Photo By Sgt. Ryan Scribner | U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Arana, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 369th Sustainment...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Penn. -- At Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, cats patrol the base looking for mice. The cats perform an important task because mice attract snakes.
Getting rid of the mice means getting rid of the snakes, and getting rid of the snakes means less worry about waking up to something slithering across the floor at night, Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Janis told members of the 369th Sustainment Brigade who will be deploying to Camp Arifjan later this year.
These kinds of practical information are the tips that Janis and others who have deployed to Kuwait before, are sharing with members of the brigade who have never deployed before.
Two hundred and fifty New York Army National Guard Soldiers are preparing for a 10-month deployment to Kuwait to provide sustainment and logistical support to Army forces in the Middle East.
Giving a better feel for life at Camp Arifjan helps orient Soldiers to what lies ahead, Janis said.
Those cats he talked about, may come up to Soldiers with a friendly purr or might rub their heads on people’s legs. Some Soldiers have pets at home and may desire to play with the base cats, but these are not pets, Janis said. They perform a key role in the camp.
Rabies is also a concern and interacting with the cats is against the rules. Let the cats go after their mice uninterrupted and snakes won’t be a concern either. Janis explained.
Janis tells fellow Soldiers that there are a lot of exciting experiences to gain during a deployment, but it is important to know that rules exist for a reason.
“During my deployment, a Soldier didn’t abide by the rules and he played with a cat,” Janis said. “The cat either bit or scratched him and the Army decided to err on the side of caution and give the rabies vaccination to everyone who lived in the tent with the Soldier who was playing with the animal.”
Plenty of safe, fun and approved activities exist on the base, Janis said.
Feet hitting the pavement during marathons and races, movie theatres showing the latest films filled with the scent of buttery popcorn, and water splashing from laps in a pool are sensations and experiences to be had at Camp Arifjan that help deployed Soldiers make base living feel more like home.
Janis said that while there are a lot of sacrifices involved during deployments requiring focused solutions, there are also immense rewards and blessings.
For example, Janis said that a few months after Hurricane Maria brought devastation to Puerto Rico in 2017, he and other New York National Guard Soldiers deployed and provided relief aid to locals during the humanitarian mission.
In San Juan and other cities like Lares, potable or drinkable water became scarce, he said. Ensuring that locals had water to drink became an integral mission. Soldiers were up in the mountains delivering food and water, sometimes carrying it by foot because the mountains were fairly steep and some of the roads were washed out, said Janis.
“I remember this one guy we helped,” said Janis. “He said, ‘You guys are the only people that came,’ and you know, it felt good to help.”
For Janis, who has been on a number of deployments during his military career, he has found that the hardest days are not the most labor-intensive ones.
“The reality is that being away from family is not easy,” said Janis.
Janis is going back to Kuwait this September with the 369th Sustainment Brigade and said that with a son who is now in his twenties, it’s easier to say goodbye but it was a challenge over twelve years ago.
“Back in 2010 my son was still very young,” said Janis. “It was not easy to find a good time to talk to a seven or eight-year-old, so I didn't get to talk to him as much as we both would have liked. That was the hardest part of deployment.”
Spc. Justin Zammit, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the brigade headquarters' maintenance section, said that not being able to see his family is one of his biggest concerns.
Travel and exploring Kuwaiti culture is exciting to Zammit, and he intends on using Camp Arifjan’s well-equipped fitness centers to reach his 1,000-pound club weight lifting goal. Being in another country and serving a tour of duty entails missing some precious family moments, said Zammit.
Janis said, “It’s not always easy but it may require getting creative to be on top of personal and familial welfare”.
“During my first deployment, I think I woke up at like two in the morning to talk with my son,” said Janis. “It was something I had to be really committed to because it wasn’t at a time like five in the morning where I can get up and have the call and then go to the gym and then get ready for the mission for the day or the work day. It was more like I get up and talk for maybe a half hour and then I would go back to sleep.”
Coping methods and not having a negative mindset are critical in a deployed environment, Janis said.
Maj. Robert Volk, a chaplain with unit ministry team, deployed in 2017 to Kuwait. He too recalled the complacency some Soldiers demonstrated with the cats of Camp Arifjan. But another area of complacency pertains to Soldier’s not taking care of themselves and their battles, he said.
“There’s always that risk of depression, risk of concerns and issues happening back home,” Volk said. “And it's easy for Soldiers and leaders to overlook that for themselves and others because they believe Soldiers are not going to have those types of issues but it’s important to keep our eyes open.”
Spc. Linda Avila, a combat medic with the 369th Sustainment Brigade Headquarters, said that she felt uncertainties about the deployment.
Female medics going on the deployment don’t know what the specifics of their mission will be, Avila said. There is a wide range of roles and units to support.
“There is talk of being assigned to a Navy medical vessel,” Avila said. “But I don’t know.”
Soldiers like Avila looking for answers should find Soldiers that were on the previous deployment and get questions answered as best as possible, Volk said.
“Really get under a previously deployed Soldier’s wing; especially if they're in your own section,” Volk said. “We have a good number of Soldiers that deployed there in 2016-2017. That's a lot of experience.”
For Janis, asking questions when you don’t know the answer, staying alert and taking care of yourself are essential for an individual Soldier on deployment.
Complacency can take many forms, he said.
“We can use history as an example,” Janis said. “During the Vietnam War, when Soldier’s let their guard down during a holiday in country it was disastrous.”
The same goes for being complacent about self-care in all of its forms, Janis said.
You have to look at the positives,” Janis said. “A deployment is helping you financially. It’s helping your career. So, enjoy the opportunity.”
And stay away from the cats.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2022 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 429826 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP , PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 2,855 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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