Page 823 - Total War on PTSD

His Master Sergeant showed up at my hotel room that night and presented a police badge. He stated that he was the senior NCO to the assaulter and wanted to get my story. I told him what I was able to remember. Later that night, I found out that his actions were illegal. The assaulter’s unit superiors accused me of lying and trying to end his marriage...even though I was married as well. I was scared and never reported anything further than the city law enforcement.
In 2013, we were given the warning order for deployment to Afghanistan. I had the option to request to opt out due to being enrolled in ROTC but I decided my country and unit needed me more than the college. I also thought that I would become an even better leader with a combat deployment tour as part of my experience. With nervousness and excitement, I was soon on the bus to Camp Shelby, Mississippi for pre-deployment. I left behind my family and, most importantly, my daughter to do my part in an active war-zone. While at Camp Shelby, I was the only female in the history of the 489th Engineer Battalion to receive the rank of Corporal and also to receive the Additional Skill Identifier as a 1K (Master Gunner for Electronic Warfare).
As strange as it might sound, I absolutely loved serving overseas. I was pulled away from my primary job duty to work in Tactical Operations. Every day, I woke up before anyone else to send in the Personnel Status Report by 0630. I held important roles for my Company. Our primary mission overseas was to convoy to different sites and haul the machinery used to deconstruct those sites. I was the junior Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge (NCOIC) of the Company Intelligence Support Team (COIST). My duties in COIST consisted of monitoring three different levels of security systems to track enemy movements, hostile fire of any kind, IEDs and the horrible part...reporting the death details for all of the joint operations in the region. I would prepare PowerPoint presentations complete with aerial views of the terrain; close-up views of obstacles such as bridges and buildings; detailed curves along the route; where incidents
823 of 1085