Meet Dobie

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Boy, it sure has taken me a while to get to Camp Atterbury, but now that I am here let the Army games begin! My official name is Dobie and I am going to be traveling with Major French on her deployment to Kosovo.

I am quite an experienced traveler so I have had no issues with my preparation phase. I simply followed her packing list, which I might say was a tad bit over the edge for me. She was so detailed with the list that she had three separate columns; one for Kosovo, one for Germany and one for Camp Atterbury. Obnoxiously, she had each band-aid accounted for, twenty-ones pairs of socks evenly distributed between the bags, aspirin for each location and even down to the nitnoid level that she had the exact amount of Q-tips allotted by day. Let’s hope she doesn’t drop one on the floor or she’ll be short in the long run. She means well, but oh my gosh she gets wrapped around the axel about the littlest things!

As my departure from North Dakota approached I was struck with competing emotions. On one hand I could hardly wait to get on the plane and get on with the excitement of deployment. It’s not every day that you get to go to Kosovo. Seeing the world is a wonderful experience that most of my friends will never get. To see how other cultures live and exist, to taste the food with all the different spices and to just engulf yourself in the adventure is worth all the anticipation in the long run. But the other aspect that is hidden from the outside world is that there is a sadness that can be overwhelming that accompanies your heart when you have to say good-bye to your family and friends. Davina and I have traveled together to the far reaching places spread out across the globe; Iraq, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Marshall Islands and bunches of little hideaways in-between. We have always been okay, but it seems that as we age we both are more attached to the stability of home life and our daily activities. It’s not as easy to give up our lazy boy chairs, free access to your own refrigerator or the playful moments you have with the puppy. Mostly, its hard to look at your family and not begin to miss them before you’ve even left home. All those precious moments that will happen in the span of a year that we have chosen to trade in for our army boots and the promise of the adventure that goes with serving your country.

So as I boarded the plane, I wiped away the tear and decided to look this trip directly in the eye and promised myself to do everything to make the best of the situation for myself and those around me. It was a quick transition when I realized that I was able to fly first class and would be treated like a movie star all the way to Indianapolis Indiana. The airlines were generous and allowed me to have two packs of peanuts and that 8.5 ounce mini bottle of water. Wow! Now that’s special treatment!

I was surprised when the army picked me up in my very own jeep at the airport. Not just any jeep, no siree… A World War II jeep. It was roomy, the top was down so I had the perfect convertible, complete with a stick shift and manual steering. The tires hummed loudly as we drove down the four lane highway, and it was only then that I realized that the CD player wasn’t working in my antique jeep. But then on a second glance I realized that this vehicle had no radio, no CD player or a GPS system that could guide me to Camp Atterbury. Really made me think about how the soldiers of yesterday had absolutely no conveniences that we so enjoy today. It’s so good to be a part of the military now when we have so much technology, where modern communications allow us to reach out and talk around the world, and that simple soldiers from North Dakota are going to serve as the headquarters for a Multi-National Task Force that will provide a safe and secure environment for the many peoples of Kosovo.

Welcome to Dobie’s view of a deployment…

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