Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
In a world where storytelling has been our link to the past since the days of cave drawings, there exists a timeless tradition. It's the art of passing down knowledge, and for Military Veterans, it's a crucial piece of their legacy. Join us on the Veterans Archives Podcast, where we dive deep into the heartwarming and awe-inspiring stories of those who served, no matter when or where.
Here, Veterans get the chance to be the authors of their own narratives. Through guided interviews in a relaxed and safe environment, they paint their experiences with their own words and unique voices. The result? A memory card in a presentation box, a precious gift they can share however they please.
But that's not all. These stories find a secure home in our archive, a treasure chest of experiences for future generations to explore. The best part? It's all a gift to the Veteran – our way of saying thank you for their service.
Tune in to the Veterans Archives Podcast, where history, heroism, and heartwarming tales come to life.
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Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
From Boot Camp to the Battlefield: Amy Bungarts's Journey in the Army
Amy Bungart takes us through her remarkable journey from 1970s Pennsylvania farmlands to the frontlines of Operation Desert Storm. With candid humor and stark honesty, she recounts growing up in a world where kids played outside until the streetlights came on and garden hoses served as drinking fountains—a stark contrast to her later experiences facing down Scud missiles at an ammunition supply point just 40 miles from the Iraqi border.
Her story begins with a pivotal decision at 18 when, under pressure from her father to "do something" after high school, she walked into an Army recruiter's office. Signing up as an 88 Mike transportation specialist, Amy soon found herself navigating the rigors of basic training where drill sergeants targeted her weaknesses to build her strength. Senior Drill Sergeant Cave's requirement that Amy drop for pushups every time they crossed paths transformed a physical limitation into a source of power.
The heart of her narrative takes us to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, where Amy unloaded vehicles from ships in sweltering heat, managed ammunition supply points under threat of missile attacks, and experienced what it meant to be a female soldier in a region hostile to women in authority. Her vivid descriptions of watching Patriot missiles intercept incoming Scuds—"fireworks in the sky"—capture the surreal danger of her position.
Perhaps most compelling is Amy's account of the heart condition that nearly killed her, requiring emergency evacuation to Germany and a pacemaker at a young age. This medical crisis altered her military trajectory but not her spirit, as she continued serving before eventually transitioning to civilian life as a corrections officer.
Now retired and embracing life's next chapter, Amy leaves us with a philosophy that has carried her through extraordinary circumstances: "If you want to do it, do it. Don't just say 'Oh man, I really wish I could do it.' Just do it." Her story reminds us that courage isn't about fearlessness—it's about moving forward despite uncertainty.
Today is Wednesday, March 26, 2025. We're speaking with Amy Bungart, who served in the United States Army. So good afternoon, Amy. Hello, Thanks for coming over.
Speaker 2:Sure thanks for having me here.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. So we're going to start out pretty simple. When and where were you born?
Speaker 2:I was born in Erie, pennsylvania, 1970. So I'm a 70s baby.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So you're kind of in the same age group I, we drank out of the hose and we rode our bikes. Oh, absolutely, yes, yeah, so did you grow up in erie, pennsylvania? Then, uh, until I was about six years old or so, five, six years old. Then, uh, we moved south to uh, volant, pennsylvania and, uh, my dad uh worked on the family, uh, dairy farm oh, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, let's talk a little bit about growing up, but what are some of your memories of childhood?
Speaker 2:just you know, um your things, that that you do let you don't even think about. It's like playing hide and go seek it. You know until it's dark and you know running across the road playing with the neighbors, like my neighbor turned out to me. You know my best friend growing up and just you know things. You played with your sisters or brothers, but I didn't have any brothers. Okay.
Speaker 2:It was all sisters, older sisters, so it was just, you know, fun times growing up. You know playing softball and pick up basketball games in the neighborhood. And it was just you know, it was good times.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Playing down on the farm, you know.
Speaker 1:How many sisters did you have?
Speaker 2:Two older sisters.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you were the baby.
Speaker 2:I was the baby, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay. Well, I'm a middle child, so we all have our opinions of the older siblings and the younger siblings. Siblings, the middle kid, right, but uh, yeah, so, um, you said your dad went to work on the family dairy farm yeah, so your dad was a farmer then for a while there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, it was a the family. It was the snyder dairy farm in volant, petzway and it's still going to this day. So, yeah, my uh, my cousin scott is uh running it now okay, and then, um, so what about your mom?
Speaker 1:oh, what are some of your memories about your mom?
Speaker 2:my mom, she, she worked, you know, she was an x-ray technician, so she went to work at the local hospital, you know, obviously, doing doing the x-ray department there, and and she was just the, the modern, you know, the monarch of the family.
Speaker 2:She, uh, she was a strong, you know, caregiver okay yeah, she, uh, she taught us a lot growing up yeah, yeah, a lot of good, a lot of good life lessons for you a lot of good life lessons, a lot of nice, you know memories and and uh, she was just, she was the, she was the backbone of the family.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, all right. So did you grow up on the farm then? Is that where you stayed through your childhood, or did you?
Speaker 2:move Kind of Like up to fifth grade, I think. We lived out there in the country and dad worked on the farm and whatnot, and then he went ahead and got a salesman job for a local dairy manufacturing company and then we moved to New Wilmington, about 15 miles away from the farm. So that's when we kind of moved into the neighborhood suburbs of New Wilmington and that's where, you know, we did our. You know play and hide and go seek and you know drinking out of the garden hose kind of thing and pick up basketball with the neighbors and it was just, you know, a great childhood experience growing up where you don't have that nowadays. You've got kids knee deep into their iPads and and whatever.
Speaker 1:But Right Playing video games. They wouldn't.
Speaker 2:They would freak out if you grab the garden hose and drink out of it right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, I know, you know. Though, every once in a while I'll see, like some show or something, someone's drinking out of the garden hose and I realized that as a kid I would just turn it on and drink out of it. I didn't like let it.
Speaker 2:Oh, you didn't let it run, right? No, I didn't let it run. Oh, I'm thirsty, I'm drinking it now and I'm thinking, oh my on, drink and turn it off and go about your business.
Speaker 1:Right, we turned out perfectly normal right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, at least a bit Healthier, that's for sure. Yeah, that's true, that's true. So how was school for you? School was all right. You know it was typical grade school kind of thing, just having that group of friends you always hung out with after school and you kind of tried sports. And if it didn't work out for you, oh well, then you went ahead and just did your everyday after school kind of thing, got on your bike and rode bikes and hung out. It was fun.
Speaker 1:Riding bikes was a sport all by itself, right, oh, I loved riding bikes.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I remember all the bikes that I had when I was a kid yeah it was a lot of fun and when the street lights came out and came home, yeah exactly, yeah, and if you got hungry, you know, you just went into your neighbor's house and hung out whoever you were hanging out with and grabbed a snack and ran back outside and played yeah, you know it was awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and um, so were there any sports that you kind of stuck with or you just just wasn't your thing throughout school?
Speaker 2:I got into softball for a while there and, uh, tried track and field. That didn't work, you know whatever. And basketball didn't work for me because I was short and little and you know but but softball was, was my sport up until my sophomore year of high school. And then my dad got transferred out here to Michigan. So then of course the new school already had an established softball team. So it's like I couldn't get in. They were full up, they only had one softball team. So I just kind of said, okay, whatever, I guess I won't be playing softball okay just ended up like an after-school job and and that was about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my uh sports where did you end up? In michigan then? Uh, on spring arbor okay all right down by jackson, right? Yes, okay, yeah, familiar with that area a little bit and um, so you, you go through high school and you graduate, and then what happens? Yeah, go through high school and you graduate, and then what happens go through high school.
Speaker 2:Well, my senior year.
Speaker 2:Let's go back a little my senior year, um, everybody was talking about colleges, what college I want to go to and this and that. And I'm like in the back of my mind I'm like man, I know, I just didn't know I want to do college, I wasn't college bound and everyone's taking the prep classes and whatever, and I'm like I took the classes I needed to take to graduate, basically. So I was like in the back of my mind I'm kind of like man, I'm thinking military, I'm thinking military man, I'm thinking military, I'm thinking military. And a friend of mine was getting ready to do Texas A&M, to do ROTC for the Marine Corps. So she's like Amy, they're doing the ASVAB prep thing. So we did kind of like the prep in high school where they offered it, and then I never did. I can't remember if I took that forever, not in high school, when they came in and offered it, you know, in the library, whatever. So I knew I wanted to do military.
Speaker 2:So then, you know, graduation came around, graduated and and then my dad got transferred back to Pennsylvania. So he and my mom moved back to Pennsylvania. My older sister, mara, stayed in Michigan and my other older sister, susan, was um in Pittsburgh at the art institute of Pittsburgh. So I'm like kind of floating where do I go? What do I do? End up moving back to Pennsylvania with my parents and my dad was always on my ass about what are you going to do? Get a job, do this and I'm like.
Speaker 2:I know, but there's no jobs. Like 1989, graduated, there's nothing. There's really no jobs. No one's hiring. Didn't want to work in a restaurant or anything. So I'm like, yeah, I'm not even going to apply in a restaurant. So I'm like found myself driving around one day and there I am at the recruiter's office. I'm like, okay, so I wanted to go Air Force. So I go in the Air Force recruiter. Talk to him what you know it was talking about, kind of the jobs that I wanted. I really wanted to do MP.
Speaker 2:So he was like okay, so let's get you you know scheduled for the ASVAB, that you know all that stuff. I'm like okay. So then he was looking at I don't know if they call it mp in the air force yeah, they'd have a security force security force.
Speaker 2:Okay. So he was like well, you know, we don't have a class scheduled till next year. I'm like no, I want to go now, I want to get out of here, I want to start this, so. So then I'm like okay. So I got all his brochures and information and everything and then knew I didn't want Navy, of course, didn't want to do Marine Corps, because that's crazy.
Speaker 2:I was a Marine Corps material. I knew that Really wasn't Navy material either. I really wasn't thinking on the way towards the Navy. So I'm like, all right, there's Army office, walk into the Army office and start talking to the recruiters and he's like not really sure about the MPs because at that time there was a height requirement. So I'm like, all right, so we're starting to look and everything.
Speaker 2:He's like, did you take the ASVAB? Did you take that? I said no, I haven't even gone that far yet. So he got me scheduled. I said, well, I don't know, I'm kind of leaning towards Air Force Two, but I'm not sure yet. He goes. Well, you take the test, it goes to all branches. I'm like, okay, let's get this test done. So he got me scheduled. You know, did the test? I scored relatively pretty well, um, and he was like, okay, let's, let's look at the scores and the jobs you have available and this and that he's like he's like stand against the wall there. So I did. He's like, if you can grow about six inches, you, you're all the way to the MPs. I'm like seriously, I'm like damn.
Speaker 1:Can't play basketball can't be an.
Speaker 2:MP. Yeah, I know, I can't play basketball because I'm short. I can't be a damn MP because I'm short. I'm like what the hell? So we were looking at all the jobs and everything he goes. Next thing we got to get you down to Pittsburgh MEP station, get your physical done and then we can look at jobs. He goes, that's the next step. So that's what we did Went down to Pittsburgh, did the whole MEP station and looked at you know, did the physical. That's an all-day ordeal obviously as you remember?
Speaker 1:It's a long day and it starts pretty early too.
Speaker 2:That is a long day. He's like picking me up at 6 am at my house. I'm like 6 am, Good Lord man, that means.
Speaker 1:I got to get up really early.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so that's how it all started. Got me down to Pittsburgh, did the MEPS, did the physical. That's an all-day ordeal. At the end of your day you're like, okay, boom, let's get you in line for jobs. So they sit you down with another guy for jobs and this and that and I really wanted to do. I was all gung-ho. So I'm like, all right, let's do airborne, let's do it all you know I want to jump out of planes, yeah why not?
Speaker 2:And so the list of jobs that you could do airborne wasn't that long. I'm like you know, light wheel vehicle mechanic no, I'm not going to be a mechanic. So my recruiter was still down there and he's like, all right, let's take a look at what's offered. And we looked and I'm like no, no, no, no, no. I said, give me something. That's like cool, you know that I can really get into. And stuff. He's like 88 Mike. I'm like what the hell is that? And he's like transportation. I'm like he goes, you're never going to walk anywhere.
Speaker 1:Right, and if you are, there's a problem.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, he goes. So he's like, yeah, that's a, that's a good job for you to have and it's going to take you anywhere. I'm like, all right, when can I leave? Cause this was September that.
Speaker 2:I was going through everything and he's like we'll get you into late entry. He goes you can leave in November two months and I was 18 then. So it was like like I didn't need mom and dad's permission or their signature or anything. I'm like, all right, let's do that, let's go. So I'm down there, I'm signing the contract at the MEP station and you know, this is just the pre-type of contract that you're signing. So that's what I did.
Speaker 1:I did the late entry, you know 8-8 mic training school and that was it. Well, your dad said do something. Yeah, dad said do something, so I did.
Speaker 2:He showed him for sure so then like um you get your contract, you get your little you know folder and stuff and so you know he takes me back home and everything and he goes like, okay, on this date you're, you're going to go back to MEP station, you're going to stand in front of the flag, they're going to swear you in. Then you know, you get your paperwork and this and that, and then we'll put your ass on a flight and you're going to go to Fort Dix, new Jersey, to do basic training.
Speaker 2:Lovely of training. Lovely so between that and the parting um you know I was back home for about a month and a half. You know, rest of September, almost two months, it was basically so. I didn't tell my dad any of it. My mom knew right. I didn't tell dad anything, so I'm doing this on the slide.
Speaker 1:I'm just doing this, yeah.
Speaker 2:Right yeah, right. So mom knew everything. You know, mom was on board. She was like supportive, excellent, good job. And then so dad came home. He was traveling and coming home on the weekends and whatnot, for a week or whatever. He was doing that farm or you know, uh, sales thing, right. So he was like and of course at that time I'm still getting like brochures in the mail for a school- when I'm looking at community colleges or something.
Speaker 2:You just get my feet wet to see what's going on. And he again gets on my ass. What are you gonna do? You gotta get a job, you gotta figure it out, because I'm only, I'm just graduated. For God's sakes. I'm like come on, like give me a break. I just did 12 years of fricking school. Let me have a minute to adjust and figure it out. And I knew in the back of my mind I'm like I'm going to show him and he's so he's on a tyrant. You know about what I'm doing. And I'm like all right, I get up, go to my bedroom, grab my US Army thing.
Speaker 2:It's all Army, army, this Army that, and his big old Army stuff on the top of the folder, everything I had. So I came in. I'm like, there you go, he looks, and he's like, huh, all right. Then I'm like, huh, all right. Then I'm like, okay, I leave on November or whatever. Can't remember the exact date, I knew it was in November. I'm like now, leave me, the hell alone. Right, I got like two months man. Let me just get ready.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are you going to do in the meantime? Right, yeah.
Speaker 2:Exactly Now. What are you gonna do in the meantime? Right, yeah, exactly now. What are you gonna do? Yeah, what the hell exactly?
Speaker 3:so yeah, that was it. He was actually. He was like okay, all right, good, because he was a navy guy, he did navy, okay.
Speaker 1:So yeah, all right, and he would have served, like, like, vietnam era he was.
Speaker 2:He was vietnam era. Yeah, yeah, he, and he did the navy, my uncle joe did army, my my Uncle George did Air Force. So, yeah, I think my dad went and got stationed who knows where, in what boat or whatever he was on, and then eventually he did Japan. I don't really know exactly where my Uncle Joe was stationed. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So they were all like Vietnamietnam type air, yeah, yeah, so the military is not unfamiliar to them no okay no, all right. So you anything, anything exciting happened in that two months, or you just kind of hang out oh no, I was just hanging out, you know I was like I was little, I was like 113 pounds, soaking wet.
Speaker 2:You know I was, I didn't. I I was strong, but I wasn't push-up strong or running strong. I could kill the sit-ups all day long, but you're 113 pounds, soaking wet. You don't have a lot of upper body strength or whatever. So I was practicing my push-ups and trying to jog and stuff, because I wasn't a great runner either. So I was trying to get my upper body, because you know you're going to be doing push-ups all day long as soon as you hit basic training. You know, and I had um, that's like a little, a boyfriend I was seeing and he did um split training.
Speaker 2:He did basic training between his junior and senior year, so he had already done basic training, so he was kind of schooling me on what to expect he goes. Okay, they're gonna sit you down in reception station and show you all these things, but I'm going to show you these things first because he had his um.
Speaker 2:I get our bible, the basic training bible oh yeah, you know the army thing and and what to expect and like your, your rules and regulations and your um standing orders and everything. So I was kind of getting training before I left for basic, which helped me out tremendously.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I can only imagine that's a great resource. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:You get in there and I, and it was you know in there and it was you know reception station, and it was like I'm like, oh, I already know this, right, you know, I'm like a step ahead of everybody else.
Speaker 1:So yeah, although although I you know it might help you a little bit, but really, it helped me a little bit, but yeah, it didn't prepare you for what was coming.
Speaker 1:Until you go through it, yeah I mean, you can have all the prep in the world, but yeah, it's, it's, it's still a leg up, which is good, yeah, yeah. So let's talk about that. You get to basic training, um and uh, everyone seems like everyone arrives like at night or in the middle of the, the middle of the morning or the middle of the night, and was that your experience?
Speaker 2:It was. It was like morning, mid morning when they dropped us off the bus. You got your little personal bag that you have with you yeah, and that's probably the last time you see that thing. So they get you off the bus, they put you in basic platoon formation and you're standing out of tension and all these drills just come at you and they're like this right in your face and it was like Ooh yeah, this is it right here, and it was like all the little movies you saw in the past growing up, you're like, oh shit, it's for real, this is it now, yeah.
Speaker 2:So it was like um drills getting in your face and I just like I knew from what David told me was you know, just stand there, look straight ahead, don't stare at him, don't do this, don't do that. You know he, he practiced with me. He's like, when you're standing there at attention, bend your knees, do this, do that. And I was like, okay, I'm kind of like trying to remember everything he told me.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah. Those are all good things to know, you don't? You don't want to be the one that passes out.
Speaker 2:Right Yup.
Speaker 1:And you don't want to be like me looking, looking over, laughing at someone doing pushups and then getting in trouble.
Speaker 2:There was this. There was this black girl, and her hair was purple. Oh so wrong, wrong thing to do they did not like that they did not like that. You had anything to stand out yeah so they got in her face real quick, real quick yeah, under the radar is where you want to be yes, you do, yeah, totally yeah, so kind of walk me through, uh, basic training, it's what?
Speaker 1:how 12 weeks there is that? How long you were there, is it?
Speaker 2:eight or 12 weeks okay I can't really remember which which one it was, but yeah it was, it was quite the experience. So you know, you're standing there at attention and they're just dropping everybody for push-ups and this and that, and then, um, they get you into, um, the reception station and you're still wearing wearing, like you know, regular clothes your cities, yeah, your civics.
Speaker 2:And so they're like, yeah, they're all in your face and shit. And they're like, okay, so you go by last name, so they get you into your platoons. And so I remember I was fourth platoon, so we're all just like in this one classroom and your drill sergeants come in and I kid you not, yeah, biggest, most badass black woman walks in there and she was senior drill sergeant and I remember her name senior drill sergeant cave.
Speaker 2:For some reason you remember that right right so she was there and she was just like you're thinking oh my god, what did I do?
Speaker 1:you know, starting to starting to question your own judgment. At that point you're like oh hell, so.
Speaker 2:And then so she's like she's like in your face this and that, and you're standing out of tension and and then you're like half turn right, drop, drop, drop, push up time all day long. So there, and yeah, at that time you didn't know what the hell was going on. But now you look back on it and they were just evaluating. You Can this cadet, can this new soldier do a push-up? What is she going to do? How is she performing? Are they crying? Are they breaking down? No, it's like you just do a half right and drop and do some push-ups. And at that time it's like, okay, I just did like 1,000 push-ups today, I'm going to do more. So you're like no big deal, I'm just going to keep going Might as well, get used to it.
Speaker 2:So it's like they're evaluating you to see your personality, to see what kind of person you are, to see if you're actually going to be like a good soldier or, you know, a piece of crap. So yeah, yeah yeah everything's a test oh, everything is absolutely a test at that time oh yeah, oh yeah totally so you, uh, you, get through your your time there.
Speaker 1:Interestingly enough, I went to fort dix, um for train up to go to iraq, okay, after it had been condemned.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, after they closed it down and made it a deploying fort, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we were there for kind of like three months, I think it was to do train up. Very familiar with Fort Dix.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So anyway, you're in basic training and you're doing your time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm doing it all and at that time know they're breaking you down and building you up, break it down, and I'm like and I'm still. You know, like you go in and you're used to snacking when you want a snack or have a drink, when you want to have a drink or not, like you know, like an alcohol drink, but you know you go get a soda or a pop or whatever you like to call it and and it's like no, uh-uh.
Speaker 2:You're like breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking fountain milk, no pop, none of that crap. And it's like, oh boy. And at that time you're like, okay, breakfast is like 6, 7 o'clock in the morning. You walk through, you're like you're eating really quick and you're out the door. And then lunchtime and dinnertime and after dinner you eat everything on your tray, even if you don't like it. You're eating it because you're starving, starving. It's like, oh my God, people are sneaking like packets of crackers out fruit, anything they could put in their pockets. Oh my God, people are sneaking like packets of crackers out fruit, anything they could put in their pockets we're sneaking out.
Speaker 2:And it's like you're running in the bathroom, you're like eating this pack of crackers dry as dust and you're like drinking out of the damn sink because you got to wash down the dry dust. You just ate because you're starving. It's an experience. It was fun. Really, actually it was fun. I thought it was fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's either fun or it's not. It was we made it fun.
Speaker 2:Actually, I look back on it and I'm like, oh my God, we had a blast, even though it was basic training, and getting yelled at and you're running your ass off and you're doing a million push-ups. It was a blast. And I remember the other two drill sergeants we had and they were both guys and they really got us through it because they found your weakness and built it and they knew I was weak in running, so they made the weak runners were I can't remember what they're called road guards.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, because you have to run back and forth, yeah.
Speaker 2:So they took the weak runners and made us road guards because you ran extra. And then I was still kind of weak with push-ups. So Dural Sergeant Cave knew I was weak. So she's like Snyder that was my maiden name. They're like Snyder. Every time I see you you're going to drop and give me pushups and I'm thinking bitch.
Speaker 1:Why me?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I'm like okay. So every time I saw her I did pushup, probably like 20 pushups. Every time I saw her she said doesn't matter where you are, what you're doing, you're dropping and giving me push-ups. Well, little did I know she was building me up.
Speaker 2:She was making me strong. So I probably did over 100 push-ups for her a day, not to mention all the other push-ups I was doing for the platoon, for any screw-up or whatever. You know it's like fourth platoon, half-frigged face drop push-ups. You know it's like every time. Yeah, I probably did 1,000 push-ups a day, guaranteed.
Speaker 1:I wish I could still do those. I know Right, I could still do 1,000 a day, I'd be a happy man.
Speaker 2:There's no way I worked for 1 a day. I'd be a happy man. There's no way I worked towards a thousand push-ups not even in a week, or maybe even a month, it's not gonna happen. I know, oh, man yeah so that that was that and, uh, you know, at the end of your basic training you're doing your final pt test yeah smoke push-ups.
Speaker 2:Smoked them, did good, did okay in the round. I passed around but smoked the push-ups. Smoked them. Did good, did okay in the run. I passed the run but smoked the push-ups and they're like don't push it. Push-ups. And they're like, okay, you could stop now. You know, you're fine, you're done yeah so yeah she, she got me through the push-ups for sure yeah, she knew what she was doing she totally knew. You know, they all did yeah, so how was graduation?
Speaker 1:how'd you feel about that?
Speaker 2:basic training. Graduation was just like oh, hell, yeah, it was awesome. Yeah, what an accomplishment. You know, I had, uh, some family members who lived right close to fort dix uh-huh had some family members who lived right there in um new york area so they came down for my basic training graduation that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:How cool, yeah, yeah. So where did you go from there?
Speaker 2:I stayed right at Fort Dix. Yeah, dix to.
Speaker 1:Dix.
Speaker 2:That was fun yeah. So I did um my transportation training right there at Fort Dix.
Speaker 1:Okay, and how long was that?
Speaker 2:I think that was either eight or 12 weeks. Okay, yeah, and that's like that's when you go co-ed, that's when you start to end their mingle with with the, the males, and it wasn't like whoo-hoo dating time, oh no, it was just whoo-hoo. Yay, more of basic training mixed in with school uh-huh so yeah, you know it's interesting about 88 Mike is.
Speaker 1:Right around that time I had a lot of friends who joined the Army and a lot of my female friends were truck drivers or transportation. It's interesting that that was kind of a thing. So when you're at your AIT and you're going through 88 Mike school, was it a pretty good mix of guys and gals.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was 50, 50 okay yeah, there wasn't like more men than women or more women than men. It was a good 50 50 and uh, it was surprising that uh probably about 60 percent of us was active duty and the rest were national guard or reservists oh, okay, so even like a mix within the branches, oh yeah yeah totally okay, yeah, so you so, uh, you get done with school and then where are you off to after that?
Speaker 2:uh got done with school and went down to uh fort hood okay, yeah yeah fort hood. It's warm down there, so was that your first like duty assignment? Then that your first unit that you were assigned to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fort Hood, it's warm down there, it was. So. Was that your first duty assignment, then your first unit that you were assigned to? Yes, fort.
Speaker 2:Hood, it was Actually. I wrote some stuff down, so I wouldn't get it here. So let's see here. It was spring of 90, so I went to Fort Hood. It was the 180th Transportation Battalion. Then I got assigned to the 406th transportation detachment out there, so that was interesting yeah, what kind of stuff did you do?
Speaker 2:oh, the detachment was basically um trailers. We assigned um all the the drivers from the uh surrounding areas, whether it was within our battalion or not. If they came in had a mission, it was our responsibility to get them a flatbed trailer to go and okay take care of it, okay, and how long?
Speaker 1:how long did you do that?
Speaker 2:I was with them. Oh, let's see here through 91. And I deployed to Saudi with the 180th Transportation. Battalion. And we supported the 70th Trans Group out of I think they're out of Fort Hustis. They were out of Virginia somewhere, Fort Story or Fort Hustis. They were out of Virginia somewhere yeah Fort. Story or Fort Hustis.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yep.
Speaker 1:I'm familiar with that that was stationed in Virginia for four years, so we used to go to both of those places.
Speaker 2:Okay, I think it was Fort Hustis is is one that comes to mind the most. I think they were out of Fort Hustis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, eustis, yeah, yeah, because I think fort story was um, it was a different kind of army base, but yeah, fort eustis was definitely. So you're over there with them and you're you're providing them support then yeah, we did a lot of different things.
Speaker 2:when we got to saudi um, we got to sat, we I got to, let's see, I got to fort hood, spring of 90, and then we deployed to saudi arabia in november of 90. And then we deployed to Saudi Arabia in November of 90. So we, by the time I got there, got to my unit, which was right around when Saudi was kicking off and everything. And I remember going in to meet my new commanding officer and you know they give you the spiel welcome, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:Open door policy. Yada, yada, yada, If you have any concerns, please just come on in.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, that's bullshit.
Speaker 1:We know how that works.
Speaker 2:But his big thing. He's like welcome Mubara, we're here. He goes now get your ass ready. We're going to Saudi, we're going to war. I'm like a timeline here.
Speaker 1:so so how long is your deployment to saudi?
Speaker 3:they didn't have a time frame oh, you just kind of went, you just kind of went yeah, yeah let me fix okay.
Speaker 2:So let's see here. So we get there in in november and we get to. Uh, I wonder it's dot. Do you remember the the airfields over there? Was it daharain or?
Speaker 1:you know I don't I'm I'm not really familiar with anything in Saudi Arabia. I was in Iraq In the time frame you're talking about. I was actually in the Navy floating around the Caribbean.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, nice, yeah, it was beautiful, I bet, let's see here, let's see. So I can't remember the airfield.
Speaker 1:Probably Bahrain.
Speaker 2:Bahrain yeah, that sounds familiar.
Speaker 1:That's probably where you were at.
Speaker 2:So we get to that airfield and then we go into this place called Ten City waiting to figure out where we're going, what we're doing. Are we staying here? Are we going somewhere else? So the 180th was going to the port, so certain companies were staying, certain companies were going. So we were part of that group that went to the port to help unload. Our job, our first job in there was unloading the ships. Okay, so that was at the port to help unload. We, our job, our first job in there was unloading the ships Okay.
Speaker 2:So that was at the port of Daman. So all these ships came in and of course you know they're bringing in all kinds of vehicles and tanks and this and that. So it was our job to go to the bellies of the ships to drive whatever vehicle to the center so the crane can grab it and lift it out. So that's what we did for a month and that wasn't really enjoyable.
Speaker 1:Sounds kind of boring it was. Is that right it?
Speaker 2:wasn't. It sucked because, for one thing, you got like this little ladder right, so you're going this ladder all the way down, driving these ship, driving these vehicles to the center so the crane can take it. Well, it's like a million degrees in there. I don't care what time of year it was, it was hot as hell. So we're doing that for a month, which I don't know. Whatever, we kind of just made it fun.
Speaker 2:You made everything fun yeah, do what you can yeah, and then, right across from where we're working on the ship, was the warehouse where, uh, a unit out of pennsylvania, um, can't remember where, was stationed and their job was to work the port as well. Well, I got to meet a bunch of people in there and hang out, because we would just go over there, you know, use a latrine, hang out with them, you know, in our downtime, because we were like a 12 hour, 24 hour shift over there on the boat trying to get these vehicles out for everybody. Well, ended up, that is the warehouse that got hit by this gun.
Speaker 2:Remember that oh yeah and just blew all hell. Maybe within a month before I was there, I was hanging out right in the warehouse right where it got blown up yeah, I was like holy crap. And then we saw footage of what happened. We were like, oh shit, that's my first experience of almost dying over there. Yeah, I could have been blown to bits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you could have been in there when that happened.
Speaker 2:I could have been not gone, and there were such craters and devastation that people were never found. God rest their souls, but they were never found. It was horrible. Right. So, yeah, that was my almost dying over there and I've had there's there's some stories to come about, more possibilities.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, so you do. You're doing this for a month, and then a month or so they had us there like rotation shifts, you know, getting these vehicles off.
Speaker 2:The only thing we couldn't drive to the center obviously was was some of the armored vehicles.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:We weren't, didn't have the cleaners to drive those, so pretty much every other vehicle we could drive, we drove Uh-huh.
Speaker 1:So Okay, and then? What was your assignment after that?
Speaker 2:After that we went let's see, let's see. We went into a state. We stayed at the port but then went to a different part. Um, we just did more trailer stuff. Then we went into like the uh, kkmc, king Kambod military city, um did some ammo supply points and that was one of our main areas.
Speaker 2:We were like maybe 40 miles from iraq okay yes, we, we were moved way inland, yeah, way up to the line, because with our trailer company they had us do the ammo supply point, which was acres and acres of any kind of ammunition that was needed. Right. So we were like we were right there, we were ahead, we had the Marines, some Marines doing guard security and whatnot, and we had a Patriot unit that was just over the berm, set up because we were targeted right, we were it right so any ammo they needed.
Speaker 2:the drivers would come in, we'd have a list of what trailers and ammo they have and they we'd get in our trucks, drive the yard, pick up the trailer, bring it up up for them and then they would go. So it was our job to get all that ammunition ready for the guys coming in. So it was like many times it was like scud launched see the Patriot go up, boom. All right, let's go back to work, because we knew if a scud would hit us, we were done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, there's no I mean there's nothing you could do. Right.
Speaker 2:You just had to accept it. If it happens, it happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, Thankfully we had a great missile defense system and thankfully the Scud missiles weren't all that fantastic, but every once in a while, but that song got through. Oh yeah, but they weren't, but every once in a while got through.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, they did every once in a while they'd get lucky. It's like every morning we'd walk the perimeter and pick up shards of patriot scud mix so every night there would be like fireworks in the sky because you know, we were like probably the number one within the number one or number five target for those scud units to oh yeah, shoot at yeah.
Speaker 1:And I think people don't don't understand, like when you're talking, when you're talking about an ammo point like that, it's not. It's not some little guard check with some rounds of 45 and it's literally like a base it's full of ammunition, acres of ammo stuff that explodes yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So if one scud gets through, we're done right, right.
Speaker 1:Clearly it didn't happen, because you're sitting here today. Clearly it didn't happen.
Speaker 2:Many times it could have happened. But there's, you know, number two, three or four, you know case where I shouldn't have been here right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you're there. Was that like, is that what you did throughout the rest of the deployment then was work this ammo point? Yes, okay, throughout the rest of the deployment then was work, this ammo point. Yes, okay, yes, and how?
Speaker 2:long did that end up being?
Speaker 1:that was through march okay, all right yeah and uh because that that initial engagement didn't really last that long, did it?
Speaker 2:no, because I remember when the ceasefire thing came through, uh-huh and we, and it came through on the radios and we're all like what'd they just say?
Speaker 1:we're like what yeah, and saddam wasn't really serious about holding on to no not at all.
Speaker 2:Not at all, and it was kind of. It's kind of interesting some of the things that happened over there, because obviously the, the saudis, iraqis, the, the men just hated the women, hated the women. You know, treat us like dogs, right. And then so for for females to be in uniform and to be, you know, like equals to the guys. They did not like that at all, oh no equal or in charge of right.
Speaker 2:Yeah and and when they, when they would see us driving so we were, we'd be driving, driving little missions here and there, Like you're driving and your M16's like this right out the window, because you don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And then you pass some Saudis on the ground or whatever, and they're just looking at you and you're like, hey, son of a bitch, try it. You're like, please give me a reason.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I'm driving.
Speaker 2:Right, right, son of a bitch, try it. You're like, please give me a reason, like I'm driving right, and then they they would always try to tell the guys that I would be with you. Know, she needs to walk behind you or this or that, and I'm like and I bait. You know I was very vocal at that time, if you can imagine no, not at all. I can't picture that, amy so I'm, I'm, I'm, literally tell them you know, f off right. Basically, you know, don't tell me what to do, you yeah?
Speaker 3:yeah, you can imagine so and so such and such and all that yeah, so anything else happened while you were there on that deployment?
Speaker 2:uh, you know, just we got to meet a lot of different soldiers from different countries. We met, like egyptians um french foreign legion. They're pretty cool. Yeah, they're pretty tough. The brits Legion, they're pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're pretty tough.
Speaker 2:The Brits. The Brits are pretty cool too. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it sounds like a. Again, you seem to be the kind of person like you know, it's lemons. I'm going to make lemonade or grab some tequila and salt or whatever. It is Exactly Right yeah. So that's good. So so you finished out your deployment there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah I actually had a little issue with my heart, so I had to get medevaced out to Germany in. March. Oh, okay. And again there's another case where I shouldn't be here.
Speaker 1:I should have died over there. Really, what happened? It was my heart condition.
Speaker 2:I had a heart condition. Oh, but you didn't know that you had right and whether it was brought on by all the stress, all the experimental drugs they're they're slamming into us. You know, it's like walk through this tent, you know, and get jabbed in each arm a hundred times and right. Who knows what they were giving us? You know?
Speaker 2:that hasn't changed no, no, it hasn't, has it? No, it hasn't so whether I had a reaction to all that. The anti-chemical biological drugs that we were taking caused me to have heart condition, where I got to the MASH unit and they were like I had a heart rate of like 30. I should have died. I shouldn't be here again. I don't know how many times over that has been. So I was like, oh shit, and I was like, and the and the doctor that came out, and he was like and the doctor that came out, and he was like, holy hell, how are you alive right now? So they medevaced me out to Germany, landstuhl, germany, and the doctors there were like, okay, we got to give you a pacemaker or you're dead. I'm like, oh, you know, that's a good choice. Yeah, thanks, I think I'll go with the pacemaker. Yeah, can I think on that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll let you know that's a good choice.
Speaker 2:Thanks, I think I'll go with the pacemaker.
Speaker 1:Yeah, can I think on that? Yeah, you know tomorrow.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I mean, I'm in Lahnstuhl, germany, and getting a pacemaker, wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, is it fortunate that you're such a small person that it that you were able to, your body is able to handle that.
Speaker 2:I don't know. A lot of people have pacemakers, you know that's true, that's true.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I just mean that your heartbeat was like 30 beats per minute and you're still.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know, um, I don't know how I lived. Really, they don't know because, you know, it just happened and I was like man, I'm kind of dizzy what the hell is going on. I thought we were having a gas attack or some, or scut attack or with a chemical, biological, you know warfare on there and I was like, wow, I don't feel good. So that's when they took me into the mash unit and the doc was like what the hell?
Speaker 1:get her out of here. Yeah, yeah for real. I was like so how long were you in in germany?
Speaker 2:I got to be in germany for over a month. Oh, did you, did you?
Speaker 1:so, yeah, imagine that did you recover pretty quickly, so you could go enjoy germany.
Speaker 2:I did awesome well it was kind of funny because yeah you know, like the the next day I got there, they were like okay, you're getting a pacemaker, you're gonna die. Okay, pacemaker yeah yeah of course.
Speaker 2:And then, like they are calling my parents back here in pennsylvania and letting them know what's going on. And the doctor's like telling my mom's like, yeah, you don't need to get on a uh, you know a flight to get over here. She's all right, you know, it's okay. So that's going on. And like the day after my pacemaker surgery, they're like okay, you, you need to call your parents because they're freaking out. So you know, I'm talking to them. And the doctor actually talked to my parents, let them know I was okay and this was, this is what was going on and whatever. So it's like probably within a week of my surgery, the doctors were like okay, here's pass, go enjoy the lawn stool area, whatever. And they're like just this is what they said Go out and enjoy it, just don't get too drunk. I'm like, okay, you're speaking to someone who came out of the desert after six or so months not to get too drunk.
Speaker 1:What does too drunk mean?
Speaker 2:That's pretty vague, I think yeah right yeah, so I met up with a bunch of other people there from. You know, men hold type soldiers and and there was like navy marines, air force guys, all we're all thrown together. A few women but more men.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:So we all started intermingling and just went out and everybody else was on a pass. We were given day passes out of the hospital to check out the countryside or whatever, and of course we were all in our desert camis, we had nothing else to wear. So we're walking around and walked up to this german checkpoint. It's kind of a cool story. We walk up and german guys, german soldiers are kind of speaking a little broken english and uh, I had my boonie cap on and the german soldier I should have brought with me, german soldier um, had his beret on and he's pointing to my hat. I'm like my boonie cap, I'm like what? And then I'm like, oh, so I take it off and I point to his beret. So we swapped.
Speaker 1:So I got a.
Speaker 2:German beret at home. Yeah, I should have brought it and think about it. But yeah, we swapped and I'm like I just got a German beret from a soldier.
Speaker 1:That's probably pretty cool. Oh yeah yeah, did you wear it around? I actually put it in my pocket. I couldn't wear it no.
Speaker 2:I put it in my pocket, let it stick out a little bit, and then, of course, you know, got another, you know boonie cap, when I got back to the hospital. But yeah, it was, it was pretty cool. I got a German beret. Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah. The cool things you get you, you kind of collect as you're out there doing stuff, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Any other cool stories about launch duel or did you just kind of recover and just recovered.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, just made some good friends waiting. You know they're waiting to get home. You know, figure out what's going to happen to them. Are they going back to their bases, are they staying in Germany, wherever? But yeah, we stayed in germany because there's so many med hold soldiers just coming through and guys that were worse off than I was. So they all got, you know, like ahead of the the line, basically like they needed to get on the next flight out to go wherever. So we just kind of got kicked back to the back of the line. So and that was fine because you know we got day passes going to germany that's really not a bad spot to be in.
Speaker 1:You know, right could always be worse, yeah it was.
Speaker 2:It was pretty cool. And then then we finally got our flights and we knew where we were going back to and they were flying me back in through. Uh, I want to say DC, um, dallas.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, dallas internationally yeah.
Speaker 2:So we were and they had portions of the of that airfield blocked off for military transports. So we flew in a bunch of cousins in a DC area and as soon as I knew when I was flying in and what time or whatever, they all met me at that little air station and it was like it was like I was walking off. I was like like five, oh, I can't even remember who was always there, but it was like Holy crap. And then, like the next day, I was on another flight going to fort sam houston, texas. So I ended up going to fort sam houston and, uh, just trying to figure out what was going to happen where was I going back? To fort hood, where am I going from here? So it came out, they finally got everything straightened out and I went to Fort Bliss.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, I ended up going to Fort Bliss. I couldn't get out of Texas of course. So yeah, I ended up going up to Fort Bliss.
Speaker 1:And then, so what unit were you with there?
Speaker 2:I was with 70th Ordnance, battalion Okay, and ended up doing S22 working in their s2 offices and stuff.
Speaker 1:So and you're by now what you're. Are you a sergeant?
Speaker 2:by now are you a specialist? Specialist?
Speaker 1:yeah, the best place to be.
Speaker 2:From what I've heard, yes, yeah, yeah not too much responsibility, but you still have a little responsibility, but not not a sergeant, so it was perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, they call it the E4 mafia.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pretty much. There's a term for it.
Speaker 1:So how was the? How was the S2 shop for you?
Speaker 2:It was pretty easy. Yeah, good work, good people had a good sergeant, worked for a good sergeant Probably one of the best sergeants I had in my whole military career. He was pretty awesome. Oh, that's great, I still remember his name, sergeant Wilson. Yeah, it's amazing how you remember these people. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, I remember coming out of OCS. I spent 14 years enlisted and then went to OCS and, as a platoon leader, sergeant first class Lucas was my very first platoon Sergeant. Never forget the guy Like he trained me right he was. He always took care of me and always took care of the troops. So, yeah, you always remember those people. Yeah, sometimes you remember the people that didn't do all the right things Exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know a few of those yeah.
Speaker 1:The taught you how not to lead. They're out there as well, right, so so how long are you with that unit? I was with them until 92 okay so you were for a little while, yeah, okay, and then where'd you go from there?
Speaker 2:then I, I had a decision to make. You know, do I, do I get out or do I, you know, stay in and see where it takes me? And I, I was like at that time because of the heart condition I had. Now, they gave me what's called you know profile you know, you know it's basically you can do this, but you can't do that. They gave me, you know, restrictions.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I was like oh man. And then I went to my sergeant. And I was like oh man. And then I went to my sergeant. I'm like look, I've got these restrictions, I got this profile. Am I ever going to get promoted? He goes, you can get promoted, but the next guy above you is going to go, guaranteed before you. It's like you're not going to go to PLDC because this guy can do more than you or this gal can do more than you. It's not because you're a woman, it's because of your restrictions right like well, I'm screwed.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm not going to be an e4 for the next 10 years. I don't want to be an e4. If I'm staying in, I'm going to go sergeant, you know, and on up right that wasn't going to happen, so I made the decision to to leave active duty okay, and my, you know get out at the end of my enlistment and then see what else is out there all right.
Speaker 1:And now I gotta ask you were you married in this period?
Speaker 2:okay, I'm single, okay living the happy single life, the fun single life of an enlisted soldier yeah, so so you get out, and where do you go? I went back to pennsylvania okay which which it was good and bad.
Speaker 1:Was your dad like now, what are you going to do? Yeah, exactly, yeah, totally.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I should probably have explored more of the United States than to go right back home. You look back on it now and it's like I should have done this and not this yeah, almost almost comfortable, though, right, I mean I guess, yeah, something like that yeah so you, you kick around at home.
Speaker 1:Did you ever take that waitressing job?
Speaker 2:you were no, no, I I reconnected with, with some family members and and, you know, looked up some friends and and you know, eventually I ended up, you know, exploring United States, basically, you know, checking things out. You know, going down to North Carolina for a little while and things really, you know, didn't pan out there. So I ended up going back up to Michigan to see my sister. She said, come up here, we got a room for you and the job I was in in North Carolina didn't work out. So I'm like yeah, all right, and I'm like 20. How? Old was I then.
Speaker 2:I was just getting 27. Just about turned 27.
Speaker 1:Okay, so like the mid-90s. Yes, Mid to late 90s yeah things are a little bit better than they were in the 80s. Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker 2:So I ended up moving back up to Michigan here and getting my shit together basically, eventually staying obviously, and finding a good career and eventually meeting my husband. So everything worked out, whereas you know, if I would have done that, this wouldn't happen.
Speaker 1:Right, kind of thing. So are you so? I don't know, I kind of believe it this way. Like everything, everything happens for a reason, right, yes, it all brings us to the point we're at now. Yes, good, bad, whatever. I mean, we wouldn't be sitting here if you and I hadn't have done all these things that we did. And now here we are talking, right, yeah, so your career, you worked in the prison system.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, yes, I was a corrections officer for 19 years. How'd you?
Speaker 1:get into that.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I just kind of fell into it. Really don't like, ooh, I want to be a corrections officer. No, just like, just like Brad Bensinski, you know, it's like you know, you don't like go into construction and be like no, I want to be a corrections officer.
Speaker 1:It's not how it happens, it just sort of comes your way. So did you work in several different units, or were you like in one um facility?
Speaker 2:I was in like four different facilities and it was all men's. Yeah. Yeah, Basically it was in Jackson. Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:And I worked one prison up in St John's area Uh-huh, but yeah, it was a job it wasn't fulfilling. I didn't think I made a difference. It's like they're in prison for a reason. I'm just here, I'm going to do my job as well as I can, as much as I can, and get the hell out of here, because I wasn't all gung-ho and like I'm going to make a difference. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't look at it that way, you didn't really want to disappoint yourself. No.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I knew. You know I wasn't going to make a difference, I wasn't going to turn these guys around and you know they're going to be like oh yes, I'm going to do it, I'm going to be a better person, and no.
Speaker 1:It's not like the movies.
Speaker 2:No, it's not like the movies at all.
Speaker 1:I'll bet, I'll bet. So tell me how'd you meet your husband.
Speaker 2:Mutual friend, okay, mutual friend, okay. Actually, we all went out one night and uh, we're just all hanging out and and he just so happened to be there and it's like hi, I'm amy and hi I'm scott, and just kind of hit it off that way and and, uh, you know, lo and behold, you know, a couple days later, you know, we go out for a lunch date, and there you go wow, the rest is history, yeah, and if I didn't go out that night, I never met him.
Speaker 2:You know, it's just right Like everything happens for a reason. There'd be a different.
Speaker 1:Mrs Mungert somewhere.
Speaker 2:Right, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Or something like that. Anyway, so you're, you're retired. Now then enjoying retirement.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:What kind of fun stuff do you like to do?
Speaker 2:Oh man I'm. I've been trying a lot of different things, just enjoying time off from not having a set schedule. I don't have any pressing things happening. I'm still active. I still like to do stuff. I'm an outdoors kind of girl. I want to be outside more than inside. I'm an outdoors kind of girl, so I want to be outside more than inside. And you know my friends that I have from the prison system, from when I work. She, one of my friends, got me into pickleball. Okay. So you know I play pickleball like three times a week and meeting friends through pickleball, so that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:You know what we need in Michigan? We need a chicken and pickle, what it's called chicken and pickle. It's a. It's a restaurant that serves like chicken, but they have pickleball courts. Oh, it's called chicken and pickle. And I yeah, I heard about it through a, a business group that I belong to, but we don't have one, and someone was saying we need one of these because pickleball, like it's a lot of fun. People have a great time playing.
Speaker 1:It's a blast yeah, unless you get beat. Like, I get beat pretty bad when I play. I'm not really that great at it, but uh, it is a lot of fun yeah now, where do you play?
Speaker 2:I play neaten rapids jackson, uh area, okay, yeah all right, you guys do any farming anymore.
Speaker 1:Are you all done with with farms?
Speaker 2:well, my, my family still owns the Snyder Dairy Farm and that's in western Pennsylvania, so as far as I know, it's still up and running.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. So what are the plans for the future? Anything upcoming, or are you just going to take it as it comes? Take it as it comes.
Speaker 2:really, we have no immediate plans to do anything. Eventually down the road, probably in couple years, when the, when the interest rates drop and everything, we're probably going to look into uh, moving out west or possibly uh tennessee area, just because the cost of living is so much better oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can look much nicer in some other places.
Speaker 2:And my husband just retired. So as two retirees, you know, you're still like in that groove of, you know, wanting to do stuff, but then you're like, oh, I'm retired now, so we need to figure some things out.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, you don't want to fall into that trap of not doing anything, but then you don't want to do everything, right, yeah, yeah, were you able to like when you were traveling the states, were you able to pick out some areas that you really liked? I mean, you mentioned Tennessee.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did a vacation in Tennessee. We loved it. Beautiful, beautiful. Just went out to South Dakota and Wyoming and it was our second time in South Dakota and Wyoming and it was our second time in South Dakota, so it was beautiful. We love the West, absolutely. Love it out there. It's gorgeous. So nice. And it's like nothing's for sale out there, though you can't find a house for under half a million dollars out there. It's ridiculous, so cause everybody wants to live there now.
Speaker 1:Oh right, Well, everyone watched Yellowstone.
Speaker 2:So because everybody wants to live there now. Oh right, well, everyone watched Yellowstone, now they want to. Oh yeah, right, yeah, move to Montana. It'll all wear off eventually, yeah yeah, but it's like, yeah, you can't really touch anything that's affordable out there right now yeah so like because no one wants to leave right, no one's going to sell their house right, right.
Speaker 1:Well, there's always Tennessee, I guess. Yeah, yeah, amy, it's been great talking to you this afternoon. I always ask everyone the same question, actually two questions. One is there anything we haven't covered that you wanted to talk about?
Speaker 2:Let me see here.
Speaker 1:I know you brought your notes.
Speaker 2:I know, I wrote my notes. Oh, I got a good story to share.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:This is back in Saudi, when we were at the port. So our company chaplain, somehow he arranged some tugboat trip thing, you know, into the Gulf, so it's like you know, obviously 90 degrees plus every day. So we're all like jammed into this little tugboat thing and they're taking us out to this sandbar and it's not a party thing or, you know, party barge or anything like that. People are thinking like, ooh, big party? No, it wasn't at all. It was just a bunch of people jam packed in this little barge just to go out and enjoy the water. Well, they dropped, the end it was in.
Speaker 1:Oh, like the gangplank or whatever. Yeah, the gangplank.
Speaker 2:But I can't remember what the boat was called offhand. Of course a Navy guy would probably know.
Speaker 1:That's probably like an amphibious-type boat, right. Probably yeah, when they drop the back down and everyone can go off at the same time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, kind of like what you saw in Saving Private Ryan.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Storming the beaches.
Speaker 1:Amphibious assault.
Speaker 2:Yes, amphibious assault vehicle.
Speaker 1:Yes, right, there you go.
Speaker 2:So they drop it down and then the captain of the place is like all right, we don't normally do this, but enjoy, enjoy the water. We're out here for a few hours and we're all like what the hell? So some of us kind of knew in the back of our minds what we would do out there, so a lot of us wore pt shorts underneath our bdus yeah and we're all stripping.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was just the funniest thing, because we're all just like stripping off our BDUs. Everyone had, you know, piles of BDUs all over the place.
Speaker 2:And everyone's just jumping in the water having a ball. Everyone's grabbing the little flotation rings floating around like it's a big party and it was the most fun we had over there. You know, hands down. It was like we spent like three or four hours out there. Everybody's just getting cooked by the sun. We didn't care, because we were all swimming and having a blast. We all come back, we're all soaking wet and we get back to wherever you know our units are and they're all like what the hell did you get?
Speaker 2:Because we're all soaking, wet, sunburned and all just had blast, but yeah, that's like one of the funnest things we ever did over there. God it sounds like a blast yeah, just a just a fun story to to share it's interesting how uh people in the military can find fun.
Speaker 1:yeah, in in in the most, in the place where you wouldn't think you'd find anything fun to do at all. Mm-hmm yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, great, All right. Well, the second question is this as people will listen to this years from now, which is the whole idea behind doing this what message would you want to leave for people?
Speaker 2:Like about the Army Just about life in general.
Speaker 1:Like you, you've lived a pretty full life. You've got to do a lot of things. That I mean when you think about it. Yeah, I just did that. But a lot of people like, how do you? You know, I would never be able to do that right, so yeah, yeah, basically if if you want to do it, do it, don't just.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I really wish I could do it. Just do it, because I graduated from high school thinking, eh, maybe the military? And I did it. And I wasn't afraid to do it Because I'm very adventurous. So I mean, the military was like right up my alley because I didn't mind going to different duty stations or trying different things, or or going over here and doing this or that, I just did it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And like I wouldn't have never in a million years of thought, to go into corrections, but I just did it because that was the path that was laid out in front of me. So I did it and don't be afraid, just do it. And if you don't like it, then oh, I don't like it, but I did it, I tried it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Like that famous shoe company right, Just do it oh they're not that famous anymore.
Speaker 2:Well.
Speaker 1:Amy thanks a lot for coming out on a Wednesday afternoon and talking with me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I had a nice time. You're welcome.
