From January 3rd, 1993, to August 21st, 1997, I proudly served as a Patriot Missile Systems Operator 24T / 14E, assigned to Charlie and then Delta Battery, 1st Battalion, 203rd Air Defense Artillary, Alabama Army National Guard, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. I was the 42nd member of the battalion, as it was being formed, and one of the first to come back from an eleven and a half month school qualified in my M.O.S. (Military Operations Specialty, or easier, my JOB..) I got back from school, in Ft. Bliss, Texas, just in time to bring in the brand new equiptment. One straight month of inventory. For the majority of my time there, I served as the Fire Control Team Leader, and one of the primary trainers for my battery. Patriot, as a reserve component, doesn't quite funtion like an ordinary reserve or guard unit. Where most units do one weekend a month, and two weeks durring the summer, Patriot units often have long weekends of three or four days, and summer camps of one month. This is because of changes in technology. Whether it was changing out the pages of the manuals (over 90 of them) with updates, or being trained on how those changes affected the operations of the system.
An awesome unit.. A great team.. The reserve and guard units usually get a bad wrap for being "Weekend Warriors", and are very often underestimated by active duty service members. This unit was very different. While at drills, everyone pulled together, acted in a professional manner, and became a team, to accomplish the mission. Definitely a great experience in my military carreer, and a group of guys I definitely miss. |
