Photo By 1st Sgt. Emily Anderson | Sgt. Brian Vigoya, a student attending a Mortuary Affairs Specialist Course, adjusts...... read more read more
Standing in front of a projector that displays the remains of a deceased man, an Army Reserve instructor is not explaining to his 11 students the gruesomeness of what happened to the man, but the proper way to effectively serve in a unique and honorable job as a mortuary affairs specialist.
“Being in mortuary affairs isn’t easy because I know everybody can’t deal with remains,” said Staff Sgt. Luis Garcia, the lead instructor for the Mortuary Affairs Specialist Course held at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, May 12-28, 2018.
“The mission of our job is to take those heroes and do all the preparation and help with the valuable effects,” said Garcia, who is assigned to the 5th Multifunctional Battalion, 94th Training Division – Force Sustainment, 80th Training Command (The Army School System).
The mortuary affairs course falls under the command and control of the 94th TD, and the 94th TD supports the 80th TC's mission of more than 2,700 instructors providing essential training to Army Soldiers from the Reserve, National Guard, and active duty components.
“When you are dealing with the remains, you are thinking of the Families and focusing on treating the fallen hero with the utmost respect and dignity,” said Garcia. “It’s an honor to be here and to instruct because this job is like no other.”
Garcia’s students will graduate and move on to serve as combat-ready leaders in their units, but a few students received first-hand experience shortly after switching to this military occupational specialty last year and helped when Hurricane Maria hit land.
“One day I’m learning at the morgue. Then I graduate from the mortuary affairs re-class course, and one day later I’m at the morgue again. This time I’m helping them because of the hurricane,” said Sgt. Pedro Cruz, assigned to the 311th Quartermaster Company. “We were working over there every day. I’m doing things I won’t do on deployment because as I hear, ‘you don’t work with remains every day on deployments.’”
Sgt. Adrian Roman-Perez, also assigned to 311th QM Company, was another student who stepped out of the classroom and put what he learned to use shortly after the class ended.
“I worked alongside our instructor because we had to provide support to the morgue,” Roman-Perez said. “It wasn’t that the hurricane happened; it was about the aftermath after it happened.”
“In the Army, we train as we fight, but you can’t do that in this job,” said Roman-Perez. “Most of the time, you are dealing with a mannequin and never have the opportunity to experience remains or have your body have that kind of stress.”
“For me, it was kind of useful, and it will be useful on my deployment because it helped prepare me for what is coming up,” Roman-Perez said. “That type of stressful situation helped me and taught me how to cope with it.”
According to Staff Sgt. Izander Estrada, a Soldier assigned to 5th Battalion who helped Garcia with the mortuary affairs course, Hurricane Maria left a lasting impression on more than just the students. It also impacted the instructors and staff at the organization.
“There were no trees, and it was so quiet,” Estrada said. “You didn’t hear cars or birds or anything. It was completely quiet. It was a surreal experience.
“It was a lot of stuff that if you’re not living here, it’s impossible to understand or to explain,” he added. “Seeing people not having water and electricity, you start thinking about how important things are and that you take them for granted. Like when the air conditioning is always on, that’s electricity that you’re using.”
Despite dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Estrada was one of several individuals tasked with ensuring the future courses at the schoolhouse could still be conducted.
“This area had buildings actually demolished because of Maria,” he said. “This was September, and we had to demonstrate that we could conduct the next class in February.”
The staff at the 5th Battalion worked with the 94th TD, the 80th TC, and Fort Buchanan to secure a building, equipment, and power to ensure the next course could take place. Their combined efforts paid off.
Eight months later, classes are still scheduled through the rest of the year, and staff and students are working hard to show why mortuary affairs is a crucial piece of the Army's overall mission.
“One of the things I’m grateful for in the class is that I’ve been able to know the instructors and know how they work aside from them instructing,” said Roman-Perez. “I can assure you, they are people who know their job. They know what they are doing, and they know their material and are experienced instructors.”
Both Cruz and Roman-Perez agreed that this job specialty is one that many people may not consider but is worth doing and instructing if given the opportunity.
“I’ve thought about being an instructor. It is not an easy task, but it’s a rewarding one. As an instructor, you’ve got the ability to mold Soldiers and help them, tell them the proper way of doing stuff, and prevent them from slacking and taking up bad habits,” said Roman-Perez.
“Mortuary affairs is not for everyone. I will say that if new Soldiers decide to join mortuary affairs, they will not regret it, ever,” said Cruz. “Maybe they’ll stay there forever. I really love this MOS. It makes me feel like I’m really doing something for my Nation.”
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2018 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 278775 |
| Location: | FORT BUCHANAN, PR |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mortuary Affairs: More than remains and personal effects, by 1SG Emily Anderson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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