in this country there is an opportunity for me to transition into the ARNG in those states.  This allows for the individual to determine where they move, not the military as in the regular Army.  However, in recent times the big Army is doing a good job of shifting their people around the same large posts to allow for continuity in a career.  This is more evident as the defense department continues to eliminate the smaller CONUS posts and consolidates into the larger posts throughout the country.
3. Overall experience - In the ARNG, a soldier has a civilian job, or they attend college to advance their personal career choice all while maintaining their ARNG career on the side.  This allows for a greater experience in life in general.  Most ARNG soldiers are proficient in more than just their military specialty.  That is because being an infantry soldier is not the only job they have.  This would mainly pertain to the career soldiers who do not pursue higher education, then they get out after 20 years without anything but their military background to rely upon.  In many cases this should be enough to get a god job while collecting the pension from the military, but there is great benefit that comes from experience, not just military, but civilian also.  A combination of the two give most an edge on their civilian only or military only counterparts.
4. Combat readiness - Without a doubt the big Army is superior in combat readiness, it is their daily job.  They can deploy to combat in less than 24 hours, for the ARNG, well we need a 3 month circus known as pre-deployment training.  Now, I personally do not think it takes this long to become combat ready, but some genius who is obviously much smarter, and has much more rank than me makes these decisions.
5. Combat effectiveness - Just because the big Army is more combat ready that does not always transition into a higher level of combat effectiveness.  The combat units from the ARNG have proven themselves worthy counterparts to their big Army brethren. 
6. Fiscal responsibility - The government as a whole is horrible at managing the financial responsibility it has to the nation.  In my opinion there needs to be a very detailed audit of government spending in the military and throughout all agencies.  Just because you feel something would benefit your specific government agency that does not mean that it should be purchased. There is probably equal waste in both the big Army and ARNG, however, the big Army is full time.  If we need cuts, take a few brigades from the big Army and transition them into ARNG brigades over the next ten years.  Boost the level of readiness for the ARNG and we will not lose any true defense readiness with this move.  Part-time is cheaper to afford than full-time, just my thoughts.

My journey in the ARNG began in the 211th Aviation Group out of West Jordan, Utah.  I was still at the Specialist rank, the same rank I left the big Army with.  But I was determined to advance to the Non-commissioned officer ranks as quickly as possible.  Being in the ARNG meant that the Primary Leadership Development Course I need to obtain Sergeant was held at Camp Williams, about an hour drive from my home.  This would mean I could attend the class without having to go far from home, I was liking the ARNG as soon as I became familiar with this aspect of the overall make-up and composition of state service and the need to be self sufficient.  Not all states have this luxury, but Utah did. 

There were no kegger parties, or excessive craziness apparent to me as I started drilling on weekends at the 211th.  It wasn't "Three Kings" stateside.   It became a very interesting animal as I continued to learn how the ARNG worked.  I was happy that I made the decision and as I have explained in my book, after a few months I became more and more comfortable in my role.  Usually takes me a while, but my first experience being activated with the ARNG would be as a member of the security forces supporting the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.  More to follow on this experience, it would be the driving force of my foundation in the ARNG. 

Saw Phil McConkey (US Navy Veteran and former New York Giant receiver) on Fox News this AM (9/30/12), check out this website - Academy Securities - for info on his ongoing support of military Vets.  He is a huge reason, along with Joe Morris, and Mark Bavaro, as to why I am now a Giants fan.  Go Big Blue!

Break in service

In January 2001 I ETS'd (End, Term of Service or Expiration, Term of Service) from the active Army.  I had no regrets and did not question my decision.  I had a family and a good job, a new house we built in August 2000, and could let my hair grow, and to an extent my facial hair.  At my new job I was still required to wear a M-40 series protective mask, or I should say, the possibility existed so I couldn't let the facial hair grow wildly out of control.  I was one of two EMT/Occupational Health Technicians at the U.S. Army Health Clinic located at Tooele Army Depot.  My command was located at Fort Carson, Colorado at Evans Army Community Hospital, the same command I had while in Dugway as an active Soldier.  The majority of my duties revolved around completing the several diagnostic procedures for physicals.  We completed eye exams, hearing tests, pulmonary function tests, blood work, and made sure all employees at Tooele Army Depot and Deseret Chemical Depot were within regulation to perform their jobs.  It wasn't difficult work, but it was necessary work.  It was a very good job and I had freedom and supervisors that trusted me and allowed me to work and complete projects I felt would benefit our operations.

I ended up building a database in Microsoft Access to help track employee physical requirements, I also built or created several forms/documents in Word and Excel for yearly screening purposes that would be linked to the database.  It wasn't a database on par with a computer programmer's skill, but it was effective none-the-less and I spent several extra days on the weekend in my office fine tuning the database until it was worth utilizing.  I have no idea what has happened to all that work I did during the five years I was there, or if any of my forms exist any longer.  Eventually we hired a nurse who had a degree in computer programming also, he tweaked the database and improved it's functionality and design.  The idea was to be able to generate monthly reports that the database would query from data entered into the database.  It could be queried by job description, expiration date, or several other values in the database.  I was happy with how it turned out, hopefully all that work was worthwhile and they continue to use the database, or a hybrid of it.

At that time I was very interested in how electronic record keeping could be the medical documentation avenue for the future, now, in 2012, it is.  Some institutions still use written records, but many have transitioned to the EMR (electronic medical record).  I feel these systems, the EMR, is how all record keeping will be completed and stored in the future.  It is easy to access, easy to find info (all EMRs should have a search option to find keywords in the record), and take up little space.  Unlike paper charts that we keep stuffing paper into. 

After September 11th 2001 I was looking for a reason to get back into the Army.  I couldn't go back active Army, I didn't think that would be fair to my wife and kids.  I also never considered the Guard or Reserves because during that time that I was completely against those organizations because I thought the active Army was superior in every way to the inactive components.  Eventually my fellow EMT/Occupational Health Tech, Walt Szarek, who retired form the active Army National Guard helped me enlist into the Army National Guard.  Walt was a Vietnam Veteran, had a break in service, and eventually ended up finishing out his enlisted service as an active Army National Guard soldier.  He was a recruiter for a time and one of his old recruiting partners swore me in in November 2001.  Just in time for the Utah Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.  It would be my first experience, but certainly not my last with the National Guard for which I have grown to know and love.  It would also be the beginning of a long journey, one that would lead me to Iraq, one that would lead me well into the future.

The Idea For a Book - part 8

When I deployed to Iraq in 2005 I knew I wanted to write a book.  I wasn't sure at the time what it would look like, or how it would start or how it would end.  As I have mentioned in the past, I was interested in writing a novel, of course all those ideas are fiction and even though I got a few off the ground and placed some words on paper, they never took off.  While deployed I kept a journal, it was the first time I ever kept a journal on a regular basis.  I couldn't write every day, but I tried to write at the least every other day.  My initial idea through three months of stateside pre-deployment training was to create a book that detailed the deployment, but focused more on the intriguing characters that made up my company.  Unfortunately, once we arrived in country my company was split into four different teams and sent to different locations throughout the country.  So that idea died, but I continued to write in my journal, logging the interesting life we lived, and also chronicling the boring times which were a-plenty. 


I always thought when I returned home to my wife and kids that I would be the same person.  I thought I was too old and experienced to let anything I experienced affect me in any way.  I maintained this attitude well into the post-deployment era of my life.  I was oblivious to what was truly happening inside my mind, even though it was obvious to my loved ones.  I will spare details, but again, as I have said before, those details are in my book. 


So, with the struggles of returning and reflecting on how that time affected my family, it was clear what I should write about.  I should simply chronicle my life, pre-Army, through my enlistment, through my deployment, through the post-deployment chaos and explain what I feel is the true burden of a service members sacrifice.  That is what I hope I accomplished, and while doing that, give the reader an experience of the lives other than combat arms in a combat zone.  We have all read the various books written by Navy Seals.  For good reason, they are true heroes and patriots and deserve credit beyond what I feel I could ever warrant for my service.  They are true studs, their job is beyond "sexy," the term we tend to attach to the dangerous and dirty combat forces job during war, they define warrior to the T.  So buy and read their books, they are worth the price of admission and give a glimpse into what a true warrior's life is like.


I did not post this video on youtube, however, I did make it, but shared it only with those on my team following deployment.  It was never meant for public viewing or scrutiny.  I can say many years later, the 30th Medical Brigade made decisions in the best interest of all parties.  There still remains only speculation as to why the mortars started to drop on CSC Scania after 6 months of peace.  It could have been coincidence, but we will never truly know.

Visit my book's facebook page and give me a "like."
You can also follow me on twitter @combatsupport.

God bless the USA!