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**By: Ernie "BR" Shelton, Program Analyst, HQ IMCOM G8/IMRM-M, Joint Base, San Antonio (JBSA)**
Do you want to be challenged? Want to step outside your comfort zone? What to know that the Army’s home is not just an installation? Then deploying as a Civilian Expeditionary Workforce (CEW) member may be right for you!
CEW is not for the faint of heart as the hours are long and often you will find yourself doing tasks or jobs other than those which you were hired to do. Two things, however are sure, first, you will not be bored by mundane tasks that repeat themselves day after day and, second, it will be the most exciting and rewarding hard work that you have ever done.
Not many DoD or Army civilians can say they have worked alongside those Soldier’s that we support and even fewer can say they have done it in an austere environment or a combat zone.
Do not expect to find things exactly as you do at home station. You can expect to be left out somewhere where you only have a porta potty or a cold shower. It can be more like going camping with your family or the experience you might have had when you went on an outing with the boy or girl scouts.
I found it stimulating to once again be in the trenches with Soldiers. I gained a greater understanding about what is important to them and their families when they are at home station and support they need when they are deployed for a year or more. I can relate to this first hand as I was in Afghanistan for just over 18-months. I had the extreme pleasure of working with the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York and the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia both of which have done multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If you plan to stay on a Forward Operating Base (FOB) then most likely you can do so but I had an adrenaline rush flying through the mountains in a Black Hawk to and from Kabul and other locations. There is nothing like the smell of gunpowder from 7.62 mm machine guns being test fired as you swoop through the mountains.
You are entitled to three Rest and Recuperation (R&R) leaves during your tour at government expense which far exceed the one that military members get so you will be able to break up your one-year tour.
If you were to ask me if I would do it again my answer would be, “When do we leave?” So step up and do something unique. Do something that many of your peers have not. Separate yourself and seek positions of greater responsibility which have possibilities written all over them. Challenge yourself and you will never again doubt yourself and along the way you will develop skills, some of which you never knew you had. Step to the front and learn what self-initiative and leadership are all about in a mission environment and find personal rewards that you can find nowhere else in the Army or DoD.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.15.2017 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 254392 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 462 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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