Dad Returns 'Home' to Military
(December 16, 2009) |
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After a 17-year break in service, Sgt. Billy Willingham
enlisted in the Army as a motor transport operator. Courtesy photo - June 25,
2009 |
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Dec.
11, 2009 – Imagine being a father who served in
the military for 10 years, preparing to send
your son to basic training, and wishing you
could go in his place.
A soldier in the 1st Armored Division's 4th
Brigade doesn't have to imagine it. He has lived
it first-hand.
Army Sgt. Billy Willingham, 121st Brigade
Support Battalion, joined the Air Force in April
1982. His first duty assignment was Grand Forks
Air Force Base, N.D., where he dreamed of
flying, he said. His retention counselor told
him that wasn't an option for him in the Air
Force, but the Army had a program called “High
School to Flight School.” |
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Willingham received an early release from the Air Force to
pursue his dream of flying. After 18 months, he started
flight school as an Army warrant officer in April 1987. His
first assignment as a pilot of AH-64 Apaches was with the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fulda, Germany, where
he was stationed for four years.
He separated from the Army in the early 1990s, he said, and
started a quest to find his “home.”
Willingham said he wanted to find purpose in his work and
camaraderie with his peers. For 17 years, he worked in
retail management, never quite finding his home. When his
son approached him about joining the Army, Willingham was
excited to share his lessons and experiences, and he
encouraged his son to seek out the opportunities offered by
a military career.
Though basic training was going to be a “pain in the butt,”
he told his son, as long he was a hard-working team player
who accomplished his job, the rest would be “a piece of
cake.”
He also explained how no one offers the medical benefits or
retirement the military can, but his son did not choose to
join. Instead, he provided his father with his recruiter's
information and a way to pursue his own desire to return to
the service, even at age 44.
The elder Willingham met with a recruiter who explained how
his 10 years of prior service actually provided him a little
leeway not afforded to others, and worked with him on his
options for enlistment. The recruiter asked if he would like
to go back in as a warrant officer, but Willingham said he
told the recruiter to just “let me get in before they change
their minds.”
Willingham enlisted in the Army as a motor transport
operator, at the rank of specialist. But since completing
advanced individual training, he has conducted only eight
missions as an operator. He has found that his background
and leadership experience place him in positions of
responsibility that challenge him to excel on a personal and
professional level.
Willingham is working at the Combined Division Operations
Center with the 10th Iraqi Army Division. He recounted his
incoming interview with Command Sgt. Maj. Saeed Mustafa, his
battalion's command sergeant major, and how he committed to
doing whatever he was tasked to do to the best of his
ability.
“The original team sat on one side of the room with Iraqis
on the other,” he said. “There was very little to no
interaction.” He realized this was not the intent of the
concept, he said, nor was it within his nature to work with
a group of men he knew nothing about.
“I spent a good portion of time one afternoon, early on in
my new assignment, with the interpreter, to introduce myself
and learn a little bit about my counterparts,” he said.
As he concluded the last introduction and offered assistance
whenever needed, the Iraqi army major told him about a
roadside bomb on a route frequently traveled by U.S. forces.
Willingham asked the Iraqi major to obtain an exact grid
coordinate and called higher headquarters to alert them of
the roadside bomb. A patrol was dispatched, diffused the
explosive and safely maneuvered the scheduled convoy through
the area without mishap.
“It feels as though I'm doing something worthwhile for self,
family, and America,” Willingham said. He plans to retire
from the Army, he added, and it may not be another 20 or 25
years. Only time will tell. He's found his home. |
By Army Maj. Nicoline Jaramillo
1st Armored Division's 4th Brigade
Special to
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009 |
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