WEBVTT 00:00.040 --> 00:02.151 Good morning Sergeant Hamilton , This 00:02.151 --> 00:05.950 is Melanie . Good morning Melanie . 00:06.640 --> 00:08.696 I just wanted to start off with some 00:08.696 --> 00:10.810 quick basic questions like when you 00:10.810 --> 00:12.480 were deployed , 00:12.490 --> 00:17.260 Okay , 00:17.640 --> 00:20.830 when were you deployed ? Oh I was 00:20.840 --> 00:23.130 deployed . I'm sorry I was deployed 00:23.130 --> 00:26.050 November 28 , 2005 . 00:26.060 --> 00:29.790 So you have been in 00:29.790 --> 00:32.810 Iraq since that time ? Yes 00:32.810 --> 00:36.030 Ma'am , tell us a little bit about your 00:36.030 --> 00:39.850 duties there in Iraq . Uh 00:39.860 --> 00:42.610 my duties here in Iraq , I worked as a 00:42.620 --> 00:45.970 profitable officer uh N . C . O . And 00:45.970 --> 00:49.540 that means that I manage uh unit 00:49.540 --> 00:52.510 commanders , organizational property 00:52.520 --> 00:56.480 that ranges from about uh a little 00:56.480 --> 00:59.850 a little value over $2 million . Uh We 00:59.850 --> 01:03.360 maintain uh accountability uh when they 01:03.370 --> 01:05.592 turn in on serviceable equipment , when 01:05.592 --> 01:07.759 there's a battle lost battle damage is 01:07.759 --> 01:10.130 uh we make sure that those battle 01:10.130 --> 01:12.760 damages get replaced with new equipment 01:12.770 --> 01:14.710 and that that equipment stays 01:14.710 --> 01:18.620 accountable If you've been deployed 01:18.620 --> 01:21.790 since November of 2005 . I know it must 01:21.790 --> 01:23.790 not be easy to spend that much time 01:23.790 --> 01:25.810 away from your family . Tell us a 01:25.810 --> 01:28.032 little bit about how that separation is 01:28.032 --> 01:31.110 then . Um uh 01:31.120 --> 01:34.150 separation definitely is hard uh from 01:34.150 --> 01:37.300 the family , I have small babies , my 01:37.300 --> 01:39.610 daughter is five and my son has just 01:39.620 --> 01:42.590 turned four years old on saturday . Uh 01:42.600 --> 01:44.600 and the separation from them and my 01:44.600 --> 01:47.070 husband is , it feels like there's a 01:47.070 --> 01:50.240 part of the uh that's nothing . Uh it 01:50.240 --> 01:52.950 definitely is a struggle . Uh I tell 01:52.950 --> 01:55.650 you it takes a lot of strength uh 01:55.660 --> 01:59.500 mentally a lot of heart to be able to 01:59.500 --> 02:01.667 endure being away from your loved ones 02:01.667 --> 02:05.640 for such a long time . I plan 02:05.640 --> 02:07.650 on delivering at least a message to 02:07.650 --> 02:09.594 your husband and your family later 02:09.594 --> 02:11.761 today , hopefully later this morning . 02:11.761 --> 02:13.872 And I just want to ask you , is there 02:13.872 --> 02:13.810 if there's anything you can say to your 02:13.810 --> 02:16.100 husband , your Children today , what 02:16.100 --> 02:19.300 would you say to them ? I would say to 02:19.300 --> 02:22.630 my husband uh baby , I love 02:22.630 --> 02:26.470 you . I appreciate your support in my 02:26.470 --> 02:29.750 career . Uh everything that I'm 02:29.750 --> 02:32.600 endeavouring to be in the army . I just 02:32.610 --> 02:35.250 thank you for your patience and how you 02:35.250 --> 02:37.472 just supported me with your encouraging 02:37.472 --> 02:39.740 words and to my Children . I want to 02:39.740 --> 02:42.073 stay down for and Benjamin , I love you . 02:42.073 --> 02:44.296 You keep praying for mommy , every time 02:44.296 --> 02:46.790 you go to church and you'd be a good 02:46.790 --> 02:48.734 little girl little boy for daddy . 02:49.440 --> 02:51.510 Right . I also ask you , we hear so 02:51.510 --> 02:53.520 much stateside and it's probably 02:53.520 --> 02:56.380 something that you're living or may not 02:56.380 --> 02:58.713 even hear about from where your station , 02:58.713 --> 03:00.990 but we hear about the ongoing 03:01.340 --> 03:03.340 insurgency that's going on there in 03:03.340 --> 03:06.070 Iraq is does that hurt morale at all ? 03:06.070 --> 03:08.070 Is it difficult to be there with so 03:08.070 --> 03:11.560 much still going on . Uh 03:11.570 --> 03:15.470 I tell you um the soldiers here 03:15.470 --> 03:19.230 are uh brave and courageous 03:19.230 --> 03:21.690 and a lot of the negativity that we 03:21.690 --> 03:24.050 here and a lot of the things that are 03:24.050 --> 03:27.240 going on outside the wire just to me 03:27.240 --> 03:29.920 helps us come together more because 03:29.930 --> 03:31.910 there's unity and strength and I 03:31.910 --> 03:34.990 believe is uh during these times when 03:34.990 --> 03:36.879 we really begin to understand how 03:36.879 --> 03:39.700 powerful you and he is and here where 03:39.700 --> 03:42.880 we are . And I just feel like we come 03:42.880 --> 03:44.880 together as a family as sisters and 03:44.880 --> 03:46.830 brothers . We help encourage one 03:46.830 --> 03:49.108 another . We helped lift each other up . 03:49.140 --> 03:51.880 And I tell you , it helps get us 03:51.890 --> 03:55.670 through day by day . We only have 03:55.670 --> 03:57.781 about a minute left here , Sergeant . 03:57.781 --> 03:59.781 I'm thinking so . I want to ask you 03:59.781 --> 04:02.003 very quickly because I know that you're 04:02.003 --> 04:01.980 involved with the ministry where your 04:01.980 --> 04:04.036 stations tell us please a little bit 04:04.036 --> 04:06.147 about that and how you gained support 04:06.147 --> 04:09.020 from that . Okay . Yes , ma'am . I am 04:09.020 --> 04:12.050 involved in the uh , the Fox Ministry 04:12.050 --> 04:13.980 here . I'm a part of the uh , the 04:13.990 --> 04:17.810 Gospel Service . Uh , that's here , uh 04:17.820 --> 04:20.650 namely uh , in the Gospel Service . I'm 04:20.650 --> 04:23.860 over the music of ministry 04:24.240 --> 04:27.500 And it has truly been a blessing . We 04:27.500 --> 04:30.060 have the Gospel Service have the 04:30.060 --> 04:33.450 largest uh service congregation of 04:33.460 --> 04:35.516 soldiers that come and congregate to 04:35.516 --> 04:37.738 praise the Lord . And I tell you it has 04:37.738 --> 04:40.560 been a blessing for me to see the 04:40.570 --> 04:43.520 soldiers encourage , they come and they 04:43.530 --> 04:45.950 leave with a smile on their face when 04:45.950 --> 04:47.839 they leave the service that we've 04:47.839 --> 04:50.780 refreshed and the uh , the world that 04:50.780 --> 04:54.190 we get inside the service has just been 04:54.190 --> 04:57.430 a blessing . I see growth and maturity 04:57.440 --> 04:59.107 in the soldiers character and 04:59.107 --> 05:01.329 personality . And I tell you it makes a 05:01.329 --> 05:03.051 difference . The morality . It 05:03.051 --> 05:05.162 definitely influenced the morale . Uh 05:05.162 --> 05:07.218 it also helps the soldier be able to 05:07.218 --> 05:10.130 perform your job more effectively also , 05:10.140 --> 05:13.630 so it has just been a blessing overall , 05:13.640 --> 05:15.751 Sergeant . That is it . And thank you 05:15.751 --> 05:18.360 so very much . You're welcome .