My "run in" with the Military Police

Most people don’t know that I was one of the fastest recruits into the 294th Dental Detachment of the Iowa Army National Guard. Or that the M.P.'s (Military Police) had showed up looking for me at the house I had previously shared with my younger sister.

When my term of service ended in the U.S. Army, I opted to join a reserve unit in Michigan. I drilled with the unit for two months, and they were preparing to do their two-week annual training. However, I was convinced by one Ed Taylor to move to Iowa with him and enjoy the low unemployment rates. It seemed very scary to pack up and move to Iowa, but after three years in the Army, I was no stranger to moving out of state. With a promise to only be in Iowa for a little while, I said goodbye to my little sister (who I never saw again) at the end of May and moved to Iowa.
I had previously told my reserve unit that I was leaving, and I did the paperwork to process out. I was told to let them know when I found a unit in Iowa.
However, no one told me that if I didn’t find a unit by the time my reserve unit did their annual training, I was obligated to attend training with them. And so, after the long drive with the U-Haul trailer in tow, I called my sister to let her know I arrived okay. She proceeded to freak out on the phone, telling me how the M.P.'s showed up looking for me and stating that I was “AWOL." Needless to say, I was incredibly freaked out, as well, not expecting in a million years that I would ever be Absent Without Leave. And this was a first for me--to be in trouble with any kind of police, let alone the MILITARY POLICE. Between the stress of moving and the threat of military law-breaking, it was hard to sleep that night.
Monday morning, I contacted my old unit and they informed me that in order to no longer be considered "AWOL," I needed to get into another unit right away.  So, we contacted the 109th  Medical Battalion, and I arrived on-site to do the paperwork to join the 294th Medical Detachment. The finalized paperwork was faxed to my old reserve unit. This was within the first week of my arrival in Iowa.
And that was the beginning of my five-year term with those awesome men and women that I served with in the 294th Medical Detachment. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Personal Profile

Image
Kindergarten, where I learned to comb my own hair!! My name is Kim Taylor, and my email address is kltaylor@bradley.edu  My mother named me “Kim” because she knew someone with a daughter named Kim and she liked it.  I grew up in St. Charles, Michigan.      I am married with two kids.  Both of my parents passed away.  My father at age 33 from pneumonia, and my mother at age 45 from leukemia.  My mother was half Sicilian, her father was born in Sicily.  My grandfather saw my great grandfather shot by "The Family" when he was five.  Our family was always very close, I used to know all of my cousins.  I tried to instill that importance of family to my kids.     My niece recently described me as the kindest, strongest, and happiest person she knows.  I think those are pretty good J   My three most favorite social recreational activities are going to the movies with family or friends, attending band events where my ...
Read more

"Victory Dance" (Not a COM 399 Assignment)

My Victory Dance I was talking with my friend, Francois, about some of the lethargy I was feeling dealing with two recent surgeries and facing the possibility of radioactive iodine treatments for cancer cells in my body.   We talked about maybe having something I can focus on, like maybe something to do once I am to the point where my scan comes back “cancer free”.   Whether it is in the next week or so, or whether it will be months down the road… I needed a “Victory Lap” or “Victory Dance”. You know, that “Victory Lap” the winning racecar drives around the track slowly, after he’s won the race.   Or when the football player has successfully outmaneuvered the opposing team to run across that white line for a touchdown, and then performs his own, unique “Victory Dance.” I decided this was a good idea, and I spent a couple of days mulling over possibilities.   I could do something daring, like jump out of an airplane, or take a hot air balloon ride, climbing a mountai...
Read more

One of the worst days of my life

Image
  I woke up and realized what day it was—the third anniversary of Ed’s passing. It was easy to tear up and be sad. However, it did not take long for me to remember all the amazing things people did that day. I had been immediately surrounded by friends who were incredible—and I want so badly to name them one by one. But the day was so traumatic, I know I would forget someone—and how can I do that?? It was one of the worst days of my life. Three years later, I remember how awesome everyone was to me. There were so many people who came alongside me that day, taking me home, taking me to the hospital, packing up Ed’s stuff, contacting people, and most importantly—sitting beside me. And my incredible kids who dropped everything to be there with me. The whole week people brought food, helped with the arrangements, housed my family, picked up people from the airport, and sent me texts, cards, phone calls, just an overwhelming outpouring of love and support. So many people who helped with...
Read more