IN MARCH 2003, KRISTEN’S SQUADRON DEPLOYED
TO IRAQ. Arriving in Kuwait to unload equipment and
trucks, Kristen was selected among nine others to fly to
Baghdad ahead of the convoy to prepare for the rest of
the squadron to arrive. “For several weeks, all we had
were the necessities: no running water, no bathrooms,
no showers. We ate MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for every
meal and slept in tents with our M-16s next to our cots.
The war was still happening around us, but eventually
the sound of gunfire and explosions didn’t even faze us
unless it was close by and we had to take cover.” After
seven months, the troop returned home. Unfortunately, Kristen returned after having to say a final goodbye
to her friend, Staff Sergeant Pat “Griff” Griffin. “I and a
few other people had flown to Baghdad ahead of the
rest of the squadron to get things ready. Griff was on the
convoy in one of our large trucks. The convoy stopped
to take a break, and Griff got out of the truck. As he did
so, he stepped on an unexploded ordinance, and it detonated. The medics did everything they could to save
him, but it just wasn’t enough. Up until then, it hadn’t
really sunk in that we were really in a war zone; this
wasn’t just another exercise. It left everybody in shock.”
CONTINUED
SHEMAGAZINE.COM
JULY 2016
109