Why I Serve-SGT. Lisa Phillips-Army
By Master Sgt. Jack Gordon, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2004
– "I wanted to join
the Army since I was young," said Sgt. Lisa Phillips, 630th
Transportation
Company, from Washington, Pa.
"I knew I couldn't go full-time, but it was always
something I wanted to do,"
he said. So seven years ago, Phillips enlisted in the Army
Reserve. Before
being mobilized with the 630th in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, she was
assigned to the 223rd Transportation Company from
Norristown, Pa.
Many Army Reserve soldiers select an occupational specialty
closely aligned
with their civilian career, but not Phillips, who works as
a security officer
for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in
Harrisburg, Pa. In the Army
she is a trained truck driver, and not just a pickup, but
rather a 915-series
tractor-trailer.
"I like driving," she said, "so that's why I'm in
transportation.
Transportation is the best. I love moving the supplies that
everybody needs –
all the other things cannot happen unless we keep things
moving."
The 630th's mission here is moving supply convoys from here
to Forward Operating
Base camps throughout Iraq. Anaconda is the centralized hub
for supplies in the
theater and home to some 23,000 soldiers, service members
and civilian
contractors. Once used by Saddam Hussein as a premier Iraqi
air force base,
Anaconda hosts the largest concentration of troops in Iraq.
Dozens of convoys
depart and return here every day, and all convoys must be
escorted by gun
trucks in accordance with security and force-protection
policies.
Phillips said she switches off between driving or serving
as a machine-gunner
in the unit's gun trucks.
"It's nice to have the change," she said, adding that life
as a soldier is also
a big change. "I'm doing it full time now and it isn't bad.
It's going pretty
well – but I had set my expectations very low. When I got
here and saw we had
air-conditioned tents and showers, it had gone beyond my
expectations."
The .50-caliber machine gun is a time-tested weapon in the
Army's weapons
inventory for decades, and is still considered a weapon of
choice to engage
enemy in vehicles or buildings. It has recoil like a
jackhammer and muzzle
control takes a lot of arm and body strength. On the
630th's gun trucks,
Phillips mans the .50-cal.
"It's a very heavy weapon," she said. "It makes me feel
good to know that the
other soldiers can fall back on me if they need me. I'm
comfortable with it …
and I'm comfortable with all of our weapons. If I'm not, it
could be my buddy
who gets hurt, so I'd better be comfortable with it."
During the missions, Phillips said she has one thing on her
mind. "I'm focused
on the mission," she said. My main focus is staying alive
and seeing that
everyone else here is safe. I'm not in denial about
getting hurt, but I keep
away from the negative thinking – or I guess it's more
preparing yourself – but
I'd rather not prepare myself for that.
"We've been through (improvised explosive devices) and
sniper fire. … You have
to be observant of everything. There's so much going on
when you're driving
down the road, so I'm constantly watching," Phillips said.
Like many soldiers, Phillips attributes some of her
patriotism to the tradition
established by others in her family, and their earlier
service to the nation's
call to duty.
"My father and my uncle were both in the service, but the
main reason I joined
was my grandfather – Anthony Marciano," Phillips said. "He
was my hero. He was
my stepmother's father, so there was no blood relation, but
he always treated
me as if I were his own granddaughter. remember eating
mussels in tomato sauce
in front of the TV with him. I went with him wherever.
"He was in the Army in World War II. He was wounded by
shrapnel in Germany,"
she continued. "The doctors told him he could go home … but
he didn't. He went
back. He just kept going – that means a lot to me. I hope
to have 10 percent of
the courage he had. He was kind and fair with people. I'd
like to be the kind
of person he was. He died two years ago. I know he'd be
very proud of me."
Phillips said her family realizes the risk of her service
here in Iraq. "My
family misses me – I was always 'daddy's little girl,' so
my father misses me a
lot," she said.
"I have a big family and they're proud of me. They know the
reason I'm here is
because of all the other soldiers who are here. There are
risks involved, but
our unit is trained. If it happens … it happens, but we're
going to keep
driving on," said Phillips.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Grab another cheeseburger Michael Moore
Special to American Forces Press Service
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2004
– "I wanted to join
the Army since I was young," said Sgt. Lisa Phillips, 630th
Transportation
Company, from Washington, Pa.
"I knew I couldn't go full-time, but it was always
something I wanted to do,"
he said. So seven years ago, Phillips enlisted in the Army
Reserve. Before
being mobilized with the 630th in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, she was
assigned to the 223rd Transportation Company from
Norristown, Pa.
Many Army Reserve soldiers select an occupational specialty
closely aligned
with their civilian career, but not Phillips, who works as
a security officer
for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in
Harrisburg, Pa. In the Army
she is a trained truck driver, and not just a pickup, but
rather a 915-series
tractor-trailer.
"I like driving," she said, "so that's why I'm in
transportation.
Transportation is the best. I love moving the supplies that
everybody needs –
all the other things cannot happen unless we keep things
moving."
The 630th's mission here is moving supply convoys from here
to Forward Operating
Base camps throughout Iraq. Anaconda is the centralized hub
for supplies in the
theater and home to some 23,000 soldiers, service members
and civilian
contractors. Once used by Saddam Hussein as a premier Iraqi
air force base,
Anaconda hosts the largest concentration of troops in Iraq.
Dozens of convoys
depart and return here every day, and all convoys must be
escorted by gun
trucks in accordance with security and force-protection
policies.
Phillips said she switches off between driving or serving
as a machine-gunner
in the unit's gun trucks.
"It's nice to have the change," she said, adding that life
as a soldier is also
a big change. "I'm doing it full time now and it isn't bad.
It's going pretty
well – but I had set my expectations very low. When I got
here and saw we had
air-conditioned tents and showers, it had gone beyond my
expectations."
The .50-caliber machine gun is a time-tested weapon in the
Army's weapons
inventory for decades, and is still considered a weapon of
choice to engage
enemy in vehicles or buildings. It has recoil like a
jackhammer and muzzle
control takes a lot of arm and body strength. On the
630th's gun trucks,
Phillips mans the .50-cal.
"It's a very heavy weapon," she said. "It makes me feel
good to know that the
other soldiers can fall back on me if they need me. I'm
comfortable with it …
and I'm comfortable with all of our weapons. If I'm not, it
could be my buddy
who gets hurt, so I'd better be comfortable with it."
During the missions, Phillips said she has one thing on her
mind. "I'm focused
on the mission," she said. My main focus is staying alive
and seeing that
everyone else here is safe. I'm not in denial about
getting hurt, but I keep
away from the negative thinking – or I guess it's more
preparing yourself – but
I'd rather not prepare myself for that.
"We've been through (improvised explosive devices) and
sniper fire. … You have
to be observant of everything. There's so much going on
when you're driving
down the road, so I'm constantly watching," Phillips said.
Like many soldiers, Phillips attributes some of her
patriotism to the tradition
established by others in her family, and their earlier
service to the nation's
call to duty.
"My father and my uncle were both in the service, but the
main reason I joined
was my grandfather – Anthony Marciano," Phillips said. "He
was my hero. He was
my stepmother's father, so there was no blood relation, but
he always treated
me as if I were his own granddaughter. remember eating
mussels in tomato sauce
in front of the TV with him. I went with him wherever.
"He was in the Army in World War II. He was wounded by
shrapnel in Germany,"
she continued. "The doctors told him he could go home … but
he didn't. He went
back. He just kept going – that means a lot to me. I hope
to have 10 percent of
the courage he had. He was kind and fair with people. I'd
like to be the kind
of person he was. He died two years ago. I know he'd be
very proud of me."
Phillips said her family realizes the risk of her service
here in Iraq. "My
family misses me – I was always 'daddy's little girl,' so
my father misses me a
lot," she said.
"I have a big family and they're proud of me. They know the
reason I'm here is
because of all the other soldiers who are here. There are
risks involved, but
our unit is trained. If it happens … it happens, but we're
going to keep
driving on," said Phillips.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Grab another cheeseburger Michael Moore
posted by Marie's Two Cents | 3:34 AM
1 Comments:
Bonnie Degler says she is soooo proud of Lisa PHillips!
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