Nine years ago today, I raised my right hand...
...and swore that I would support and defend the constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I would bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I would obey the orders of the President of the United States; and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
I can't believe that it has already been nine years since the day that I enlisted. It just seems like a few months ago that I packed my soccer duffel bag with my clothes and my high school anatomy and physiology book so I had something to study while waiting to go to MEPS the next morning. But really, when I look back at all that I have been able to experience since I joined the military it seems a little more like years, rather than months. I was looking through my old scrap book and found some pictures of my early service experiences so I thought that I would share them with you; as well as some of my other favorite experiences that I have had because of being in the Army.
Above is a picture of me swearing in, and a scan of the Oath that I signed.
This is a picture of me shining my first pair of boots the night before my first drill with a uniform. I spent hours on those boots; they were the shiniest ones in the whole company...I'm sure. :) I learned how to shine my boots from the best; my dad.
My first time in my uniform. Check out the spit shine on those boots!
This is my Basic Training photo. I attended basic at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I was in Delta Company 1/28. My first leadership position was in Basic and I absolutely loved it. If you look really close to the photo below, you will see me in the Platoon Guide position.
This is a photo of my best battle buddy, Ratanavongse (aka "Rat"), and my favorite Drill Seargeant; DS Phillips. I wish I could sing cadence like DS Phillips. This man had soul and it was so much fun to sing along to his cadence; he really got into them.
The proudest parents ever. My mom and dad flew out to Fort Jackson to see my graduation. The best part was that we went driving around post (because we couldn't leave post) and realized that all the training sites that took us forever to ruck march to were pretty close to our barracks, but they took us the "long way" to the training sites.
I enlisted as a 91B P1 which, at that time, was a Combat Medic with Orthopedic Specialty. I attended AIT at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. I was in Echo 232 Medical Battalion; Tusker Medics (Yes, they called us the Echo Elephants). The photo above is of my company on graduation day. That is me with the company guidon. I was selected to be the guidon bearor for the entire cycle. I'll tell you what, I was so proud of that job! :) I even ironed the guidon and brassoed the metal and tightened the screws on the pole; everytime we had an inspection (What? I had nothing else to do...). It paid to have the shiniest boots. ( I was a little obsessive about shining my boots; I do have to admit that...but it always paid off...) The DS that is in the photo is DS Phan. Everytime he would stand next to me to lead the company somewhere, he would look at my boots, then look at me and say, "Epps, your boots look like shit!" (As he was blinded by the bling coming from my boots. :) )
First time wearing my beret. When I joined the military, everyone, except the elite, wore PCs. The summer after I enlisted, on the Army's birthday 2001, the Army donned the universal black beret. After that, once I graduated from AIT, I was also able to wear my beret. I was excited, can you tell?
My first DA Photo...They told me not to smile.
In 2003, I was selected as the Soldier of the Year (SOY) for the 96th Regional Readiness Command. That was probably one of the most stressful positions I have ever held. I went to Atlanta, Georgia to compete against the other regional SOYs. One of the many fun things, though, of being selected as the SOY was that Utah held a banquet to honor some selected service members (in which I felt VERY out of place because all the other honorees were being awarded for heroism in Iraq). That wasn't the cool part though. The key speaker was Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore...the real deal. For those who may not know who he is, I hope there aren't many who don't; but he is the guy who Mel Gibson plays his character in "We Were Soldiers." Anyway, I was able to meet him, shake his hand and talk to him for a second. What an impressive man, even at his age. His lazer blue eyes just peirced right to your soul and made you just want to listen to every word he said.
During the summer of 2003, I went to Fort Lewis, Washington for AT. For two weeks, I worked in the lab/clinic that the ROTC cadets filtered through for their physicals for LDAC. I drew blood on sooooo many stinking cadets. The funny part is that it was always the big guys who were afraid of the needles or that actually passed out.Anyway, there was also this guy named PFC Merkley who worked in the lab with me. I thought that he was a pretty funny guy, but to make a long love story short, we ended up dating and getting married.
Yes, I actually wore my boots, with lace laces that said "I Love You" all over them, for part of our wedding reception...It's just who I am. :)The summer after I was married, Rod and I (since we were in the same unit) were sent to Graffenwoehr, Germany for our Summer AT. We had no idea that we would be returning to Germany 6 months later being deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for two years.
This piece of art was designed by Rod's friend Glen. The original photo was taken during the train up at Fort Carson, before we headed off to Germany.
Here I am getting pinned with my SSG right before we flew out to Germany.
On the long flight to Germany.When Rod and I got married, we knew that our turn to be deployed was coming up. So, we made a family decision that we would volunteer for the first mission that would come up so that we would both be gone at the same time; even if we weren't in the same place. We had planned on that so one of us wouldn't go and then the other get deployed after the other one gets home. It just so happened that the first mission to come up was to Germany. They asked for volunteers and Rod and I were the first two on the list. Best decision ever.
So many of my memorable experiences were in Germany, I don't know where to start. We spent two years there. Our original tour was supposed to be a year, but we extended for another year.
I served as the NCOIC (Non Comissioned Officer In Charge) of the Spine and Neurosurgery Clinic at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC).
I served as a member of the hospital's Honor Guard and traveled all over Germany to do ceremonies of all sorts.
Rod and I really became fond of the Volksmarches that happened everywhere, pretty much every weekend. They were basically organized walks that the Germans/Europeans do, for fun. The longest one that I went on was a 50k Volksmarch in Bitche, France. (Yes, that is the name of the place, and yes, you do pronounce it like it is spelled...silent "e")
I was a member of LRMC's Nijmegen team. The Nijmegen March is in Nijmegen, Holland. It is a 100 mile ruck march over 4 days; 25 miles a day. Teams, military and civilian, come from all over the world to participate. What an awesome experience that was. We marched along with members of the Finnish Army, Polish Army, Germany Army, French Army, Canadian Army, Italians and others that I can't think of right now. We trained up for months, but nothing prepared us for what was to come. It was SO HOT that we were only able to complete 1 day. They had to cancel it for the first time since WWII, because one person died and three others almost died from heat illnesses. There were so many heat casualties. I don't think I would have made it the whole 100 miles though, just guaging from how I was after the first day. That is definitely and experience that I will hold near and dear to my heart forever. Below are some photos from the experience:
Getting taped up for the LONG day ahead. I wish I could remember how the Dutch taped feet for this event. It was AMAZING! The tape was like an extra layer of protective skin. If I didn't have that, I never would have made it.
This is me about half way through the first day. My feet were killing me by this time.
So many of my memorable experiences were in Germany, I don't know where to start. We spent two years there. Our original tour was supposed to be a year, but we extended for another year.
I served as the NCOIC (Non Comissioned Officer In Charge) of the Spine and Neurosurgery Clinic at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC).
I served as a member of the hospital's Honor Guard and traveled all over Germany to do ceremonies of all sorts.
Rod and I really became fond of the Volksmarches that happened everywhere, pretty much every weekend. They were basically organized walks that the Germans/Europeans do, for fun. The longest one that I went on was a 50k Volksmarch in Bitche, France. (Yes, that is the name of the place, and yes, you do pronounce it like it is spelled...silent "e")
I was a member of LRMC's Nijmegen team. The Nijmegen March is in Nijmegen, Holland. It is a 100 mile ruck march over 4 days; 25 miles a day. Teams, military and civilian, come from all over the world to participate. What an awesome experience that was. We marched along with members of the Finnish Army, Polish Army, Germany Army, French Army, Canadian Army, Italians and others that I can't think of right now. We trained up for months, but nothing prepared us for what was to come. It was SO HOT that we were only able to complete 1 day. They had to cancel it for the first time since WWII, because one person died and three others almost died from heat illnesses. There were so many heat casualties. I don't think I would have made it the whole 100 miles though, just guaging from how I was after the first day. That is definitely and experience that I will hold near and dear to my heart forever. Below are some photos from the experience:
Getting taped up for the LONG day ahead. I wish I could remember how the Dutch taped feet for this event. It was AMAZING! The tape was like an extra layer of protective skin. If I didn't have that, I never would have made it.
This is me about half way through the first day. My feet were killing me by this time.
While I was at LRMC, I also reenlisted for another 6 years of service.
I haven't even mentioned how much Rod and I got to travel while we were in Germany, but I won't get into that...We just traveled A LOT!
When I returned from Germany, I was pregnant with Reid so I didn't do much Army wise for a while.
Eventually, I ended up accepting an Active Duty Nursing Scholarship to Westminster College. That is where I am currently. I am having a blast this year as an MS III. I have had a lot of challenges to overcome this year, but I am still determined to be the best. So I will break on through each challenge and prove that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
My MS II Year in the ROTC, I was selected to fill an Airborne slot. This is a cool opportunity anyway, but I had wanted to go to Airborne school since I was in basic training (waited to go for 8 years). I thought that I would never go because of the kind of unit I was in back home. So, thank goodness for the ROTC and hard work, once again. I attended Airborne school at Fort Benning, Gerogia this past summer. That had to be the most fun, most challenging, scariest thing I have ever done. I would do it again in a heart beat though. I never realized that I was a little nervous about heights until I was hooked up on the 34 foot tower, standing at the door, yelling out my roster number. My Black Hat (the airborne instructors are called Black Hats) just about had to kick me out the first time. I am now what we call a "Five Jump Chump." I have jumped from the plane 5 times. I truly hope that I get another chance to jump again, but I do realize that I am a nurse and may not get too many chances. It all depends on where I get stationed, I guess.
Here are some pictures of my Ariborne buddies and graduation day:
The Airborne Mormons...Watch out!
My Ariborne Battles. I will be friends with these paratroopers for the rest of my life!
Yeah, this isn't me but I just love it!
Charlie Five-Three and Charlie Five-Zero
Here are a couple photos of me doing the ROTC thing:
Veteran's Day at the Assisted Living
Veteran's Day Ceremony at the U of U
Nurse buddies before Fall FTX
When I returned from Germany, I was pregnant with Reid so I didn't do much Army wise for a while.
Eventually, I ended up accepting an Active Duty Nursing Scholarship to Westminster College. That is where I am currently. I am having a blast this year as an MS III. I have had a lot of challenges to overcome this year, but I am still determined to be the best. So I will break on through each challenge and prove that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
My MS II Year in the ROTC, I was selected to fill an Airborne slot. This is a cool opportunity anyway, but I had wanted to go to Airborne school since I was in basic training (waited to go for 8 years). I thought that I would never go because of the kind of unit I was in back home. So, thank goodness for the ROTC and hard work, once again. I attended Airborne school at Fort Benning, Gerogia this past summer. That had to be the most fun, most challenging, scariest thing I have ever done. I would do it again in a heart beat though. I never realized that I was a little nervous about heights until I was hooked up on the 34 foot tower, standing at the door, yelling out my roster number. My Black Hat (the airborne instructors are called Black Hats) just about had to kick me out the first time. I am now what we call a "Five Jump Chump." I have jumped from the plane 5 times. I truly hope that I get another chance to jump again, but I do realize that I am a nurse and may not get too many chances. It all depends on where I get stationed, I guess.
Here are some pictures of my Ariborne buddies and graduation day:
The Airborne Mormons...Watch out!
My Ariborne Battles. I will be friends with these paratroopers for the rest of my life!
Yeah, this isn't me but I just love it!
Charlie Five-Three and Charlie Five-Zero
Here are a couple photos of me doing the ROTC thing:
Veteran's Day at the Assisted Living
Veteran's Day Ceremony at the U of U
Nurse buddies before Fall FTXI have had a bunch of very awesome experiences these first nine years that I have been serving, in some sort of way, in the Army. I absolutely love the Army! I plan to make a career out of it. Heck, they might just have to force me to leave when I am so old that they can't even score my PT test anymore.
