There's a first time for everything. . .

Photo By Sgt. Johnnie French | Capt. Sarah Rykowski, the new "poster child for protective clothing" by her own admission, received third degree burns and was hit in the face by shrapnel fragments when her humvee was destroyed by an explosively formed projectile, Foward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, June 18, 2007. (U.S. Army photo)  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

06.21.2007

Story by Sgt. Johnnie French 

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division Public Affairs

Story by Sgt. J.H. French
4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division

KALSU, Iraq – The first time for anything is more often than not a memorable occasion. People tend to remember moments like their first kiss or their first car accident. The same holds true for Soldiers on their first deployment.

Capt. Sarah Rykowski, the trial counsel and claims attorney for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, has had a first deployment that has been filled with many memorable firsts, some good, and some bad.

"I remember the day I landed in Kuwait. It was Easter Sunday, and I heard that we had lost one of our Paratroopers," said Rykowski. "My first day at (Forward Operating Base) Kalsu I attended his memorial ceremony. It was really a sobering moment that reminded me exactly where I was and why I was here."

It was a long road for the trial lawyer just to get into the military, let alone to be standing on a combat outpost in the middle of Iraq.

Rykowski graduated from St. Mary's at the University of Notre Dame and then went to law school at the University of Michigan in her hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich. She was interested in joining the judge advocate general corps because of the opportunity to represent clients in a courtroom early in her career.

"I actually didn't get in the first time I applied," she said. "But, I had a great recruiter who pretty much held my hand and walked me through and I was finally accepted into the JAG corps."

Through officer basic course and job specific training, Rykowski was the youngest Soldier in her class and was adopted by fellow classmates as their baby sister.

"My friends really looked out for me and helped me through the tough times," she said.

Once she finished training, she was commissioned into the Army Sept. 11, 2005, and assigned to U.S. Army Alaska.

"I remember I finally got to try my first case in June 2006," she said. "After everything I had been through just to get into the military, it was a pretty special moment."

After working the courtroom in Alaska the next several months, Rykowski received word she would be deploying to support the Spartans of the 4th BCT.

"I'll be honest, it was a little scary getting ready to deploy for the first time, she said. "But, everyone in the legal office here really took me in and made me a part of the team."

Going from the class's little sister to the new girl in the office helped Rykowski connect with the legal office's youngest paralegal, Cpl. Cody Phelps.

"He was the little brother in the office," she continued. "But, it really seemed like he was always taking care of me."

"I remember he took money out of his own pocket to give to two local Iraqi ladies and their children just because they needed it. That really showed me what my paralegal was made of."

On May 17, a little more than a month after arriving in country, Rykowski left the safety of FOB Kalsu on her first convoy, and it turned into one of the most memorable events of her life.

As the convoy neared its destination, an explosively formed projectile ripped through the Humvee she was riding in and took the life of Phelps and two other Paratroopers. Rykowski suffered third degree burns and was hit in the face by shrapnel.

"When the truck was hit, the first thing I remember is smelling smoke. I looked over and saw Phelps. He looked like he was sleeping. Then I saw the gunner. There wasn't a whole lot I could do, so I grabbed his hand and told him to hang in there and held on until help came."

"I really became the poster child for protective clothing," she said. "My injuries would have been a lot worse if I hadn't been wearing all of my equipment."

Rykowski said that was her first real experience with death.

Rykowski received the Purple Heart medal and Combat Action Badge for her wounds and actions during the EFP attack.

Rykowski returned to work the next week trying two evidentiary trials and an Article 32 hearing. She has also started making the rounds to the other Spartan bases.

"It is a big weight off of my shoulders to get out again," she said. "I can't just hide in my office under my desk, I have a job to do and I have seen the absolute worst now."

With the experiences gained in the last month, Rykowski has a renewed sense of why she decided to become a Soldier.

"Experience has shown me the good and bad side of war. The good side is you have friends and buddies to your left and right who are willing to give their life for you," she said. "The bad is that you might actually loose one of those friends."

• Date Taken: 06.21.2007
• Date Posted: 06.22.2007 11:56
• Story ID: 10933
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ