Photo By Staff Sgt. Patrick Caldwell | Staff Sgt. Heather Louisiana, assigned to Fox Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry...... read more read more
ORCHARD COMBAT TRAINING CENTER, Idaho – After 13 years of service, including two deployments overseas, it might appear as if Staff Sgt. Heather Louisiana absorbed enough experience to last a lifetime.
Yet the Kennewick, Washington resident said she is still learning new things every day in her military career and that is just the way she likes it.
Louisiana, assigned to Fox Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, secured an opportunity to learn a new job in June when her unit journeyed to the high desert south of Boise, Idaho to participate in an eleven-day gunnery exercise.
She stepped up to manage the ammunition distribution point for the battalion. At first glance the task appeared daunting. All of the ammunition for the Oregon National Guard combined arms battalion was dispersed from Louisiana’s position, with series of separate collection points separated by large dirt and sand berms. Yet Louisiana said her new task was a rewarding one.
“I like it because I’ve learned something new. The job with the ammo is something different and I learned something I wouldn’t learn on the civilian side,” she said.
Louisiana, born in Newport Oregon, said she joined the 3rd Battalion in 2008, just before the cavalry unit deployed for a second time to Iraq. The move proved to be a good one, she said.
“They (the 3rd Battalion) make you want to keep coming back. I like the people,” she said.
The ammo point where Louisiana toiled was a key piece of the 3rd Battalion’s operation during its eleven-day gunnery session. Every day, Louisiana and her crew ensured the right ammunition went to the right place at the right time. Not only was the distribution piece of the job important, Louisiana said, but ensuring a proper count was tabulated regarding the ammunition proved to be key as well.
“The inventory is very, very important and so is pushing the right numbers up (to battalion),” she said. “We get everything out here and set it up and distribute it out as it is supposed to be.”
Louisiana said the job at times could be busy, but manageable.
“It is not bad because everything is spread out and the companies are staggered coming through,” she said.
One of the Soldiers working for Louisiana, Pfc. Molly Coffee, 27, Nampa, Idaho, said the key to success revolves around the people in Fox Company.
“There is constant feedback. Anyone can make a suggestion. We’ve got a great group of people,” Coffee said.
Coffee said while the job is straightforward it does exude a low-level of worry.
“We have other companies depending on us,” Coffee said.
Louisiana, who raises horses in her spare time on her small farm in Washington State, said she became interested in the National Guard when her brother joined the military. She knew she wanted to serve her country but wasn’t sure how large of a time commitment she wanted to devote.
“I didn’t want to go active (duty) because I still wanted my civilian life,” she said.
Now, Louisiana works full-time in the records office at Trios Health in Kennewick, Washington, a job she said is rewarding and she said she does not regret her choice to become a member of the Guard.
“It opened up opportunities. It has opened up a lot more doors. The benefits really helped and allowed me to buy my home,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2015 00:09 |
| Story ID: | 169469 |
| Location: | KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 345 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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