I joined the US Army as a nurse in 2009. I am currently mobilized to Texas.
I have the privilege of working with American Soldiers this year. And honestly, it really is a privilege. They have been sent to places and seen things that I can only barely imagine, despite the fact that I wear the same uniform that they do. The worst that I have had to face in my three years as an Army Nurse is spending a year away 800 miles from home in Texas… it’s been cold and hot on the frequent occasions when the climate control isn’t working, but I haven’t had to face 120 degree heat, mortars coming down around my head, the emotional scars of seeing comrades and others blown up, etc. I have no room to complain.
When these men and women come back from deployments, many of them are damaged… physically and emotionally. In some ways it is easier for active duty personnel in that they are attached to a given posting and have healthcare generally readily available, and they will continue to receive a paycheck… but some of the resources in place for them are stretched thin, especially behavioral healthcare. For the National Guard and Reserve soldiers, though, they have 6 months of healthcare from the military plus 5 years from the VA, but many of them don’t have jobs to go home to, so that adds even more stress on to their situations.
Most of the Soldiers I work with (Reserve & Guard mostly) are really great people with normal worries about families and home and coming home. They know they volunteered to go where they were sent and willingly did so. They are also humble about their service, they don’t come home telling all kinds of stories of bravery in battle, they just want to be home, to go back to being dads, moms, etc. My job is to try and make sure that their medical and psychological issues, especially the most acute ones, are dealt with before we send them home. I really worry about some of my soldiers and some I am sure will do just fine.
I just know that I try to greet them with a smile, honest thanks and a heartfelt ‘welcome home’. I take my job very seriously, but I work hard to be lighthearted at the same time… and heaven knows my wacky sense of humor is pretty much irrepressible. I had a soldier deem me “awesome” today as we were joking around and writing up her Line of Duty for her feet…. we were dancing in my “tribicle” (I only have 3 walls) to the music on my phone. We had a great time and got business done. People like her make my day. One soldier I worked with in-depth some months ago even brought me a card to make sure that I knew that I had made his difficult situation better and put a smile on his face. He was a sweet young man who will live in my heart for a long time.
I try to give everything I can and fight as much as I can for these great Americans that I joined the Army to serve. But I am getting a great deal back too, make no mistake.