Veterans Life - February 2013

LifeVeteransA Sound Publishing Monthly Magazine February 2013

Womenwho have served

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Veterans resources

The Northwest Navigator will print its final weekly edi-tion on March 29, 2013. After that final edition, there will no longer be an official or authorized Navy print news-paper for Commander, Navy Region Northwest, or other Installations: Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Naval Station Everett, Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Magazine Indian Island.

The Northwest Navigator consistently won numerous top awards for production

and reporting, and has helped tell the Navy story to tens of thousands of Sailors, family members, retirees, veterans and community members around the Region and around the world. The decision to stop publication was made as a Navy-wide cost-savings mea-sure.

“This was a tough headquar-ters decision in a belt-tighten-ing world,” said Sean Hughes, public affairs officer at Navy Region Northwest. “We’d like

to thank everyone who made The Northwest Navigator a part of their lives, the out-standing publishers we’ve worked with over the years, and all of those who helped us share the stories of our f leet, fighters and families.”

Official Northwest Navy news and information will still be available in many formats, including on Navy social media pages (Facebook and Twitter), websites, and in internal com-mand employee newsletters.

“This is the end of an era, but we still have Navy infor-mation to share and stories to tell,” Hughes said. “We will continue to communicate through our official Navy channels, and of course, work with area publishers and media representatives to further our Navy’s story with our com-munities. We will continue to explore new ways to com-municate in this fast-changing media landscape, and look for-ward to keeping the conversa-tion going.”

Northwest Navigator says it will soon cease publication

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U.S. 5th FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY – Several guests from the Royal Navy frigate

HMS Monmouth visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Jan 15.

Royal Navy Cmdr. Gordon Ruddock, Monmouth’s commanding officer, and 15 Monmouth

sailors met with Rear Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, Stennis’ commanding officer, Capt. Ron Reis, and Capt. John Beaver, commander of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21.

“As the Royal Navy moves toward the rebirth of its fixed-wing carrier operations, it’s been an invaluable education today,” said Ruddock. “My team and I have had our eyes opened to the complexities of what we are about to generate.”

During their visit, the British sailors observed f light operations from the f lag bridge and toured several spaces throughout the ship including the f light deck, hangar bay, jet shop, and the carrier air traffic control center.

“I have never seen anything like this ship before,” said Royal Navy Able Seaman C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Specialist Sordan Bate. “It

was very interesting to see f light operations and the way everyone was always busy.”

“[This visit] reaffirms the strongest relationship between two navies, the British Royal Navy and the United States Navy,” said Beaver.

The visit was part of a passing exercise (PASSEX) to improve interoperability between the two navies.

The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, consisting of Stennis, Carrier Air Wing 9, DESRON 21, and guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) are forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility to strengthen regional partnerships, sustain maritime security, and support combatant commander requirements for assets in the area. For more information about Stennis visit www.stennis.navy.mil and www.facebook.com/stennis 74.

British Navy Visits Carrier StennisBy Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Schumacher, John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs

Veterans Life is published monthly by Sound Publishing Inc.; Corporate Headquarters: 19351 8th Avenue, Suite 106, Poulsbo, WA 98370. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $24/year via USPS. Copyright 2012 Sound Publishing Inc

3888 NW Randall Way, Suite 100, Silverdale, WA 98383www.kitsapveteranslife.com

LifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLife

This month in Veterans Life, we are celebrating stories of women Veterans who have served their coun-try in various capacities. Among them is Commander Darlene Iskra who retired from the Navy in 2000, after 21 years of service. As one of the first female officers to serve at sea, Iskra’s career was marked by a number of firsts, but that was never her motivating factor, she told reporter Wes Morrow. Wes sat down with her to talk about the many firsts she had in her career and how different it was then for women in the military. Iskra’s class at the diving school was one of the first to be integrated, with both men and women in the same program.

Jessica Ginet has this month’s Veteran Profile on MMCM(SS) Greg Peterman who enlisted with the Navy at the age of 18 in his hometown of Cortez, Colorado, in 1972. There were no special circumstances prompting him to join. His family had no history of Naval service. Peterman served in the Navy for 20 years and looks back fondly on his time spent in the silent service. Peterman, the married father of two grown children, now resides in Slidell, Louisiana. He retired in 1993.

Reporter Chris Chancellor has a story about healthcare resources for local veterans. As he found out, there still will be occasions when veterans will need to travel to the Veterans Administration’s two main divisions at American Lake in Pierce County and Seattle for care. But both male and female veterans can fulfill many of their needs through the Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic. The story takes a look at the changing services offered by Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic, the first local Veterans Administration health clinic. The story also has important information for veterans who want to learn how to get care online or through the Telehealth network at the VA without having to drive long distances.

And in honor of Valentine’s Day coming up this month, colleague Kathy Reed on Whidbey Island tells us about two special couples who have made their love last throughout military careers. Jean Hayden and her husband, Dick, and Trudy Sundberg and her husband, the late Capt. John Sundberg, are featured. They tell their love stories and the challenges each faced as they were often apart because of military assignments.

In this month’s Bond column, Brian Kelly, of Bainbridge Island, takes us through his experience in the Army, with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade in Germany when he was selected for specialized Army training that only 10 soldiers from the entire base had been chosen for. The name of the training was misleading as he found out.

As always, we’d love to hear from you with your feedback and/or thoughts for future editions of Veterans Life. We want to hear from veterans who own local businesses that we can feature. We’re looking forward to our March edition when we bring readers up-to-date with state and national legislation pending in 2013.

On the inside

THE BONDRonald Reagan was in the White House. Mikhail Gorbachev

was in the Kremlin. And I was in the Army, with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade in Germany. 15

Army NursE HEAls mENTAl wOuNDsWar seared Sarah Blum. As a longtime Army nurse in an operating

room within earshot of Vietnam’s battlefields, Blum saw what modern warfare could do to the human body – and soul.10

THE TIP OF THE sPEArCmdr. Darlene Iskra retired from the Navy in 2000, after 21 years of

service. As one of the first female officers to serve at sea, Iskra’s career was marked by a number of firsts, but that was never her motivating factor.

INsIDE

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On the cover: Cora Ann Bowen (left) worked as a cowler at the Naval Air Base; Eloise J. Ellis was a senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 1942.


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MMCM(SS) Greg Peterman enlisted with the Navy at the age of 18 in his hometown of Cortez, Colo., in 1972. There were no special circumstances prompting him to join. His family had no history of Naval service.

“I came from a rather poor area with not many opportunities for work so I decided on the Navy,” he said.

Peterman served in the Navy for 20 years and looks back fondly on his time spent in the silent service. Peterman, the married father of two grown children, now resides in Slidell, Louisiana. He retired in 1993.

First assigned to the USS Sculpin SSN-590, he also served on the USS Plunger SSN-595, the USS Gurnard SSN-662, the USS Andrew Jackson SSBN-619B, the USS Dixon AS-37 and several other school commands. Peterman was sta-tioned in Port Orchard from 1974-1977 on the USS Sculpin while completing a refueling overhaul. Since that time, he has been all over the world with the Pacific Fleet.

“They called us the silent service for a reason,” Peterman said.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s crews had to sign documents that prevented them from discussing certain events that hap-pened during the Cold War. He’s still restricted from discussing his experi-ences.

“I would have played college football, gotten my degree in something and probably never have left southwestern Colorado,” Peterman said.

Instead, Peterman traveled the world. His fondest memory while serving was the day he qualified to serve on subma-rines while stationed on the USS Sculpin SSN-590. He acknowledged the quali-fication required a lot of hard work but the feeling of accomplishment he had remains something he considers very important to this day.

When Peterman enlisted, the recruit-ing motto was: “Join the Navy and See the World.” He reminisced about those days.

“We worked hard. But we were also allowed to play hard and have a good time.”

The Navy of today, however, uses the recruiting motto: “The Global Force For Good.”

“Today’s Navy works as hard if not harder,” he said.”But most of the fun stuff is no longer politically correct or allowed.”

The Navy of today is working within the constraints of today’s society, Peterman explained

“In my day, we did things to fit in with society then,” he said. “Today’s society is very politically correct so today’s Navy is very politically correct.”

Despite the changes in climate, Peterman said, “The Navy is still filled with great people doing great things. They just have a very different atmo-sphere to do it in.”

Peterman was well-prepared for retire-ment.

“When I retired (from the Navy) I already had a job lined up,” he said.

He had been planning his retirement from the Navy at the age of 48. Despite his extensive legwork, however, the plan fell apart and he noted, “I still survived.”

Completely retired for ten years, Peterman credits good financial plan-ning, sound investments and his Navy retirement for his current financial secu-rity. The training and skills he obtained while in the Navy were invaluable as well.

“My skills of being a nuclear trained machinist’s mate directly took me into the civilian nuclear industry,” he said. “From there I moved into the oil and gas sector where I used my Navy training to set up preventive maintenance programs for large off-shore oil rigs.”

That part was easy, Peterman quipped.“The only challenge I had was find-

ing enough prior and retired Navy guys to fill the jobs in the company I worked for,” he said.

For those looking to retire, Peterman offers this advice:

“Recent vets, make sure everything is documented in your medical record and service record before you get out or retire,” he said. “You earned all the good deals. So make sure you have the docu-mentation to use them.”

Peterman added this last thought:“I had a mentor that told me to get

every qualification I could get (because) that was the key to success,” he said. “He was right and to this day I approach everything like that.”

GregPeterman

VETERAN PROFILEBy Jessica Ginet

Cmdr. Darlene Iskra retired from the Navy in 2000, after 21 years of service. As one of the first female officers to serve at sea, Iskra’s career was marked by a number of firsts, but that was never her motivating factor.

In 1979 Iskra was work-ing at a swimming pool after graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in recreation man-agement. She joined the Navy because it was one of the few jobs that offered benefits as well as equal pay for women.

“There weren’t a whole lot of jobs like that around for women,” Iskra said.

Someone she worked with at the pool said she should try to be a Navy diver because she was such a good swimmer. Iskra admitted she had always wanted to learn to dive, but didn’t even know at the time that there were Navy divers.

Iskra went to officer candidate school, where she volunteered for the diving program, and was accepted. The law had only changed in 1978 allowing women to serve on some non-combat ships.

“At the time I had no idea, at all, that women officers had not ever done this before,” Iskra said. “I was within the first small group of women officers who had gone to this dive school.”

Iskra’s class at the div-ing school was one of the first to be integrated, with both men and women in the same program. There was one other woman with Iskra in her class.

In Officer Candidate School they received the same training as the men, she said, but there was one difference: The women were required to wear skirts

for their class alpha uni-forms.

“When you’re marching around in the middle of winter, it got a little chilly,” Iskra said. “If you want uniformity then you should make the women wear slacks too.”

When Iskra graduated and went to her duty sta-tion aboard the USS Hector, uniforms continued to be a problem. Since the Navy had only recently begun allowing women to serve on ships there were no female at-sea uniforms — women had to buy men’s uniforms, which fit awkwardly, as they weren’t designed for

women’s bodies. Women had been serving in the Navy since 1948, but never before on ships.

The USS Hector was a repair ship based in San Francisco Bay. Iskra served as the diving officer aboard the vessel.

After spending two years aboard the Hector, however, Iskra’s advance-ment was impeded by a problem the Navy had not yet addressed. While it had opened up non-combat ships to women, the Navy had only a handful of ships designated as such.

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“There were all of these senior officers who had no place to go,” Iskra said. “There was just no upward mobility.”

Iskra wanted to be at sea, but she had to transfer back on-shore, where she taught nuclear safety and security at the nuclear weapons training group.

“It was interesting, but it certainly wasn’t what I had joined the Navy to do,” she said.

She was able to return to sea in the mid 1980s when the Navy built a new class of salvage and repair vessels. Iskra joined the crew of the USS Grasp as the operations officer.

While on the Grasp, Iskra was selected for executive officer and made lieutenant commander. Shortly thereafter, she was selected for the position she would unwit-tingly be remembered for. Iskra was named commander of the USS Opportune, a 200 ft. rescue and salvage ship

“Everything I had done in the past was geared towards becoming a commanding officer,” Iskra said. “When I got selected for command, to me, it was just a normal progression.”

She was the first woman in the history of the U.S. Navy to command a ship, an achievement that places her among the most important naval firsts for women.

But, Iskra said, it was never her intention to break such ground. She was only going through the progression of her own career.

“My goal was to be in command, but it wasn’t to be the first woman in command,” she said.

Iskra commanded the Opportune from

1990 to 1993. Three weeks after she took command, Operation Desert Storm began, and the Opportune deployed to the Middle East.

The deployment was a nerve-wracking time, Iskra said. The Opportune usually operated independently, not as part of a battle-group.

“We were out there all by ourselves,” Iskra said.

They had only two 50 calibre machine guns and two anti-aircraft guns aboard the ship.

Even then, Iskra said, “We didn’t have any air search radar, so the only time we could shoot at anything was if they were directly above us.”

Since the Opportune was a non-combat ship outside a battle-group, it didn’t have the classified publications that told the weapons capability of the enemy; however, there were reports during Desert Storm that the enemy possessed chemical weap-ons.

Unfortunately for Iskra and her crew, the ship wasn’t even equipped with enough gas masks for everyone.

Despite their lack of defense, the Opportune made it through Desert Storm and back home unharmed. In 1993, two years after returning from the Middle East, Iskra moved off the Opportune and the ship was decommissioned.

Iskra stayed in the Navy for seven more years, but her heart was no longer in it. When she received her fitness report from her superior, she was ranked lowest among her four other peers, despite passing all inspections and being the only one of the five to deploy to a war zone.

Iskra said when she asked her superior about the confusing report, he said, “Well, you had opportunities that the men haven’t had and therefore I don’t think it’s going to hurt you.”

After that, Iskra said, things sort of went down hill.

“It became almost unbearable,” she said. “The crew and my peers were very sup-portive,” but her superiors seemed to be leaving her out on her own. There was a lack of support, she felt.

After leaving the Navy, Iskra went back to school. She got her master’s degree in Sociology from University of Maryland.

She worked as an aid to Washington State Sen. Maria Cantwell, where she was an integral part in bringing about a bill that put an end to the practice of forcing U.S. military women in Saudi Arabia to wear traditional abaya and walk behind men.

She received her Ph.D. from University of Maryland, College Park in 2007. Her dissertation was titled, “Breaking through the brass ceiling: Elite military women’s strategies for success.”

Iksra said the biggest stumbling block for women in the Navy is not the system itself, but the individual leaders within the system.

“The leaders don’t believe fully in inte-gration,” she said. “They need to take this seriously, and treat everyone with respect. They talk the talk, but they need to walk the walk.”

Of course, Iskra said, this isn’t a problem with all the Navy’s leadership — officers like Adm. Ronald Zlatoper and Adm. Michael Mullen have helped push the issue forward.

Right now, women are going through the same issues with submarines that Iskra went through with ships. Iskra said she wishes things would move forward more quickly, but agrees with Zlatoper when he said, “It’s an evolution, not a revolution.”

Iskra spoke highly of leaders like Zlatoper and Mullen for their foresighted-ness. She spoke repeatedly about how she didn’t guide her career to be the first at anything, but just like Zlatoper and Mullen she led the way for the changes that needed to take place.

Though she may not have been thinking of herself when she spoke about them, her own words give testament to her contribu-tion: “It takes leadership like that to push these sorts of things. It doesn’t happen without a person leading the way.”

There still will be occasions when patients need to travel to the Veterans Administration’s two main divisions at American Lake in Pierce County and Seattle for care. But both male and female veterans can fulfill many of their needs through the Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

“When we changed to having state clinics, they thought they could get every service the same as Seattle or American Lake,” Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic nurse manager Cheryl Morgan said.

That is not the case at the 925 Adele Ave. location, the first Veterans Administration health clinic when it opened in 2001. But Morgan said services eventually should be enhanced once they open at a larger location.

For now, Morgan said patients suffer-ing from conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and eye problems are referred to doctors at the large VA hospitals in Seattle and American Lake. Once a doctor examines patients, they often can return to the Bremerton clinic for follow-ups. To mitigate travel, Morgan said there are morning transportation options to both larger clinics. The one to Seattle runs Monday and Wednesday, while American Lake goes Tuesday and Thursday. Morgan said they request that patients make afternoon appointments to provide sufficient time to get to both locations.

The Bremerton clinic also does not provide emergency care.

“If a patient needs it, we call 911,” Morgan said.

The main benefits of the clinics — there are others in Bellevue, Chehalis, Federal Way, Mount Vernon, Port Angeles and Seattle — is convenience.

“Veterans don’t always have to drive across the bridge or take a ferry to Seattle,” said Lorin Smith, public affairs specialist for the VA’s Puget Sound Health Care System.

In addition to her role with the clinic, Morgan is a patient. She recently went in for a mammogram at American Lake — that is the closest hospital to where Morgan lives — and was surprised with how quickly they process results and call to schedule a follow-up visit. Morgan said patients at the Bremerton clinic receive a similar level of care. And if someone misses an appointment, Morgan said they receive a phone call to find out the reason behind it and to reschedule.

Both Morgan, who has attended funer-

als of former patients, and Smith said the clinics have enhanced the level of care for veterans.

“It’s almost like a family,” Smith said. “It’s a very personal relationship with our patients and veterans.”

Smith said women’s health care also is a focal point for the VA. According to Smith, Kitsap County has more than 4,000 women veterans, with 317 enrolled at the Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic. He said there has been a 66 percent increase in the number of women veterans enrolled in VA Puget Sound since 2007.

The Puget Sound Women’s Clinic pro-vides services for birth control options, cervical cancer screening, infertility evaluation, mammography, pregnancy care under VA maternity benefits, tubal ligations, menopause management, treatment for incontinence, colposcopy, screening for HIV and STD’s, osteoporo-sis evaluation and treatment, evaluation and treatment for trauma, chaplain and spiritual counseling, homeless women services, primary care, social work ser-vices and mental health referrals.

Among Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic’s 14 registered nurses — eight of whom served in the Armed Forces — Morgan said one, a woman, specifically is designated for women’s health. She said women have the option of seeing anyone they want, though.

In addition to primary care, Morgan said dermatology and “Telemental” health are the most sought after services at the clinic.

Marcus Grandjean, director of data and analytics for the VA’s Puget Sound Health Care System, said My HealtheVet is most popular among veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan.

“They’re much more likely to use email,” he said.

Grandjean said another service offered through the VA is “Telehealth.” He said that program allows veterans to go onto a teleconference with doctors to seek answers for medical problems. The ser-vice can be beneficial to disabled veter-ans.

According to the VA website, Kenneth Winn suffered a head injury while deployed in Operation Desert Storm. Under different circumstances, Winn would have to drive more than 150 miles from his home in Crescent City, Calif., to Roseburg, Ore. But because of Telehealth, he only has to drive to the VA clinic in town, where he is connected with his counselor at VA Roseburg.

“Crescent City is No Man’s Land,” Winn told the VA. “With Telehealth, it makes it where I can talk to my doctor without having to travel very far. It helps to talk to her when I’m down. She’s keep-ing tabs on my medications and stuff like

that. She makes sure I receive what I need to receive.”

But Grandjean said the program entails much more than that.

“Our Telehealth medicine program is anything from dermatology to primary care for people in rural communities,” he said. “If someone cannot make it to a pri-mary care facility that might be a good option.”

Patricia Ryan, associate chief consul-tant for the VA Office of Telehealth, says on the VA’s website that there is another important benefit to that function.

“This is important because a large per-centage of our rural veterans are advanc-ing in age,” she said. “They have chronic health conditions that require constant monitoring. If it wasn’t for Telehealth, we’d be hard-pressed to deliver the kind of day-to-day observation they require.”

Earlier this year, the VA stopped charg-ing veterans a copayment when they receive care in their homes via video con-ferencing from VA health professionals.

“Eliminating the copayment for this service will remove an unneces-sary financial burden for veterans,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a news release. “We will continue to do every-thing we can to ensure that veterans have access to the first-class care they have earned with their service to our nation.”

Through an infrared system, patients can use a Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic room to access a counselor at the VA hospital in Seattle. Morgan said those patients, who suffer from a variety of mental-health disor-ders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, have an hour-long conference each week.

“Mental health is a huge component of the population that we serve,” she said.

Morgan said VA officials also endeavor to improve service. One change entails communication between a physician and patient about treating an ailment.

“The physician always dictated to the patient how they were treated,” she said. “We now embrace their ideology and provide them with care.”

Smith said that is easier now than ever as VA officials have embraced social media. He said the VA joined Facebook two years ago and it has more followers and “likes” than any other federal agency. Locally, it is www.facebook.com/vapuget-sound. Smith said it isn’t popular with just younger veterans, either.

“Surprisingly, the data shows the majority of our fans are 55 years and older,” Smith said. “The old thoughts about digital divide are going by the way-side.”

There also is a www.twitter.com/vapugetsound account.

“We invite comments and questions,” said Smith, referring to both Facebook and Twitter. “It’s just another tool to reach out to all of our veterans.”

Smith said one area where the VA has not reached is text messaging. He said that will be available “in the near future,” but did not have a specific timeline.

In lieu of text messaging, Smith said the VA offers “My HealtheVet.” This secure system is designed for veter-ans, active-duty servicemembers, their dependents and caregivers. According to the website, the most popular feature is online prescription refills. There also is an option to send “a non-urgent secure message to participating members of your VA health care team.”

“We need to go where our veterans are,” Smith said. “They need to go out and jump on the bandwagon.’


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The storied life of Poulsbo City Councilman Jim Henry may have begun in humble surroundings, but by striking a difference, building rela-tionships and choosing service, his legacy endures as a quiet but inf luen-tial leader for North Kitsap County.

The Chicago-born first son of James Henry Jr. and Gladys Pollard, James Henry III was born on Sept. 9, 1937, at Cook County Hospital in Illinois. Growing up in the Maxwell Street district, Henry had to make tough choices early in life. With the help of his uncle Charles Henry, who was a steward in the Navy during World War II, he chose Navy service as a way to move up.

Henry graduated from David G. Farragut High School in 1955 and promptly enlisted in the Navy. Graduating from boot camp at nearby Naval Station Great Lakes, he was accepted into the submarine service as a quartermaster and never looked back. Like Admiral Farragut, it was full speed ahead for Seaman Henry.

“I was James until I went into the Navy,” Henry said. “Overnight, I became Jim Henry for 31 years.”

It was on his first submarine, the USS Hardhead (SS-365), where the wide-eyed Henry learned one of the most important lessons of his life. After taking an opportunity to ask a warrant officer on watch, “Do warrant officers really have to know every-thing?,” the warrant soberly replied, “No, Henry, you simply have to know who does.”

This was important news to a young man who was just getting out of his neighborhood into a very big world.

“Suddenly, all things became pos-sible,” Henry said. “That, I could do.”

Henry’s romance with the Pacific Northwest began on July 24, 1967. As a new warrant officer on the USS Arikara (ATF-98), he was standing his first watch af loat as officer of the deck as the f leet tug made a sunrise passage eastward through the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“The morning sky was beautiful — blue and without a cloud,” Henry said. “I was enthralled and decided right at that moment I would tell my wife that this is where we would live.”

The needs of the Navy were not as easily swayed. It took 14 years for Henry to land orders at Keyport, where he led as range control offi-cer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station until his retire-ment in 1986. Henry returned to Keyport as a civilian the following year, and retired from civil service in 1999.

Henry’s entry into local politics

evolved from an invitation from Poulsbo’s mayor, Richard “Mitch” Mitchusson, to join the planning com-mission. As he dove in and nurtured new relationships, Henry’s innovation and good nature helped to develop a strong and enduring governmental relationship between the Suquamish Tribe and Poulsbo City Council.

Henry’s ability to collaborate and bridge cultural barriers is a credit to his appreciation of how differ-ences can make us stronger. Soon, he became a member of the Suquamish Warriors, a group of Suquamish Tribe and community veterans, and was ultimately honored by the Suquamish Tribe as an honorary elder.

In part, Henry attributes his success in life from a deep drive to be busy but also his willingness to try differ-ent things. It isn’t a surprise that he advises younger generations to do the same.

“Do something,” Henry said. “Don’t be afraid to try something you haven’t done before. The first time you suc-ceed, it becomes easier. And I’ve dis-covered that when you are working at things that are fun, it’s not work — it’s fun.”

Concerning education, Henry is equally impassioned.

“I know you want to get out of there and are tired, but those teachers are priceless assets. Listen. It will all come back to you later.”

With almost 60 years of global and community service, the life of James Henry III is an enduring profile of giving that leads and inspires genera-tions to come.

— Johnny Walker, a Kingston pho-tographer, is a retired Navy chief petty officer whose career included service as chief of investigations at Navy Submarine Base Bangor. He is a periodic correspondent for the North Kitsap Herald and Veterans Life and wrote this profile of Jim Henry for the Herald’s Who’s Who 2012 section.

Sub duty helps Henry learn ‘All things are possible’By JOHNNY WALKER


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The many skills mili-tary veterans bring to the employment table has garnered a lot of attention recently. Employers across the nation are recognizing that the training and dis-cipline necessary to make someone a success in the military can make some-one a very good employee in the business world.

Those skills can also help those veterans who choose to go into business for themselves. In fact, vet-erans are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than those with no military experience. Veterans make up nearly 10 percent of the nation’s successful small businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Whidbey Island is home to several successful veteran-owned businesses. Either word-of-mouth or the business directory on the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs website led us to talk with the owners of three of them.

LincoLn computers, cLinton

Scott Lincoln was a Munitions Specialist in the Air Force. He is a 1969 graduate of Langley High School and returned from

his four years of service to join the family plumbing business.

“It was something I had planned on doing,” Lincoln said. “And in the environ-ment I was raised in, it seemed like a good way to make a living.”

Eventually, Lincoln said he had taken plumbing as far as he could. His com-puter business, which he owns with his son-in-law, Jason Kalk, opened in 1995. He credits the military with helping him learn how to treat people.

“It helped me learn respect and it also gave me a new respect for people who have served in the mil-itary,” he said. “I had lived a sheltered life up until that point and it opened my eyes.”

Lincoln said during his time in the Air Force he had worked a second job and that connection to the business world, he feels, enabled him to keep enough of a focus on busi-ness that he was ready for it when he finished his service. But times, he said, are different for veterans returning home today.

“The challenges are dif-ferent today,” he said. “The war I was in was not popu-lar, but the economy wasn’t bad. Now I think returning vets are widely accepted, but the jobs aren’t there.”

Tough economic times for everyone make it diffi-cult to think about starting a new business, Lincoln said. But even in tough times, being a veteran can be an advantage.

“It’s so hard to start up a business,” he said. “But veterans today may have a

little leg up with some of the contacts they have now and help with the benefits they’ve earned.

“Take advantage of the opportunities out there,” he continued. “The Economic Development Council, for instance. Do your research. A wing and a prayer isn’t going to do it.”

As far as his own service is concerned, Lincoln said he’s always played it low key. Flags in the window and signs in the store let patrons know it is a veter-an-owned business.

“I’m not going to hide it, but I’m not going to flaunt it,” said Lincoln. “It was something I was glad to do, something that needed to be done. I don’t expect any more out of it.”

coaches pizzeria, FreeLand

For Dave Dillman, who owns Coaches Pizzeria in Freeland with fellow veteran Gary Nau, his military service shaped his life. Dillman was in the Army in 1969-1970, while Nau was in the Marines from 1965-1966. Dillman said his experience in the Army during the Vietnam war taught him valuable leadership skills which have served him well over the years.

“The military taught me to lead, not follow,” he said. “That has carried me through my adult life. The military did everything for me. I regret I didn’t stay in.”

Instead, Dillman took advantage of the GI Bill

c o N T I N U E d N E x T p A g E

Brewing up business

By KATHY REED

Whidbey Island veterans find success as small business owners

Kathy Reed/Staff Photo

Coaches Pizzeria co-owner Dave Dillman visits with a fellow veteran and customer in his Freeland, Wash. restaurant.


Mike Donohoe checks freshly roasted coffee beans at his Oak Harbor business, Honeymoon Bay Coffee Roasters.

and went back to school. He enjoyed a successful career in business. Nau spent a good bit of his career in retail and restau-rant management. Both men moved to Whidbey Island about 11 years ago,

said Dillman, but they met just two years ago through the Veterans Resource Center on South Whidbey and struck up a friendship.

Now business partners, the two had a strong vision for their pizzeria, which opened Aug. 10.

“We’ve both coached and been involved with school sports, so we wanted to draw on our asso-ciation with sports teams,”

Dillman said. “We’ve built it around family, that’s the whole focus. Family, kids, military and seniors.”

As customers place their order at the counter, Dillman strikes up a con-versation, asking the elderly man if he’s a veteran. When he answers ‘yes,’ the two quickly start trading ser-vice stories, although this customer served in World War II. Another gentleman in the group talks about his time in the military as well, and Dillman thanks them for their service.

With Dillman’s service has come perspective, although not from a pleas-ant source. He was diag-nosed with prostate cancer, due to his exposure to Agent Orange. Recovered and cancer-free now, he is philosophical about it all.

“It makes you look at your life,” he said. “I’m not afraid to die.”

In the meantime, busi-ness has been good and les-sons learned long ago and over the course of a career are put into practice every day.

“You’re only as good as your people,” said Dillman. “I’m the coach, mentor, boss, teacher; that’s what we’re trying to do through our business.”

honeymoon Bay coFFee roasters, oak harBor

Mike Donohoe, owner of Honeymoon Bay Coffee Roasters in Oak Harbor, said he walked away with all kinds of things follow-ing his service in the Navy.

“I grew up in the mili-tary,” he said. “I discovered my work ethic — I already knew a lot from home — but I learned how to be a good employee. It also helped jumpstart my patri-otism; once I was in I real-ized the sacrifice it takes.”

Donohoe opened Honeymoon Bay four and-a-half years ago. He got a job roasting coffee off-island several years ago

and found what he wanted to do. He wanted to explore a career that would enable him to live on Whidbey Island.

“I loved what I did, but I wanted to do it my way,” he said, moving back and forth around his 1979 cof-fee roaster, which he rebuilt over the course of a year.

He loves what he does, he said, and roasts about 1,500 pounds of coffee each week. At any given time, the shop offers between 19 and 25 different roasts. A small espresso bar offers coffee drinks, cookies and scones. Customers can taste at least six different kinds of drip coffee every day and choose their favor-ite. Bags of whole beans are roasted, packaged and sold right there in the store, plus Donohoe has a good base of wholesale accounts. In short, he really loves what he does.

“I love the flexibility and I love the customers,” he said. “Coffee is such a social animal. It’s right up my alley.”

Donohoe credits his military service with giving him the courage to strike out on his own in business.

“I think it’s the fact you’re less intimidated by taking a risk,” Donohoe said. “Once you’ve been through some of those challenges you face in the military you tend to believe in yourself a little more.”

He said his Navy experi-ence hasn’t only helped him with his own business, but in other jobs he’d applied for over the years.

“Every job interview I went to, I would tell them I’m a veteran and I never got turned down,” he said. “They know you’re going to be to work on time and do what you’re supposed to do. There’s a big plus being associated with the military.”

If you know of a Veteran-owned business in Kitsap County that should be featured in Veterans Life email the editor at [email protected].

1 0 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3

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Scott Lincoln, left, owns Lincoln Computers in Clinton, Wash. with his son-in-law, Jason Kalk.


A framed sign at Lincoln Computers in Clinton thanks cus-tomers for supporting a veteran owned business.



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War seared Sarah Blum. As a longtime Army nurse in an operat-ing room within earshot of Vietnam’s battlefields, Blum saw what modern warfare could do to the human body – and soul.

Soldiers and civilians, bodies torn asunder by enemy and friendly fire, rivers of human blood, suffering on a lunatic scale. For a young woman determined to do her duty, the war cut cruelly, horribly, lastingly deep.

“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was crazy,” Blum said of treating the wounded in an evacuation hospital in a battle zone by the Iron Triangle. In that thickly forested, 120-square-mile area, most of the heavy fighting took place in 1967.

“Can you imagine see-ing people with their bodies partially muti-lated, mangled, blown apart?” Blum said. “I’ve never seen so much blood in my life. Where I worked, the operating room, I was covered with blood. … I literally was standing in blood. It was horrible.”

Because battle lines were not sharply drawn in the confused jungles and thickets of Southeast Asia, Blum’s hospital also served as a MASH unit. The airlifted wounded came quickly and frequently to doctors and nurses at the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi, making it the largest user of fresh blood in all of Vietnam, Blum said.

Despite the challenges, Blum said, the efficient hospital staff saved more wounded than it lost.

“I saw the worst because of where we were,” she said. “We were right beside the Ho Bo Woods, where all the fighting was going on. I saw it. I heard it. I smelled it.”

Sights, smells, and sounds that shaped what Blum would become. Drawing on her wartime experiences as a deco-rated Vietnam War nurse and her later training stateside, Blum works today to heal others psychologically torn by war and other traumatic

events — even as she was torn. Her long, and at times difficult, journey ultimately led to a fulfill-ing career as a practicing nurse psychotherapist, energy healer and author.

Blum is a psychothera-pist living in Auburn, and counsels clients from all walks — men and women, active duty and reserve, and veterans in King County and beyond.

She specializes in help-ing people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Blum’s personal experiences taught her a great deal about trauma and how to heal it. War, she said, has proven to be the best preparation for being an effective psy-chotherapist and coach. What she didn’t know then, as an Army captain nurse, is that psychologi-cal symptoms associated with PTSD would follow her home.

Blum got through those terrible days in the oper-ating room by “building up a brick wall around my heart.” She only suc-ceeded in suppressing her feelings.

“(In Vietnam) I couldn’t let the emotions get the best of me,” she said. “I had to learn really fast to turn it all off, so that it didn’t show. I did a lot of stuff internally to be able to survive.”

She deals with the same issues today.

“Being a client, I was doing my own healing work. I spent years in my own therapy and dealt with issues from Vietnam and uncovered the early childhood issues and healed those,” she said.

Blum vows to heal, not assuage, patients.

“I tell people when they come to see me, ‘If you just want to cope, see somebody else. If you want to get better, if you want your life to be better, then let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work,’”she said.

A gifted surgical nurse, Blum decided to get out of the operating room and treat others in a different way. As her military stint ended, Blum went to college, earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Seattle University. Later, she earned her master’s degree in psychosocial nursing at the University

of Washington.She has been married.

She raised a family in Auburn. Her daughter, Lorna, is a social worker. Her son, Sean-David, a professional musician, served in the U.S. Army Band.

Blum has made an impact with her prac-tice and in her efforts elsewhere. She was among the first women to be elected to the Vietnam Veterans of America National Board of Directors. She has worked with others on legislation to help victims of Agent Orange. She was a member of the first international volunteer group, called PeaceTrees Vietnam, which returned to the country in 1996 to plant trees on land once ravaged by war. She went to heal herself — and to heal the land.

“A veteran had given me a letter and asked me to read it when I got to Vietnam and to plant it under a tree,” Blum said of her personal pilgrim-age. “It was emotional.”

Blum has set her expe-riences down on paper. Her first, soon-to-be-published book, “Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military,” relates real sto-ries of women who were raped or otherwise sexu-ally assaulted in the mili-tary. She is working on a second book, “Women Under Fire: PTSD and Healing,” that chronicles her own experiences and those of others.

Blum says there are more options today for those struggling with PTSD and other anxi-ety disorders. Attitudes towards aff licted war

veterans and soldiers have changed since the Vietnam era, she said.

“It’s much more accepted today. There’s a lot more education about it,” Blum said of PTSD. “I think that’s what Vietnam Vets have done for our country, in that they educated people about the trauma of war, about PTSD and

what it is.“(The past) has helped

modern-day veterans become more accepted and respected because of what we went through from the public.”

Blum recognizes there is more work to be done. She is doing her part. It is her calling in life.

“I’m interested in the truth,” she said of help-

ing to treat the emotional wounds of others. “I’m a clear thinker, a problem solver. I’m a very strong person. I am someone who heals.”

If you are a vet-eran, contact the Kitsap County Veterans Assistance Program to learn more about local services that are available to you.

Army nurse heals mental woundsBy Mark Klaas

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ADOPTION: Local, hap- pi ly-marr ied, & stable couple, eager for baby (0-2yrs). Loving home f i l l ed w i th a f fec t i on , strong family values & financial security for your baby. Joshua & Vanessa 4 2 5 - 7 8 0 - 7 5 2 6 http://bit. ly/joshandva- nessa

jobsEmployment

General

CarriersThe North Kitsap Herald has openings for Carrier Routes. No collecting, no selling. Friday morn- ings. If interested call Christy 360-779-4464

INCOME OPPORTUNITY!

The Bainbridge Island R e v i e w n e w s p a p e r seeking qual i ty motor route carriers. Thursday night delivery. No collec- tions. Must be at least 18 years of age. Reliable people with reliable vehicle please call Brian.

206-842-6613

LABORER5 Ye a r s p r e fe r r e d , worked on DoD Con- tracts, OSHA 30, and civil work preferred.

To apply,send resume to:

[email protected]

OPERATOROpera te equ ipment such as excava to r, backhoe, dozer, roller, dump truck and trailer (pup). Read and understand p lans and specifications and fa- miliarity with GPS sur- vey equipment . 10 years of heavy equipment operating, CDL w/ tanker endorsement and safety certs.

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EmploymentMarketing

MARKETINGREPRESENTATIVE

Kitsap CountyAre you good a t o r - ganization and customer service? Do you enjoy working wi th people? This posit ion requires both telephone and in person sales. I f you have a dynamic person- ality and enjoy working with people then this is the pe r fec t pos i t i on . Salary plus commission. Please send resume to

[email protected] mail to:

HR/MRNK,Sound Publishing, Inc.,

19351 8th Ave NE,Suite 106,

Poulsbo, WA 98370

EmploymentMedia

REPORTERReporter sought for staff opening with the Penin- sula Daily News, a six- d a y n e w s p a p e r o n Washington’s beautiful North Olympic Peninsula that includes the cities of Por t Angeles, Sequim, Po r t To w n s e n d a n d Forks (yes, the “Twilight” Forks, but no vampires or werewolves). Br ing your experience from a weekly or small daily -- from the first day, you’ll be able to show off the writing and photography skills you’ve already ac- quired while sharpening your talent with the help o f veteran newsroom leaders. This is a general assignment reporting position in our Port An- geles office in which being a self-starter must be demonstrated through professional experience. Port Angeles-based Pe- ninsula Daily News, circulation 16,000 daily and 15,000 Sunday (plus a websi te gett ing up to o n e m i l l i o n h i t s a month), publishes separ- ate editions for Clallam and Jefferson counties. Check out the PDN at www.pen insu lada i l y - news.com and the beauty and recreational op- p o r t u n i t i e s a t http://www.peninsuladai- l y n e w s . c o m / s e c - tion/pdntabs#vizguide. In-person visit and tryout are required, so Wash- ington/Northwest appli- cants given preference. Send cover letter, resume and five best writing and photography c l ips to Leah Leach, managing editor/news, P.O. Box 1330, 305 W. First St., Port Angeles, WA 98362 , o r ema i l leah.leach@peninsula- dailynews.com.

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EmploymentTransportation/Drivers

Driver

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Pickup TrucksDodge

2004 DODGE Dakota SLT Quad-Cab. 4.7L V-8 Engine, 85,000 miles, original owner, Automat- ic Transmission, Front Split Bench Seat with Power Dr i ve rs Sea t , H e a v y D u t y To w i n g Package, trailer brakes, ABS, Slider Windows on Truck and Matching Leer Canopy. Immaculately Maintained, Every Op- t ion Avai lable. Waxed and Detailed. Must See! $9,499 OBO. 360-678- 3905.

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stuffAppliances

MATCHING Washer and Dryer set, $355. Guaran- teed! 360-405-1925

Firewood, Fuel& Stoves

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Home Furnishings

Must Sell! New NASA Memory foam matt. set. Full $375, Qn $400, King $500. New. 20 yr warr. Del. avail. 253-539-1600---------------------------------Brand New Orthopedic matt. & box spring. Still in plastic. With warranty! Twin $175, Full $200, Queen $230, King $350. Call 253-537-3056---------------------------------Factory Closeout BR se t . Inc l : bed, n ight - stand, dresser, mirror. Full/ Queen, $395. King, $495. 253-539-1600---------------------------------NEW Microfiber Sec- tional. Scotch Guarded, pet & kid friendly. Only $499. 253-537-3056---------------------------------New Adjustable Bed w/ memory foam mattress. List: $2800. Sacr if ice, $950. 253-537-3056

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Musical Instruments

2 000 YAMAHA Baby Grand C 2, with bench. Higher Quality, Profes- sional Conservatory Se- r ies. Elegant Polished Ebony Finish. Rarely Used. Excellent Condi- tion. An Awesome Deal at $11,500! 360-472- 0895 Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

pets/animals

Dogs

AKC German Shepherd P u p p i e s ! ! E x c e l l e n t Schutzhund pedigrees. Tracking, obedience and protection. Champions Bloodlines. Social with loving playful tempera- ments! Shots, wormed, ve t checked . Hea l t h guarantee. Puppy book includes info on lines, health & more! 1 Male, 1 Female. $800 each. Call Jodi 360-761-7273.

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Dogs

AKC POODLE Puppies. Brown Standard. Born on 10/17/2012. Ready to go on January 18th. First s h o t s / w o r m e d . Ve r y beautiful, intelligent loving. Parents have had pre-breeding & genetic testing, also good hips, elbows and eyes. Home raised with loving care. M a l e s a n d fe m a l e s . $1200/each. Call Rober- ta: 360-443-2447 or 360- [email protected]

GREAT DANE

AKC Great Dane Pups Health guarantee! Males / Females. Dreyrsdanes is Oregon state’s largest breeder of Great Danes and licensed since 2002. Super sweet, intelligent, lovable, gentle giants. Now offering Full-Euro’s, Half-Euro’s & Standard Great Danes. $500 & up (every color but Fawn). Also available, Standard Po o d l e s . C a l l To d ay 503-556-4190. www.dreyersdanes.com

OUR BEAUTIFUL AKC Golden Retriever puppies are ready to go to their new homes. They have been raised around young children and are well socialized. Both par- e n t s h ave ex c e l l e n t health, and the puppies have had their first well- ness vet check-ups and shots. The mother is a Light Golden and the fa- t h e r i s f u l l E n g l i s h Cream Golden. $800 each. For more pictures and information about the pupp ies and our home/ kennel please visit us at: www.mountain- s p r i n g s k e n n e l . w e e - bly.com or call Verity at 360-520-9196


Dogs

PURE BRED Saint Ber- nard Puppies. 3 Males and 2 Females. Ready January 12th. Will have 1st Shots. Mom On Site. Family Pampered Pup- pies. $450 to $550. Call For More Info: 360-895- 2634 Robyn (Por t Or- chard Area)

wheels

MarinePower

18’ STAR CRAFT 1963, 75hp Evenrude 2 cycle eng ine . Newer Merc k i c k e r . G r e a t f o r crabbing & shrimp. Lo- c a t e d i n F r e e l a n d . $3100. Call: (360)331- 2280 or (509)840-3243

AutomobilesNissan

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AutomobilesVolkswagen

1974 SUN BEETLE. No rust!! Excellent condi- tion! Low miles!! Service records included. New upholstery and tires. Sun r o o f d o e s n o t l e a k . Sound engine, runs per- fec t ! Fun to dr ive ! 4 speed manual transmission. $5,000. Vashon Is- land. Call 425-422-7752. Find what you need 24 hours a day.

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Ah, l’amour. This time of year we

are awash in the Cupids, the bouquets of roses and the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates that have become synonymous with Valentine’s Day.

What the young know is that love is exciting, new and invincible. What the older, and wiser, know is that love, especially when it comes to marriage and relationships, can be com-plicated. Add the military into the mix and it’s more complicated still.

There are all kinds of statistics available that cite divorce rates among those in the military. In general, the rate has risen over the course of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. For instance, in the Air Force, the divorce rate among airmen is 64 percent high-er than it was in 2001 — the highest in the military.

In general, the divorce rate is higher among women in the military, at 7.8 percent compared to 3 percent for military men.

When a member of the military is going through the emotional upheaval and stress of a divorce, it can affect their perfor-mance on the job, making it more difficult to focus,

which in turn can affect the people they work with. To combat this, the mili-tary has fought back, add-ing marriage education classes and other things to support healthy relation-ships.

In the article “Military Marriages Can — And Do — Work,” author Julia Pfaff writes, “Successful

marriages don’t just happen — they require constant commitment. Military marriages include difficult challenges and unusual pressures, but happiness and fulfillment certainly are possible.”

We found two examples of marriage success right in Oak Harbor.

Jean Hayden and her husband, Dick, have been married 68 years — 69 in August. It was a romance most people only see in the movies.

“It was during

World War II,” Hayden described. “My friend and I lived in Seattle and we decided to move to San Diego to work. The first week I was there I met my husband.

“We went to one of the USO dances,” she contin-ued. “My husband walked across the crowded dance floor and asked me to dance, which wasn’t the proper way. But he was tall, dark and handsome.”

The couple dated a year before they tied the knot in 1944. Jean was 20, Dick was 21. They had three children — two sons and a daughter. Dick, who retired as a Master Chief, served 28 years in the Navy. They settled on Whidbey Island and Jean actually worked on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island before her husband retired. Today, the couple live across the street from one another, Dick in a care facility in Oak Harbor, Jean in an assisted living facility while she recuper-ates from a fall. They still see each other every day and for them, the initial attraction they felt at that dance has never waned.

“From the day I saw him and met him, there was no other man that ever attracted me,” Hayden said.

That’s not to say their 68 years together were easy.

“One time he was gone a year. It got to where I couldn’t remember what he looked like,” Hayden said. “If we’d had what they have now, it would have been fantastic. Back then, when you were out on the South Pacific, you didn’t get mail very often.”

The toughest part of military life for Hayden, she said, were the home-comings.

“The coming home and the readjustment was always more difficult,” she said. “He is a meat and potatoes guy; I was a little more relaxed.”

Trudy Sundberg and her husband, the late Capt. John Sundberg, have a similar love story. They met while Trudy was attending college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The couple dated for a bit, but Trudy said she was very serious about her studies and actually intro-duced John to a friend of hers.

“Can you imagine that?” laughed Sundberg.

The two lost track of one another, until they met again four years later.

“Suddenly everything just clicked,” she said. A simple ceremony at which she wore a green dress set the stage for a 58-year romance, despite the fact they had different hobbies.

“He loved to fish and play golf, I didn’t,” Sundberg said. “I like to swim, he didn’t.”

They went on to have four children, two boys and two girls. John had a long and successful Navy career, while Trudy enjoyed an equally suc-cessful career in educa-tion.

“Next to my husband and my family, teaching became my next love,” she said.

Both women have theo-ries as to what made their marriages last.

“I think it’s different for everybody and I think it has to do with metaphysi-cal attraction,” Sundberg said. “I don’t mean sexu-ally, I mean appreciating and respecting your partner and admiring his character. When you have that, everything will work out.”

“I decided life would be better with him than without him, “ chuckled Hayden. “You have to be tolerant, forgiving. Nobody’s perfect.”

The season of love

By KATHY REED

Trudy Sundberg says appreciation of her husband’s character helped them forge a happy, 58-year union

Photo courtesy of Jean Hayden

Jean Hayden says she saw her husband, Dick, across a crowded USO dance floor during World War II, and the rest is history. The couple married in 1944.

Photo courtesy of Jean Hayden

According to Jean Hayden, pictured here with her husband, Dick, on their 50th wedding anniversary, the secret to a suc-cessful marriage is forgiveness and tolerance. The Haydens have been married 68 years.

Ronald Reagan was in the White House.

Mikhail Gorbachev was in the Kremlin.

And I was in the Army, with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade in Germany.

Those were still the days of steel pots, quarter-tons (everybody but the lifers called them jeeps) and canned food for combat rations. It was the height of the Cold War, but we knew we were winning because the post theater screened “Rocky IV” and “Rambo III” that year and Sylvester Stallone kicked the snot out of the Soviets in both movies.

I was the FNG in our platoon; an 18-year-old, mosquito-wing private. The Big Red One’s for-ward brigade, I was told, was a strategic speed bump in the event of a Soviet invasion of West Germany.

It was my first duty assignment. And though I had only been with my unit a short time, I already felt like a sea-

soned European traveler, having experienced my first German beers (big bottles of Hofbrau) at the bowling alley at Rhein-Main Air Base upon my arrival, and

exotic foreign cuisine (from the all-night gyros shack up the hill from my new Army base).

My fellow sol-diers made me feel welcome to the 1st with

constant reminders of all the things I didn’t know, the things I would never know, and the things I didn’t need to know.

What I did figure out pretty quick was that, beyond German beer and late-night gyros, the things that other soldiers got most excited for were the initials TDY or PCS, or the chance for schooling or training that would mean a tem-porary escape from the day-to-day life of regular duty, which meant long hours at the motor pool or being marched out into the woods to rake leaves. (The company commander liked a tidy forest.)

One day I knew my leadership potential was

at last being recognized when my sergeant told me I had been selected for specialized Army training, and that only 10 or so soldiers from the entire base had been chosen.

When I asked what sort of training, my ser-geant was evasive, but said it was a school to learn how to operate a specialized, open-field, gas-operated, one-man mechanized device that required a full week of classes and demonstrat-ed proficiency in order to obtain an operator’s license.

Must be some sort of secret weapon, I thought.

I arrived at an old air hangar on the base on the first day of the train-ing and stood with the other student soldiers, who were much better at containing their excite-ment for the training than I was.

A staff sergeant entered and everyone stiffened.

“Welcome to the Lawn Mower Operator’s Course,” he bellowed. “In this course, you will learn to operate a lawn mower across various types of terrain, mostly

f lat, in most types of weather, except snow,” he continued.

A class on lawn mow-ers? I was dumbfounded. “Who needs a week-long class on running a lawn mower?” I wondered.

My mind quickly raced as I figured that the Army must not have lawn mowers that are typically seen in the civilian world, but ones more powerful, more awesome and fearsome that they were no doubt the envy of our commie counterparts to the east.

The Army in Europe had rid-ing lawnmow-ers, I bet, prob-ably fitted with machine guns, grenade launch-ers, armor plat-ing and painted in woodland camouflage colors. Yes, that’s it. That’s what they’ve been hiding under the tarps at the edge of the motor pool.

The sergeant then left and returned a minute later pushing the lawn-mower that we would be trained on: a bright blue

but rusty Lawn Boy. My heart sank.

In the style of all mili-tary training, the week-long class consisted of two essential takeaways, repeated again and again and again.

“You will not, I repeat, will not, use the mower to run over boulders or trees,” the instructor said.

Each time the sergeant repeated the warning, I

won-dered if

some sol-dier previously had tried to mow a boulder, or attacked a small tree, with great success.

“Also, do not, I repeat,

do not, place your hands underneath the mower while it is operational,” the sergeant continued.

At the end of the week, there was a test. Most of us passed.

And those who did, the last hour of the last day of the course was devoted to the graduates standing in line behind a small, folding desk as the sergeant filled out our 346s; an “operator’s license” that was a small piece of cardboard.

The sergeant tucked each one, one by one, into a typewriter and filled out the small boxes on the card. And when he came to the empty box where it said “type of equipment,” the ser-geant wrote “LAWN MORE.”

So his spelling wasn’t the greatest, but he was right in the end. The captain did like a tidy lawn.

Brian Kelly is an Army veteran who served with the 1st Infantry Division overseas and with units in the Army’s Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. He is editor of the Bainbridge Review.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 1 5

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Leadership meets a blue Lawn BoyThe Bond

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Documents

Veterans Life - February 2013