Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - The Low Point

Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - The Low Point:      The third group was planning other military training trips for Africans, similar to her first mission. She would have gotten to go,...

Never be Weak, Never Back Down - The Low Point

     The third group was planning other military training trips for Africans, similar to her first mission. She would have gotten to go, but her officer told her she had to go to a training school, if she hoped to advance further in the army. So, again against her will, she put in her application. Otherwise, she would stay as a major, no hopes for advancing. Goodbye, Third Group. Hello, San Antonio, for a Master’s Degree in Public health.

     A vet commander was needed in Germany. Six weeks before going, their  beautiful Kristen, their only child, was born. Then they all left for a three year tour in Germany.

     9/11 happened during her time in Germany. Her group in Germany soon started preparing to be the first group into Iraq. Just HOW quickly, she seemed to be a little vague about. They would be in support of conventional forces. Special Forces were in Afghanistan.  She trained a year for Iraq. However, her three year tour was up before they were to leave for Iraq. She left for Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, training officers to be small unit commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq. There she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.  Her long time friend in Afghanistan, however, failed to get promoted, thus he was forced to retire at 20 years.

     Many groups were destined for Iraq. Most vets did not want to go, preferring to stay in the US. But Deanna felt she had spent her entire life preparing for this, and staying in the US with all this going on, was just flat boring. She was headed for Ft. Bragg again.

     She spent a year training for Iraq, again. But right before being deployed, a new General was put in charge. He started moving out good men who had been training for a year for this mission, then he began moving in his own friends who had no training. Deanna survived the cut, so she deployed.

     From a vet point of view, Iraq did not have a good plan. Rabies was rampant among feral packs of dogs, and people were hiding their pets from vaccination programs. So, unvaccinated pets were living with rabid dogs. And, there was no good bite control program. Seventeen human deaths from rabies occurred in a short period of time.

    And, there were food problems. Most was trucked in, with no good records kept. Sometimes food trucks were held up for ten days, and upon arrival, the food was rotten.

     There were water safety problems, careless handling of medical waste, and strange deadly organisms invaded many hospitals.

     The General in charge was a hospital man, never been in the field. His buddies were not doing a good job. The general was deciding who would do what, and many were sent home.  He wound up sending her entire medical team home. The general wound up wasting maybe a year and a half, in Deanna’s estimation.

     I talked to Deanna when she arrived home. She was depressed. “I’ve spent my entire career training for this moment. Then when I got there, I was not allowed to do it. We were told, it’s too dangerous out there now, and made to sit around in the green zone far too much.”

     Deanna moved to Special Ops once again. In two years, she was in a position to assign people to Iraq. Guess who she assigned? Yes, you guessed it. Lt. Col. Deanna Brown.

     Iraq had no higher level vets. They had 10,000 vets to give vaccinations, etc. But to be fully functional, they needed higher level training. Saddam did not allow “Thinking for self” for his vets, or anyone else, for that matter. They needed to be taught how to function.

     And, we added to the problem. Many of the leaders in that area were deposed, with all new people brought in.

      Deanna’s second tour in Iraq accomplished a lot. So it was a good tour. But it had a very bad personal aspect to it, for Deanna.

     Five vets were needed. Deanna assigned herself, as I mentioned. Her friend, Daniel Holland, wanted to go. But his wife would not allow him to volunteer. Since Deanna was in a position to assign, he expressed to her his wishes to be “volunteered.” Dan was a very good man, and was on his way along a path to becoming a General. After completing her team, they headed for Iraq. She had a pretty good idea where her Civil Affairs team should be placed, but the decision makers had different ideas. Two were assigned to the same desk, The most junior vet was sent alone to a pretty hot area, and Deanna and another were assigned to Bagdad.

     Dan and Deanna met regularly for lunch to decide on their mission. Dan’s bosses wanted to send him to a very dangerous area, to  vaccinate  animals. Deanna told him they were not there to vaccinate animals, but to train Iraq’s vets to a higher level. Iraq had plenty of vets to vaccinate. Just tell them no. He would not, saying it would look like he was scared. Two days later, Dan was dead. In Deanna’s mind, it was largely because of her. This was the low point of her career.

Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Iraq

Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Iraq:      The third group was planning other military training trips for Africans, similar to her first mission. She would have gotten to go,...

Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Iraq

     The third group was planning other military training trips for Africans, similar to her first mission. She would have gotten to go, but her officer told her she had to go to a training school, if she hoped to advance further in the army. So, again against her will, she put in her application. Otherwise, she would stay as a major, no hopes for advancing. Goodbye, Third Group. Hello, San Antonio, for a Master’s Degree in Public health.

     A vet commander was needed in Germany. Six weeks before going, their  beautiful Kristen, their only child, was born. Then they all left for a three year tour in Germany.

     9/11 happened during her time in Germany. Her group in Germany soon started preparing to be the first group into Iraq. Just HOW quickly, she seemed to be a little vague about. They would be in support of conventional forces. Special Forces were in Afghanistan.  She trained a year for Iraq. However, her three year tour was up before they were to leave for Iraq. She left for Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, training officers to be small unit commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq. There she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.  Her long time friend in Afghanistan, however, failed to get promoted, thus he was forced to retire at 20 years.

     Many groups were destined for Iraq. Most vets did not want to go, preferring to stay in the US. But Deanna felt she had spent her entire life preparing for this, and staying in the US with all this going on, was just flat boring. She was headed for Ft. Bragg again.

     She spent a year training for Iraq, again. But right before being deployed, a new General was put in charge. He started moving out good men who had been training for a year for this mission, then he began moving in his own friends who had no training. Deanna survived the cut, so she deployed.

     From a vet point of view, Iraq did not have a good plan. Rabies was rampant among feral packs of dogs, and people were hiding their pets from vaccination programs. So, unvaccinated pets were living with rabid dogs. And, there was no good bite control program. Seventeen human deaths from rabies occurred in a short period of time.

    And, there were food problems. Most was trucked in, with no good records kept. Sometimes food trucks were held up for ten days, and upon arrival, the food was rotten.

     There were water safety problems, careless handling of medical waste, and strange deadly organisms invaded many hospitals.

     The General in charge was a hospital man, never been in the field. His buddies were not doing a good job. The general was deciding who would do what, and many were sent home.  He wound up sending her entire medical team home. The general wound up wasting maybe a year and a half, in Deanna’s estimation.

     I talked to Deanna when she arrived home. She was depressed. “I’ve spent my entire career training for this moment. Then when I got there, I was not allowed to do it. We were told, it’s too dangerous out there now, and made to sit around in the green zone far too much.”

     Deanna moved to Special Ops once again. In two years, she was in a position to assign people to Iraq. Guess who she assigned? Yes, you guessed it. Lt. Col. Deanna Brown.

Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Part Three

Forever A Hillbilly: Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Part Three: PART THREE      I asked Deanna how much of a problem being a woman in a world of fighting men was for her. “Well, there’s always initial...

Never be Weak, Never Back Down - Part Three

PART THREE

     I asked Deanna how much of a problem being a woman in a world of fighting men was for her. “Well, there’s always initial skepticism. But once they get to know me, there’s never been a problem. My behavior generally influences those around me eventually. Never be weak, never back down, and never, but never, say, Can you carry this for me?” And, I’m sure, always use that gruff business voice I heard on the phone, though she never mentioned that.  She also mentioned that readily being willing to jump out of a plane helped a lot. The vet who previously held her position in her division was a woman who would not. She was transferred.

     Deanna’s team Sargent was with the Special Forces, a Green Beret. He initially took her out to test her. They put on packs equal to one third of their body weight or 50 pounds, whichever is greater, and he took her out on a forced hike for 12 miles in less than the cutoff point time of four hours. He then gave her a compass and a map to prove she could master land navigation. After additional testing, she proved herself to Sargent Foster. They remained close friends throughout their careers, and are still face book buddies today.

     After five months in Haiti, she came home. She found her vet position had been done away with, and she was assigned to the only airborne vet attachment, the 248^th. (The only one that jumps out of planes.)  She moved to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Her main function was hurricane relief, and she led a team into the Virgin Islands in that capacity.

     Her officer suggested she put in for a year in Korea, which would be a good career move, though she would have to leave husband Keith. That was a bummer, but she grudgingly put in for Korea.

     While she was preparing for Korea, things were changing. Rules were changing regarding women in the Special Forces. The Special Forces had never had a woman attached. They decided to add a vet. Some of them remembered Deanna from Haiti, knew she had proven herself there. The general feeling seemed to be, “we’ll eventually have a woman in this group, so we want one that won’t embarrass us.”

    So, Deanna became the first woman ever attached to the Special Forces. The Third Special Forces Group. Soon after, her boss, (and friend) was hit by a helicopter prop in training and killed.

     The Fifth Special Forces Group had projects planned in the Horn of Africa. They would go in, work with the locals to help train them in fighting and helping with their needs. The population is very agriculture oriented. They needed a vet. They needed Deanna.  Her first mission was to Eritrea, a mixture of Christians and Moslem villages. The villages were permanent, not nomadic.  They are much like Ethiopians, and right on the Red Sea. There are two ports on the Red Sea that could become militarily important some day. This mission was humanitarian, and hopefully would help win their hearts and their good will. Their country has only been independent for six years, and they badly needed vet and medical assistance. They have very nasty diseases in their flocks, preventable by vaccination.  They began a vaccination campaign for Tecti Petit Ruminants.  It’s similar to dog distemper. Deanna was able to obtain the vaccine in Kenya. Her and five Special Forces men traveled to a different village each day in a Land Rover, and worked long, very hard days. They eventually vaccinated 140,000 of their sheep and goats. Each day, the village threw a big celebration at the end of the day, killing and roasting a goat, though they were very poor. Those people loved to see them coming. A very rewarding experience for Deanna and the men!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

     Occasionally, they would go to a village where no, or very few, animals appeared. They would eventually learn that most all of the animals were killed the year before by the disease in a major outbreak, and only the ones that were naturally immune survived. If those immune stragglers came in, they were vaccinated anyway. The locals just felt better about it.

     These People are very hard, and very hard working people. They have to travel for great distances to reach a water well. Bad water kills many people in East Africa. After two months, her team returned to Ft. Bragg. 

Forever A Hillbilly: Forever A Hillbilly: Lt. Col. Deanna Brown - Never...

Forever A Hillbilly: Forever A Hillbilly: Lt. Col. Deanna Brown - Never...: Forever A Hillbilly: Lt. Col. Deanna Brown - Never be weak, Never back ... :      "It's Unca' Pat!" I often heard these sw...

Never weak, Never Back Down

Part Two

    Shortly after being assigned, there was a military coup in Haiti and their only democratically elected president had been deposed. It was decided to send American troops down to assist.  Initially, Deanna’s team was to jump in with the 82^nd Airborne.  Although few women in the military, especially vets, wind up jumping out of airplanes into possible action, Deanna was anxious to go where her expertise is needed and the quicker the better. Also, she was anxious to prove she could pull her weight in a world of fighting men. Shortly before getting on the plane, she was called to her unit’s headquarters.  They informed her that she could not go with her team.  Women are not allowed to jump into potential combat.  That did not sit lightly with Deanna. Her removal left her team to go in without an officer. She put her team on that plane and watched it take off.  Shortly after getting home, she heard on the news that former President Carter had met with the coup leader, and toned things down some, so that our forces would not, hopefully, be arriving in the midst of open conflict. The planes, along with her team were turned around and came home.

   The next day, she again joined her team, and this time they were to go with the Marines.  Again they prepared, but again before they got on the plane… she was told she could not go.  This time, the story was that the Marines didn’t want any women.  She was very mad, feeling she needed to be doing the job they are paying her to do.  Her team left, again without a team leader, and Deanna was assigned to another team which would be attached to Tenth Mountain Division, assigned to secure the Port Au Prince airport. The following day, she and her new team were flown in and dumped on the tarmac in Port Au Prince. When they arrived, they pretty much had to fend for themselves.  They were a small team attached to an infantry unit whose job was to secure an airfield… why did they need to interact with the civilian population? They found a slight overhang outside of a metal building next to the airfield to camp under. Metal pallets on top of rollers kept them off the ground.  There were no tents, only what they carried in their ruck sack, which included one change of clothes. There were no bathrooms. Needless to say, there were no other women. Her bathroom was her pancho, spread out around her, while a teammate stood lookout. They were there for a month, doing very little. Finally, they were rewarded with a real bathroom, they found an enclosed space with a hole in the floor.  Luckily, it rained almost every afternoon, and the rain runoff from the roof was a great way to wash hair and to try to have a little hygiene.

     Food was also a problem. They were given none. They finally worked out a plan. When a plane arrived with cases of MRE’s (Meals ready to eat) they waited until it was unloaded. One would distract a guard, while another cut open a pallet of MRE’s and “borrowed” a few boxes.

     Deanna and her team were not using their skills. After a month, they asked to be used or transferred. They were then attached to the engineers who had a lot for them to do. Their job, then, was to go out and find places for base camps. Deanna, then a captain, was the Civil Affairs team leader.

     They sometimes had exciting moments in this job. There were still a lot of very bad people in the military, and police, of Haiti. Once, a man came running up to them. “Help! They’re killing Robert! You’ve got to stop them!” They followed the man, as he led out on his bicycle. He eventually led them to a very large compound. They realized it was a Fadh compound (some of the bad guys). They were now eight against two hundred. Their major went in to try to locate Robert, while the others spread out to provide security for the major. Deanna carried an M16 and a 9mm pistol, locked and loaded. Her M16 fires a three round burst each time the trigger was pulled. Robert was never found, but they all got out alive.

     Another tense moment arose when they found a nice spot for the engineers to build a base camp, a place that already had a brick wall around it.  Once, 300 or so Haitian men came running up to the wall, not fighting, but tearing the wall down.  The combat engineers were ready to use force to stop them.  Deanna’s team was called to intervene.  She took an interpreter out to talk to them.  CONTINUED IN ONE WEEK