I was a Navy Corpsman from 1995- 2003, right between the Gulf War, and the Iraqi invasion. I loved my job, and only got out because I had kids. My Commander (also a woman) told me to not re-enlist, go home and raise my kids. I didn't like it, but she was right.
While I didn't get to serve to the capacity I wanted to, I did take home lots of memories, and experiences that I can share with my kids, and hopefully they will be moved to serve like I did.
One of my favorite memories was that of an MP who had the fateful duty of protecting our advance party while we were sent out to find a good place to set up camp, for the 10,000 Marines that were 7 days behind us.
I always chose to go out on the advance party, because there was less supervision, and you were given more control over how the base camp was to be set up.
So the 12 of us found ourselves about 15,000 feet up in the Colorado Rockies, on a grassy plain just below a mountain peak, watching the clouds roll over the top of it at daybreak ~ it was beautiful. We chose this spot because it was cleared, it was dry, large enough to handle the number of personnel that was soon to follow, and it had a distinctive, very large, dead tree standing in the middle of it, so it would be easy to identify and find.
We set up shelters not far away for our first night out in the great wilderness, and started the task of getting ready for those that followed. We had lots of supplies and the closest officer was at least 500 miles, so I was in my element.
That night was cool and quiet, with the gently rustle of leaves blowing around in the background, and the distant sounds of wildlife somewhere far, far away… up until about 1 am.
All of a sudden we all woke to this God-Awful sound of something growling, gnashing his teeth, and ripping something to shreds, and he wouldn't stop! The noise was unlike anything I ever heard, words really can't bring it to life- it was so un-nerving, we all debated even leaving our tents to see what the heck it was.
The women and men were in separate tents, so naturally, the being women we had to stick their heads out first (call my editor, not me- I am entitled to artistic discretion), and to my amazement, I discovered that the perfect landmark we chose, an old tree in the middle of nowhere, was actually the local bears scratching post- and he was absolutely tearing it up! If you have never seen an 800 pound bear tear up a tree, let me tell you- it is worth seeing. But not nearly as funny as seeing a 21 year old MP, literally jump out of his tent wearing nothing but his skivvies, his boots, and carrying an M-16 with both hands. I will never forget it. He didn't know weather to get a shot off up in the air, shoot the bear, shoot himself, or what; but you could see the wheels inside his head revving in 4th gear.
He was the only one authorized to carry ammo, so it was his call but at age 21 ~ what did he know?
We closed our tent flaps gently and slipped out the back to go be with the firepower and Yosemite Sam over there, and eventually the bear had his way and left quietly, but the rest of us were up all night reliving the experience.
I am not sure charging out of the tent being next to naked, sweating and panting like a bull, being only 30-40 yards away from an 800 pound Black bear that was right in the middle of sharpening his claws, would have won that MP a seat at OCS, but it was definitely worthy front row seat in the archives of my mind.
God Bless America, and the men and women that serve her, no matter how they serve.
Kerri Ryan
kameo@cfaith.com
