My first deployment

First Deployment

At the young age of 17 and an early graduate of high school, I had the genius idea to enlist in the United States Marine Crops. I walked into the recruiter’s office in the mall of Rapid City, South Dakota and told them to sign me up. I had wanted to be a Marine for a long time, but after September 11^th, it was more of a calling. Many of my friends had gone before me and some had not come back. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and would not take anything else.

On June 26, 2006 I arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego California for boot camp. Thirteen long, painful, and tiring weeks later I left boot camp as a basic Marine. I then reported to Marine Combat Training, Camp Pendleton California to gain basic knowledge in Marine combat tactics. Halloween 2006 was spent downtown Los Angles, celebrating graduation of MCT and moving on to Military Occupational Specialty Training in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Arriving at Courthouse Bay, center for Marine Combat Engineer School and 2^nd Recon battalion on the first of November, I was ready to begin school. Come midway through the school I was recommended for Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) School because I would be going to a route clearance unit with the infantry. I completed Engineer school in January 2007 and transferred to EOD School in Pensacola Florida for three months.

May 2007, I reported to 2^nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Camp Lejeune NC, for permanent assignment to the unit. Shortly after I would be going to courses for tactical vehicle licenses and training with Mine Resistant Ambush Protective Vehicles (MRAP). This would serve vital in a route clearance team since we are tasked to drive in front of convoys and clear any IEDS. In June 2007 I attached to 1^st Battalion 8^th Marines for Camp Lejeune and we went to 29 Palms, California for Mojave Viper. Mojave Viper is the largest combined arms exercise in the world. Located in the Mojave Desert, we are able to utilize all aspects from small arms to tanks and air support. Working closely with the 0311 infantry man and supporting elements created a tight bond essential before a combat deployment.

Fall 2007 1^st battalion 8^th marines with supporting attachment elements departed Cherry Point, making the long trip to Kuwait. One in Kuwait we would acclimatize to the hot desert, receive briefs of our operational region, the likelihood of enemy attack, and potential IED threat.  We would set up IED lanes to practice our dismounted sweeping techniques and reaction drills. Weapon maintenance became a daily event along with prepping our gear. The day would soon come to move to Iraq.

Al Anbar province Iraq, one of the deadliest places on earth would be our home for the next 7 months. The main element would be based at Ramadi with smaller elements pushed out around the area for added security. Our mission was simple; provide a safe path for ground elements to use within the area of operations (AO). This would be accomplished by mobile and dismounted patrolling. I had no idea what was in store for us. Being a junior enlisted member of the team, I was told what to do and never really a reason why. I soon learned that it was for the best sometimes.

I would be put in the 3^rd vehicle in our team. The first two were “Huskies” followed by my “Buffalo”. If you ever watch Transformers, it’s the big tan military truck with an extendable arm on it. Anyways, being in a truck that stood well over 12 feet high, you felt so powerful. Although heavily armored we were not equipped with any firepower. The mission of the buffalo is to seek, interrogate, and destroy an IED. The long extendable arm was used for interrogation and digging possible threats.

For the next seven months, there would be multiple days without rest, shower, or a good night’s sleep. Some of the events that happened will never leave my mind or body but the experiences I gained have forever bettered me as a person and for the next deployments that would come all too soon.  Some of which may be more hostile and deadly areas.

My Inspiration

So when most people are asked who their inspiration or their heroes are, hearing the answer is a kid is usually unexpected. But my hero is my 9-year-old nephew, Kaidon. He is the definition of a miracle. Of all people to look up to, someone who can go through so many things and keeps a smile on his face makes him my first choice.

My nephew was born in 2003 and was born premature. When he was born, he was only 2 lbs. The doctors all told us that he was sick and it was unclear how long he would truly live. We all hoped for the best but expected the worst. To hear all the doctors talk about expiration dates for someone some young and little was a scary and sad thing, especially for my brother and the mother, Bethany. They were both young and very inexperienced which made them at a total loss as to what to do. At 15 years old, she was faced with a harsh reality; That she may have to bury her child in a too-soon future. No parent, let alone one that young, should ever have to face that.

Though against the odds, they chose to fight. He was a life worth fighting for and everyone around him was ready to do anything to see this little boy live through it all. Doctors would report, telling us to prepare that Kaidon won't live to see 1 years old, let alone 2 or 3. We got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinions. As a unit, we stressed any option possible to make life a possibility for him. 

Against the odds, he has survived past the little stamp the doctors had decidedly put on his foot. Through impossible high's, low's and terrifying surgeries, he still smiles and brings joy into the lives of everyone around him. 

Surgery in 2010

Kaidon getting a blood transfusion. He needed 2 pints of blood.

Post surgery 2010

Through it all, he almost always has a smile on his face. Even during the times when it was getting close to him not making it, somehow he makes it through. Through all the odds and disbelief, this boy is proof that anything is truly possible. 

So when people ask me why I do what I do, I tell them it's because of him. I do it all for him and my loved ones around me. Everyday is something to cherish. Life is too precious to worry about 10 years down the road; its living for today and to enjoy every minute of it. I want to see the world and truly live to see everything around me for the ones who can't. Every time I hit somewhere new, I make sure to buy something to bring home to him. So that he gets his little taste of the world too.

This year, October, Kaidon reached his 9th birthday. We celebrated with a costume halloween party. This is only the 2nd time since his birth that he went a whole year without any hospitalization and 1st time that he did not spend a birthday in the hospital.

                    My inspiration; my hero; my nephew.

The Problem With Work

So after getting out of the military and going to work for a private company I was hoping there would be a lot less BS and stupidity from who I was working.  But I have found out the hard way the last several months that this is far from the case.  It all culminated about 3 or 4 weeks ago during my R&R.

I am a security contractor working for a large security firm that will go unnamed.  Since taking this contract in Afghanistan only a week after I got out of the Army I was happy at the prospect of working for a large well respected company, but things quickly went downhill.  After the initial training and pre deployment processing there were several red flags that I continued to ignore just hoping that they were isolate incidents that amounted to nothing more than a bump in the road.  Before we got in country we were issued six month work visas for Afghanistan.  Because we flew in on a military flight the visas never got stamped.  Those of us on our crew mentioned it several times to our bosses but we never got any kind of resolution.  This was a problem to use because we knew when we went on R&R and came back it would be via a commercial flight.  On top of this we sometimes have to go out in town and get stopped at checkpoints.  Being in a country, technically illegally since our passports weren’t stamped, and being stopped at a checkpoint is always an interesting experience.  During the six months before my R&R came up our unstamped visas eventually expired, making a bad situation even worse.  Eventually our boss collected our passports saying he would take care of it.  When it was my turn to go on R&R I was told they would get me on a military flight out to avoid any complications.  Ok, I said, but what about the return trip?  Well get it taken care of was the response.

So I finally get home and am enjoying a wonderful month off spending time with my wife and taking care of little projects around the house.  Finally about five days before I’m supposed to fly back I get an email from the company telling me to over-night my passport to the east coast so they could get a new visa issued by the embassy.  Wow, five days; what a bunch of geniuses!  That’s not even enough time to get it taken care of and catch my booked flights in a perfect world.  And of course this isn’t a perfect world.  Any one care to guess what happened during those five days?  That’s right, Super Storm Sandy.  I honestly had barely turned on the TV and didn’t watch the news while I was home up to this point so I didn’t know the full extent of what was coming.  But I learned quickly.  After all the destruction, loss of life and heartbreak the storm caused on the east coast, it was hitting me right between the eyes in the middle of Texas.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in any way trying to compare my plight to those that were actually in the storm.  But this was me and I’m several thousand miles away and didn’t think it would affect me in any way.  I was quite wrong.  It cost me another five day.  Now, most would think an extra five days at home would be a great thing and I should just stop my whining, right?  Well when you get paid by the day and only get that when you are in country doing your job it adds up very fast.  Especially after home improvements and just having a good time money goes pretty quick since you don’t have any income during that month you are off.

So because of the wonderful planning of the geniuses at the company I work for, I lost well over a $1000 on top of the money I wasn’t getting the month before.  And to top it all off, while I was on a lay-over in Dubai our expediter that was driving me around was telling me how some of the execs were emailing back and forth wondering why I had missed my original flight.  Because you forced me too and you had to book another one!!  They completely forgot they even screwed up!  Also, he told me the embassy in Dubai could have gotten me the passport in one day, two tops.  So why didn’t they just send me to Dubai and take care of it there?  Because I work for a bunch of geniuses.

Hopefully only the students in the class have access to this blog and/or nobody from the company figures out whom I am, etc.  Or I could have real problems.

Sex Education and Teen Pregnancies

To all of the younger generation, regardless of the opposition of people who prefer parents should teach their own children about sex, I believe that sex education should take part as a main focus in health classes and should be required for all students in public schools. Being a teen mom myself, I agree that it is very important to warn young girls about the risks and consequences. My story begins when I started dating my husband back in 2009. We were using protection back then because we were both still in high school. But when we both graduated, we were so in love that we wanted to start a family of our own. We decided that we were going to make a baby. Then I got pregnant a month after my 18th birthday. We didn't think about the stuff that we had to give up raising a baby. 

My son, Jaylen was born that year. He is the best gift that I have ever received, but I never would have thought that raising a baby would be hard and come with many consequences. Being a young mom, you sometimes have urges to still live like a teenager; such as wanting to hang out with your friends or go see a movie on a Friday night. However, being a mother is a 24/7 job. Especially for a newborn, they would need attention every second. If a teen mom wanted to hang out, she would need to bring her baby everywhere she goes and her friends might feel weird and stop being your friend. It is also known that 90% of teen couples who have a baby together are most likely to break up as shown in studies. However in my case, my baby's father is in the baby’s life and is now my husband so I'm really lucky. Ever since becoming a teen mom however, I've felt as if I had to grow up really fast. I sacrificed my teen life to be a caring mother for my son and I absolutely have no regrets. Of course I do believe I wished I waited to become a mother. It truly is a big responsibility in life and it changes your life completely. That is why sex education at school is important because I believe that if I had the knowledge of sex and the risks behind my actions then I would have been more careful and protected myself with condoms or birth control. I know and I can speak for all young girls out there that sex education won’t prevent them to have unprotected sex, but it can guarantee them to have understanding of what they are getting themselves into.  They can encourage young girls to make smart sexual choices, and also decrease the rate of teen pregnancy dramatically. In this generation, it seems as many young girls want to grow up fast, get married and have kids before they are ready and this issue should be concerned. I most definitely wasn't ready at all and I’m truly blessed that my family and my husband’s family was there to help us though it all. I respect all mothers out there because it is a hard job taking care of a little one. It is however all worth it though when I get to see my son grow. My life as a teen mom was very difficult, but I learned to become strong and selflessness. I went through many struggles to get to where I am now. I’m now 21 years old and my son is a year and 5 months. I have started going to college again so I can earn a degree to help better my son’s future.  I honestly think that my son was given to me for a reason not only to make me the happiest mommy in the world, but to better myself also because I don’t think I would have went back to college if it wasn't for my son.

Body Worlds Exhibit

My husband is currently on a temporary duty in Anchorage, Alaska. I went to visit him a couple of weeks ago and he took me to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Anchorage Museum.

My goal in college is to complete my Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and become a Registered Nurse. The human body has always fascinated me. In my Anatomy & Physiology courses that I took, we dissected two cats. Although it was interesting to see how a cat worked, I have always wanted to see what the parts of a human look like inside. I wanted to see the size and complex way it all works together. So when I got to Alaska and saw that the Body Worlds exhibit was in town I had to go!

When we arrived we traveled to the third floor and handed a woman our tickets. As we stepped inside the room I was amazed. There were at least 15 human bodies on display, all in different poses. There was an opera singer, a runner, a gymnast, two flamenco dancers and a few standing bodies.

The runner was one of the most interesting ones. He was in the position like he was running and his muscles had been cut off of one attachment point on both legs, arms, shoulders and hands to show what it looked like underneath and to illustrate how many muscles we have in those corresponding places. 

There were clear display boxes sporadically placed throughout the exhibit that contained thin slices of different body parts to show what the view looks like from either the bottom or the top (transverse cuts) of the body. There were also different organs from the body in the display boxes. I was able to see a heart, brain, lungs and stomach. There was one display in particular that amazed me the most, the arteries. I couldn’t imagine how much time it took to separate those arteries and veins from the human body in order to put it on display. It was incredible to see how many there actually are in our bodies.

This specific exhibit at the Anchorage Museum did not have any animals or fetuses, but I have talked to a few of my friends who have gone and they have seen them. So it all depends on which city or country you are in and you go see it.

The entire experience was one I will never forget. If the Body Worlds exhibit ever comes to a city I am near again, I will go for sure. I highly recommend it to anyone; it is educational and very interesting.

Tanya Moulding