Mary Corbett - National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses

A Handbook for Spouses

Mary Corbett

with LTC Jon Roscoe

2011, 2016, 2021 by Mary Corbett

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Corbett, Mary.

National Guard 101 : A Handbook for Spouses / Mary Corbett 3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61121-068-2 (alk. paper)

ePUB ISBN:978-1-61121-069-9

1. Military spousesUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. United StatesNational GuardFamily relationships. 3. United States. ArmyMilitary lifeHandbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Families of military personnelServices forUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

U766.C58 2011b

355.370973dc23

2012035574

Third edition, first printing

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Dedication

In memory of Lieutenant Nathan A. Nieber of the Minnesota Army National Guard.

Nate was a promising young officer who personified military values and honor.

The youngest commissioned officer in the Army National Guard at the time of his 1998 commissioning, he was an accomplished Infantry officer and graduated first in his class. He was also awarded the William O. Darby Award for displaying the best leadership during Ranger training.

At the time of his death in 2002, he was an active duty member of the 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, MN ARNG.

Like a lot of Jons friends, he was a big fan of Robert Heinleins Starship Troopers. So in Nates honor, here is a Heinlein quote that the readers of this book will appreciate:

You can have peace, or you can have freedom.

Dont ever count on having both at once.

My first exposure to the military came with my first job. I worked as a secretary at the advertising firm Young & Rubicam in a group that handled the U.S. Army account. It was all very confusing. There was the active Army, the Army Reserve, and the National Guard. Be All You Can Be, money for college, one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer. It was hard to keep track of who was who and what was what. Besides, I was young! I was in New York! I was much more interested in the hip guys making storyboards in the creative department than the high-speed Army Officers who came for meetings.

I guess the old saying is true: with age comes wisdom. Ten years later, I met a man in uniform and HOOAH! Every brooding artist quickly faded to the background. Our courtship was swift and I was surprised to find out that my fianc was an Officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard. I thought it was really cool at first. But it didnt take long to realize that there was a lot more to supporting Jon than admiring him in his dress blues. I remember asking Jon if he could just blow off his weekend drill at Camp Ripley. He told me that he could if he wanted to get arrested.

Hmm. Obviously he had signed on to something . But just what exactly had I signed on for?

The first time I attended a Guard family event, I felt like I had been abducted by aliens. I didnt understand anything . Not one thing. I had never been in an armory before. I didnt know the difference between an officer and enlisted soldier. I didnt know how to address the commander or his wife. Until I met my husband, I didnt know any members of the National Guard (instead of Guard members, by the way, Ill use Guardsman for both male and female National Guard Soldiers) in my acquaintance. Now I knew dozens of Soldiers including the handsome Officers who formed the saber arch at our wedding. During the first two years of our marriage, I did the best I could to support Jons military career (translation: I pretty much winged it). I showed up where I was supposed to show up, recorded drill dates on the calendar, offered my two cents worth of advice on weekend drill politics and grumbled as he headed off for his two week AT, whatever that meant (my first lesson: Annual Training).

For the most part, except for the annoying inconvenience of drill weekends, my life was untouched and so was my heart. Ill take a pass on the flag pin, thank you very much. I mean, since Jon was just a Guardsman, I didnt consider myself a real military wife. Military spouses lived on bases. Military spouses lived their lives within a strict structure of rank. Military spouses had to deal with deployments. Thank goodness I didnt have to worry about those things. Of course, I could have never guessed, and neither could anyone else, that in less than two years four hijacked airliners would forever alter the purpose and public profile of National Guard Soldiers and those who love them. On September 11, 2001, I became a military wife. But, as I realized later, I had always been one.

That terrible morning, Jon and I were both home awaiting the arrival of our first baby. When Jon called me downstairs, I heard something in his voice that didnt sound right. He told me about the first airplane. We sat in our living room, stunned as we watched the horrors unfold live on our television set. It was too much to comprehend. We had just relocated from Minnesota to Georgia and Jon had yet to attend his first drill with his new battalion. But we both knew that the National Guard would be called to duty immediately.

And it was. Six minutes after the FAA issued its first alert to the 1st Air Force Air Combat Command about a possible hijacking, F-15 fighters from the Massachusetts Air National Guards 102nd Fighter Wing became the nations first airborne responder to the terrorist attacks. Soon after, the North Dakota Air National Guards 119th Fighter Wing, which happened to be at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, were the first F-16 fighters airborne. Among the people who lost their lives at the Pentagon on September 11 were Active Guard Reserve members Lieutenant Colonel Canfield Boone (Indiana) and Chief Warrant Officer 4 William Ruth (Maryland).

Members of the New York National Guard headed for their armories or the burning towers within minutes of the attack. By the next day, more than 1,200 New York Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel were on duty. About 500 served near the towers helping police maintain security. In our home state of Georgia, and in most other states, the National Guard immediately moved to secure Army Guard facilities. The Virginia and Maryland National Guards sent Military Police units to help secure the Pentagon.

There is something so profound about volunteer Soldiers from different states coming together so quickly and seamlessly to defend their country. Watching Soldiers and Airmen come out of nowhere on September 11th reinforced that we are truly United States. Ive never felt so proud of my country or my military.

Our daughter Holly, was born on September 14. By then, the shock had worn off a little bit. My sadness was replaced by anger. Rage, really. I felt like we had been sucker-punched and I wanted to hit back. I think most people felt the same way. The country was united. Flag sales skyrocketed. Flag images were displayed on clothing, homes, and vehicles. I noticed a determination in peoples eyes. Americans were madreally mad-and I knew the National Guard would be a part of setting things straight.