(The following story by Chuck Hackenmiller appeared on the Boone News-Republican website on October 21. David Lahner is Legislative Representative of BLET Division 6 in Boone, Iowa.)
BOONE, Iowa — The brief respite from the unrest, heat and dangers in Iraq was comforting to SPC Holly Lahner, daughter of David and Nancy Lahner of Boone, who serves in the Army Reserves 471st Co. postal operations unit based in Fort Dodge.
Lahner, a 2000 graduate of Boone High School, has been in Iraq with her unit since March. She recently had a two-week leave from Camp Cooke in Iraq.
She’s been in the Army Reserves since April 7, 2003. “I joined because one of my best friends, SPC Angela Wilhite, was in the same unit and it sounded like something I would be interested in,” Lahner said.
Eventually, Wilhite had to transfer to a different base, which meant a time of emotional adjustment for Lahner, now serving her country without her best friend at her side. “But we’re getting along just fine. We write a lot to each other through e-mail, and she’s going to be coming over to our base again later this year.” she mentioned.
Camp Cooke is about 45 minutes away from Baghdad, a city that has been a violent trouble spot throughout the war.
She’s seen mortar fire at least two times within the last few weeks. It can be alarming. “But we get used to it. We’ve become numb to it,” she said.
Lahner said Camp Cooke has several features that make the days go better for the mix of enlisted personnel and reserves – a fine dining facility, a theater, a baseball field and more. The soldiers are advised to stay away from Iraqi food. Food supplied by the U.S. military is best for them, she said.
There’s still the heat that all must bear.
“It gets really, really hot – up to 120 degrees at times. We work (at the postal operations facility) where it is air conditioned, so that’s nice,” she said.
Conditions after work recently became better, too, for Lahner, as she moved from the barracks to an air conditioned trailer at the camp.
The majority of those serving in her postal operations unit are women. Lahner said all of the women are treated like any of the other service personnel – all with respect and with equality. She said morale within her company is just fine. “Our unit has great people who keep us motivated,” she said.
There’s not a lot of free time after she’s finished her work for the day. She finds that it’s important to be flexible, which can be hard when having a schedule they must strictly follow.
At the entertainment facility on the base, Friday night she has the chance to participate in karaoke night and on Saturday night, a chance to learn how to dance salsa. “Sunday is a day off and means sometimes a trip to the beauty salon for a manicure-pedicure, and then I’d go to the pool and try and get a tan,” she said.
What she misses most is home. During her leave, she found time to spend with family and friends, and she expected that when she boarded her transportation back to Iraq, it would be an emotional time for her.
Once she leaves Iraq, she said she won’t miss the heat or the sand or the “porta-johns,” or the routines. “What I will miss is the people in our company. I’ll also miss the structure and the organization within the company,” Lahner said.
She has very little contact with Iraqis. It is usually the local national Iraqis who come on the base to perform some contract work. None others are allowed unless they are escorted, she said.
When she signed on to her unit, she hadn’t the slightest inkling that her unit would be heading to Iraq. Still, she said “that you take that risk when you sign on.”
“It was kind of a shock at first. But then, that’s what you signed up for. That’s a part of it,” she said.
“You learn to take things one day at a time, and to live for the moment. I look at it as a great experience, something I would never had known had I not joined. I’m happy I did,” she said.