My niece Keslee Anderson asked to interview me about my Army career. She emailed me and I answered the questions the best I could. To preserve some of the answers I post them here:
Were you drafted or did you enlist?
I enlisted.
Where were you living at the time?
I was living with my
parents in Paradise Utah
Why did you join?
I joined because I had
always liked the Army, didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I wanted to get far
away from Paradise and Utah.
Why did you pick the service branch you joined?
Because I had no clue as
what I was doing. I just went into the closest recruiting office.
Do you recall your first days in service?
I do. The first days of
training were three days of inprocessing at Fort Jackson, SC. Interesting
enough almost 30 years to the day later I out processed for my retirement at
Fort Jackson, SC. Just last August
What did it feel like?
I was very excited and
nervous all at the same time. I had no idea of what to expect.
Tell me about your boot camp/training experience(s).
My first training
experience was at basic training at Fort Benning, GA. Basic training was very
much a culture shock. I was in great physical condition at the time so this
part was easy. I didn’t like being yelled at. I’ve since been to Officer
Candidate school. The human intelligence collectors course, the basic
intelligence analyst course, the advanced intelligence analyst course, and the
counterintelligence course.
Do you remember your instructors?
I do remember. I don’t
remember their names, but I can picture their faces very well. One was tall and
skinny the other just short, very short. I never knew an individual could us
the F-word so many times and in so many ways in the same sentence.
How did you get through it?
I don’t really know. I
just knew I was going to quit.
Where exactly did you go?
I spent two months at FT
Benning for basic training, then went to Friedberg Germany, then to Fort Hood,
TX, then to Fort Richardson, AK, then I went to part-time training in Utah,
then full time at Camp Williams, Utah, then to Iraq for 18 months, then to the
National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, VA, then back to Iraq
again, then to Afghanistan, then to East Tennessee State University in Johnson
City Tennessee. I’ve taken short assignments in Panama, Japan, Seattle, and
Texas
Do you remember arriving and what it was like?
I remember arriving at
all my duty locations. The most traumatic was my arrival to Afghanistan. In
Bagram Airbase, where we arrived, they would hold “fallen comrade ceremonies”
for every Soldier who died in Afghanistan. Every killed Soldier was flown back
to the United States from Afghanistan from the Bagram Airfield. They would put
the flag-draped coffins in the back of a truck and slowly drive the truck down
the main and only road on the airbase. Everyone would line the road and salute
the coffin as it slowly passed. Right after we got off the plan in Afghanistan,
even before we unpacked, we lined the road in a fallen comrade ceremony. This
really cause all of us to consider the realities of war.
What was your job/assignment?
My assignment in
Afghanistan was as a counterintelligence agent.
Did you see combat?
Yes. Twice in Iraq and
once in Afghanistan
Were there many casualties in your unit.
We had no fatalities in
any of our deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. Our worst casualty was when a
brit was showing off his stolen Iraqi pistol to one of your Soldiers and
accidently shot him in the leg
Were you awarded any medals or citations?
I’ve received the Army Meritorious
Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Four Army Commendation Medals,
Four Army Achievement Medal, two Army Good Conduct Medals, and the Expert
Infantryman’s Badge. I’ve earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq
Campaign Medal 2nd, the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medial, and
the War on Terrorism Service Medal.
How did you get them?
The commendation medals
were for exceptional achievement. The Joint commendation medal was for looking for
Sadaam’s Weapons of Mass Destruction.
How did you stay in touch with your family?
At first, only by letter
from Germany, then in Iraq by email and phone. In Afghanistan by phone and
Skype.
What was the food like?
The food was generally
good, too good, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was easy to get fat.
When I was first in Iraq, I ate MRE rations for 40 days. I was very sick of
them by then
Did you have plenty of supplies?
Yes, I always had
everything I needed
Did you feel pressure or stress?
Yes, especially on my
first deployment to Iraq. The stress was tremendous. The uncertainty was very
hard.
Was there something special you did for "good luck"?
Pray
How did people entertain themselves?
DVDs and books
What did you do when on leave?
Stayed with family and
beyond that, as little as possible
Where did you travel while in the service?
Georgia, South Carolina,
Germany, Texas, Panama, Japan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar
Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual event?
Yes, we had a senor NCO
who told us to push a big heavy tent off the truck onto his back because he
said, “These shoulders are mighty broad so push it off, boys, push it off.” The
tent crushed him and pinned his face into the snow. He was in tears and his
face was frozen when we finally got it off. He was a big jerk so we thought it
very funny.
What were some of the pranks that you or others would pull?
I hid an open sardine
can under the bed of Soldiers in another room. They couldn't find it, but as
the sardines began to rot their room stank so bad you couldn't even walk into
it. Their sergeant would scream at them to clean their room every time he
walked in. After a couple of weeks the stench became so bad that they had to
take at all the furniture and clean it from top to bottom. When they took out
the furniture they found the rotting sardines.
What did you think of officers or fellow soldiers?
I became friends with
most of them.
Did you keep a personal diary?
Not a very good one. It’s
one of my regrets.
Do you recall the day your service ended?
Yes, 1 November 2014
Where were you?
Fort Jackson, SC
What did you do in the days and weeks afterward?
Looked for and stressed
about finding a new job.
Did you work or go back to school?
I went to school while I
was serving part-time in the National Guard
Was your education supported by the G.I. Bill?
Yes, the army paid for
all my education as well as two semesters for both Jacob and Joe.
Did you make any close friendships while in the service?
Yes, very good
Did you continue any of those relationships?
Yes, I’m still friends
with people I knew from 30 years ago.
For how long?
30 years
What did you go on to do as a career after the war?
I’m still with the Army
as a civilian. I teach military science classes as an assistant professor of military
science at East Carolina University, in Greenville, NC
Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or
about the military in general?
Yes, war is a terrible thing.
If you going to do it, do will all your force and power.
Do you attend reunions?
Yes, but have had very
few
How did your service and experiences affect your life?
It’s affected every
aspect of my life, but mostly how important family is and spending time with
your kids.
Is there anything you would like to add that we have not covered
in this interview?
no
star rating for solitude.
star rating to for 
Feeding
