Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Robert McDonald, tanker, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 103 Armor Regiment,...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Julie Nicolov, Multi-National Corps " Iraq Public Affairs Office
At this time last year, Staff Sgt. Robert McDonald, a tanker with Animal Company, 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, was teaching 7th and 8th grade students at Tri-Valley High School about ancient civilizations in the Middle East.
This year, he's experiencing those cultures firsthand during his deployment to Camp Corregidor in Ramadi, Iraq.
"I'm learning a lot about the ancient culture here which we cover in my class," said McDonald, who lives in Millersburg, Pa.
He's also sharing this education with one of his former students.
"I still call him "Mr. McDonald,"" said Spc. Jen Renninger, medic, Charlie Co., 228 Forward Support Battalion, 28th Division Support Command, Pa. Army National Guard. "I tell him, "you're Mr. McDonald, even though you're Staff Sgt. McDonald now.""
Seeing her former teacher as a Soldier is not that much of a stretch for Renninger as she remembers how he ran his classroom.
"He was a disciplinarian," said Renninger, who lives in Higgins, Pa.
Renninger's 7th grade history class was the first of McDonald's teaching career. Before that, he was an infantryman with 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division for two years.
After serving on active duty, McDonald graduated college and joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
"I figured I"d have a tough time getting a teaching job, so I went into the Guard," McDonald said. "As soon as I joined the Guard, I got a job at Tri-Valley."
McDonald joined the faculty in 1993 after the school year was already in session. Renninger's class proved to be a trial-by-fire for the new teacher.
"We were a horrible class to him," Renninger said. "We used to tease him about his balding hair, so all the girls in my grade cut parts of their hair off and gave it to him."
Even with their pranks, McDonald appreciates the joie de vivre of students in that age group.
"They're just so full of life and fun," McDonald said. "Everything is fun to them."
The lessons that McDonald taught in his history class have shed some light on what Renninger sees in Iraq.
"He dealt a lot with the Muslim religion and the Middle East," Renninger said. "We learned a lot about the Shiites versus the Sunni, too."
McDonald's former service with the 101st Abn. Div. also influenced his students as they made plans for their futures.
"Kids always ask me about the military as an option after high school," McDonald said. "I don't know if it's because of me that they're here."
Renninger joined the military because someone in her family has served in every American war since the Revolution. She re-enlisted last year to be with her company in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"I really would have felt bad knowing that my company was coming over here and I had just gotten out," Renninger said.
Renninger is deployed to Camp Ramadi, which is on the other side of the city from Camp Corregidor. She recently spent two weeks at Camp Corregidor as part of the Lioness Team, a group of female Soldiers tasked with searching Iraqi women at Coalition checkpoints set up throughout the city.
Seeing her former teacher as a Soldier was not odd, but she admits that hanging out with him as an adult was a strange experience.
"The first night I was at Camp Corregidor, I went over to the company area. Everyone was sitting around smoking cigarettes and telling war stories, and I thought, "This is odd,"" Renninger said.
The strangeness wore off, and now teacher, student and the rest of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers in Ramadi have banded together to make the place more like home.
"It makes a difference who you're here with," Renninger said. "We're really close-knit, like one big family."
Other former students of McDonald's are also serving in Iraq. He hopes they use this challenging time to be thankful for every day they have.
"It's like that Tim McGraw song, "Live Like You Were Dying." Do what you want to do when you want to do it," McDonald said.
This deployment has had a huge effect on Renninger's future plans.
"I want to do everything. What's there to limit you after being here?" Renninger asked.
| Date Taken: | 12.29.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2005 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 4221 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 1,653 |
| Downloads: | 38 |
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