Oregon soldier in Oklahoma: 'I’m going to be glad to go to Iraq'
FORT SILL, Okla. -- Scott Anderson couldn’t wait to fly to Canby, Ore., for his vacation and show his wife his new figure.
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| CW2 Scott Anderson shows off his slimmer form. (Photo by Cali Bagby) |
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Anderson and three other men from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac Unit based out of Salem, Ore., lost over 20 pounds since they arrived at Fort Sill in January.
“The gym is the one thing I have to look forward to,” said Anderson. “It helps eliminate the stress of being away from my family and from living with six dudes.”
Anderson like other soldiers in the brigade, live in cramped rooms with bunk beds for four to six men. Anderson's work before the unit deployed helped save him and the other soldiers almost two weeks of training at Fort Sill. | MORE
Many of the soldiers are discontent with the living conditions at Fort Sill. The day before the soldiers left the fort on vacation, Maj. General Raymond F. Rees, the highest-ranking officer in Oregon, visited Fort Sill and held a town hall meeting to allow soldiers to voice their concerns.
Maj. General Raymond F. Rees (Photo by Cali Bagby)
Sgt. Tyson Pardun, a firefighter from Springfield, Ore., compared Fort Sill to a minimum-security prison because soldiers have not been allowed civilian clothes or the ability to go off post.
“I’m going to be glad to go to Iraq because I have more freedoms in Iraq than I would here,” said Pardun at the town hall meeting.
Soldiers have not been allowed to get off post to savor steak dinners in the nearby town of Lawton, Okla. At Fort Sill, civilian pants, t-shirts and sandals are not allowed, and cold beers cannot be consumed on balmy spring nights.
Town hall meeting at Fort Sill, Okla. (Photo by Cali Bagby)
Rees told the soldiers he supports mobilization where soldiers stay in their home state closer to friends and family. He sees pros and cons to the situation at Fort Sill, but views soldiers as a responsible crowd.
“The National Guard is an older, more mature group of soldiers,” said Rees. “You have a lot fewer amount of folks that are going to have problems wandering off post and getting themselves in trouble.”
Rees sees merit in Pardun’s concern, but the rules at Fort Sill are an Army policies that are out of his hands.
Another issue brought up at the meeting by Captain Adam Lulay addressed the issue of insurance.
Lulay and his wife (at left) had a baby a month and a half ago. They had a difficult time finding a provider to accept their TRICARE, healthcare for the army.
“With a brand new kid and me taking off, it’s a big concern for me,” said Lulay, who is not the only soldier that has had this problem.
Rees has met with TRICARE to deal with issues and although there is progress, it is a slow process. The military has engaged the state legislature to find some incentives for healthcare providers.
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and other members of Congress have been notified that there is a TRICARE issue, which may propel change in the future.
“This is not something that’s under a rock, hidden someplace,” said Rees. “There are a lot of people that are concerned and trying to find ways to encourage more medical professionals to step up and to accept more patients that are under TRICARE, beyond their patient load.”
Meeting included awards for soldiers
The town hall meeting ended on a high point with a short ceremony honoring several members of the unit. Seven soldiers were awarded an impact award for their hard work.
Maj. General Rees presents the Army Accommodation Award to Sgt. Branch. (Photo by Cali Bagby)
Rees presented these soldiers with pocket knives engraved with his name. Staff Sergeant Jason Branch and a slimmed down CW2 Anderson were presented with the Army Accommodation Award for outstanding work as training officers who set up pre-deployment training, which saved soldiers from over two weeks of training at Fort Sill.
Maj. General Rees and Command Sgt. Maj. Brunk W. Conley stand with CW2 Anderson and Sgt. Branch with their awards. (Photo by Cali Bagby)
COMING THURSDAY: To keep soldier’s spirits up during their time at Fort Sill, soldiers take a Morale Welfare Day to run or golf. Others take time to head for the 26th Annual Rattlesnake Festival in Apache, Okla., to meet with the "fangmaster."
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Cali Bagby is embedded with the Oregon Army National Guard from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac Unit based out of Salem, Ore., for KVAL.com. She works as a freelance print and photojournalist in Eugene, Ore. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly. Bagby graduated from the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Oregon.
