The Special America’s Heroes
Veteran lighting the flame at the 2014 Veteran’s Vigil at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Photo courtesy for front cover, back cover, Page 2 and 11 Texas A&M University- Commerce Marketing and Communications Department. Page 3 Photo Courtesy United States Military
Table of contents Mottoes Chris Smith playing with fire was just part of the job Continuing the family tradition Robert Wayne Allard joined the Army From one department to the next but still protecting Aspiring SEAL 21 years of traveling the world with the Navy Thank you
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THE SPECIAL is an online magazine produced by journalism students at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Content and production are the responsibilities of the students. THE SPECIAL is produced during the fall, spring and summer terms. CONTACT: The Special, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Box 4104, Commerce, Texas 75428. STAFF: Dakota Brewer Amanda Heflin FACULTY ADVISER: Fred Stewart (Fred.Stewart@tamuc.edu) 2
Mottoes Army
“This We’ll Defend”
Air Force
“Aim High… Fly-Fight-Win”
Texas A&M University Commerce Police Department “Protect...Serve...Educate”
Navy
“To get to you, they’d have to get past us” 3
Chris Smith playing with fire was just part of the job
By: Amanda Heflin
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Photo courtesy Chris Smith
Continuing a family tradition, Chris Smith, 41, was a part of the U.S. Air Force for five years as an explosives technician, and now after five kids and two marriages is purusing a degree in technical theatre. On active duty from 1993-1998, “I spent the first four years overseas,” Smith said. His work included many operations like “Supporting Operation Provide Comfort, Operation Deliberate Force, and a few others that I am not sure if they have been declassified or not,” Smith said. “My father was Air Force, and my grandfather was Army Air Corp. then became the Air Force,” Smith said. “My family is like Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump, without the dying of course. We have had a male member of the family in the military since America became a country. We have fought in every war and conflict that America has been involved in, and will likely continue to do so.”
Many of our military personnel see combat on a day-to-day bases but some days are more intense than other days. “The scariest memory was when a Turkish terrorist group known as the PKK, was trying to overrun the bomb dump and we had to defend U.S. assets,” Smith said. “There were a few more pretty hairy incidents however that was the scariest.” While other days are more comfortable and relaxing, “The funniest memory was a prank,
“I left so that I could be a father to my daughter, and I thought I was saving my marriage. The marriage didn’t last but I don’t regret my choice as my child is healthy and is about to graduate high school.” Regrets are always a part of life. Sometimes life choices outweigh the choice made in a career. “I wish I would have put more effort into my education while I was in the military, however, I can honestly say I really had no clue what I wanted to
“My family is like Lt. Dan from “Forrest Gump”, without the dying of course. We have had a male member of the family in the military since America became a country. We have fought in every war and conflict that America has been involved in, and will likely continue to do so.” involving a bomb builder building a weapon and a very loud bang. He didn’t think it was very funny at the time, but years later he did the exact same thing to someone else, and well it is in fact very funny,” Smith said. “I will never forget how the people in Belgium treated us when I marched in the General Patton Day Parade,” Smith said. “Yes the country of Belgium holds an annual parade honoring our American hero, and they treated us military personnel like royalty and personally thanked us for our service. A sharp contrast from being spit on by Americans when I got back.” Leaving the service is something every member has to face at one point in his or her career. “I left the service on a hardship discharge under honorable conditions because my wife (at the time) was a danger to our newly born daughter because she was suffering severe post-partum depression,” Smith said
be when I got out, and waiting was the correct path for me,” Smith said. The Texas A&M University – Commerce Veterans Affairs Office is “the absolute best I have encountered in any school,” Smith said. “I have talked to a few different education facilities and none of them could help me the way TAMUC has. I understand that there are many other benefits available around campus, and while I intended to participate in those, my life as a theatre major is all consuming and I just don’t have time. I will state that I have complete faith in our VA department that if I should ever have a need arise, they wouldn’t let me down.”
Photo Courtesy U.S. Air Force
A plaque for the Air Force ROTC in place between the library and Education North.
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Photo by Dakota Brewer
Allard with his squad at base.
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Photo courtesy Robbert Allard
By: Amanda Heflin
January 2013 to December 2013 Robert Wayne Allard, 25, was deployed to Turkey and Syria. He joined the United States Army at 21 because it was a family tradition. During the conflicts of war, the scariest moment Allard experience “When we were out numbered in Gaziantep Turkey and had to run miles back to get to the FOB (Forward Operating Base),” Allard said. Not all thing were serious throughout his deployment as the funniest momentg was “when we would make the new soldiers go find us something that didn’t exist and it would take hours before they found out,” Allard said. Memories of the people they worked with will always follow veterans through their life. “I will never forget the brothers and sisters I served with to the day I die.” Allard said he left the Army in December 2014 and with the support of his family and Texas A&M University – Commerce he has made the “transition from military to civilian life.”
Continuing the family tradition, Robert Wayne Allard joined the Army
The best friend Allard made while away at training.
Photo courtesy Robert Allard
Photo courtesy U.S. Army
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Allard made great friends while he was in the Army.
Photo courtesy Robert Allard
By: Dakota Brewer
Lt. Jason Bone.
Photo courtesy Jason Bone
From one police department to the next but still protecting
University police car
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Jason Bone left the Commerce Police Department for a better paying position at Texas A&M University – Commerce 21 years ago. Bone joined law enforcement after being convinced to apply for an opening at the Commerce Police Department. “Honestly, I really just needed a job,” he said. At the time, Bone was young and newly married, and “it was a shock,” to him when he got the position. Bone worked for Commerce PD for two years before taking the job at UPD. The difference between the city police and the UPD is broad. As each deals with similar types of issues, except one has more volume than the other in certain cases.
The city police have “one big area they patrol whereas UPD has to worry about multiple areas throughout the county.” Bone said, he also helps coordinate issues in Rockwall, McKinney, Dallas, and Corsicana. Bone’s job is coordinating technology for UPD, and a security specialist, including security cameras, locks, and, crime. His work has changed over the years. “When I first joined the career (of law enforcement) I felt as if people appreciated what you did,” Bone said. “Now I am not so sure. I think it has become far more dangerous with the rise of ambushes, hidden weapons etc. I believe this possibly goes with the decline in respect for law enforcement.”
Photo by Dakota Brewer
Q:
Where do you see law enforcement going?
“I think there will probably be more and more cops ambushed and killed until maybe one day people will wake up and demand changes.”
Q:
What was your scariest moment, proudest moment, and favorite moment in uniform?
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“I’ve been involved with lots of things that afterward made me think I was really lucky. My proudest moment? Well I hate to answer that one because often cops’ best and proudest moments is somebody else’s worst moment. I think that’s what officers need to think of more often than we probably do. I have in my career arrested people who’ve committed rape, murder, robbery, you name it. I’m happy that I helped to get those people off the street, but it is important to not feel too puffed up. After all, somebody was raped, somebody was murdered, and somebody was robbed and we should think of that before we feel too good. Having said that: my best moments that I am proudest of are the little things like finding a lost child, having someone
tell me many years later that I helped them. Those are my favorite moments.” Bone who works an 8-5 shift, agrees to disagree if he feels like cops are on duty 24/7. “I think a lot of people expect me to know what happened to “so and so” from over the weekend etc. All law enforcement are aware that even when they are not at work, they could witness a crime that may force them to get involved. I usually try not to intervene unless someone is about to get hurt. If I see something going on that is not dangerous, I just stop and watch. That way I’m an expert witness for when it comes to court.” A societal stereotype towards law enforcement is that police officers want to give out tickets, and they try to give out as many as they can. From Bone’s standpoint, he has never counted how many tickets he has given in one day. “Tickets are not a goal, they are a means to a goal. The goal is to get people to slow down, wear seat belts etc.,” he said.
Q:
How do you feel about the campus carry law?
This is a law that enables students to carry a gun to school with
Photo courtesy Texas A&M University-Commerce
a concealed handgun license. The law has not passed in all states, but is a popular topic. Bone said, “I am not totally against campus carry. I am just not sure that all things have been thought all the way through with the law.”
Q:
If you weren’t a police officer what would you be? “I think I would be a history teacher. After all that’s what I went to school for. I read lots of history books and love history as a hobby,” he said. He added that when he retires from law enforcement he plans to do something concerning history.
“I think society has lost its appreciation for what law enforcement does.”
Aspiring to be a SEAL At 21 years of age Brandon Greene, shipped out March 26, 2014 to start his career as a Navy SEAL. There are different Navy programs, air rescue, diver, explosive ordinance disposal (EOC), special warfare combatant-craft crewmen (SWCC), and sea air and land (SEAL). “Getting my contract was insane, hardest thing mentally and physically I have had to do,” Greene said. “It was a great feeling when I got it (SEAL contract).”
to give you a contract or not. I didn’t get picked up a couple times and finally in February 2014, I got automatically picked up for my times and found out my ship date.”
Q:
“Getting my contract was insane, hardest thing mentally and physically I have had to do”
What made you want to join the Navy, get into the SEAL program? “The thought of having my school paid for, but more than that I think it is every person’s duty to protect their home and country. And it was the athletic drive to be the absolute best I could and to shoot for the very best which is definitely the Navy SEALs.”
Q:
What was the process to getting a contract? “We had a guy in Tyler, Texas that would train us twice a week. I would drive to Kilgore College to workout and test about once a month. Receiving a contract is just like receiving a sports contract. Depending on your times, you get put into a draft and from there, they can choose
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Q:
What was it like when you shipped out? “When I got to Chicago it was like everyone says it is. People are yelling in your face yelling at you, [you] get your head shaved, put into different clothes, and treated like a number. You ship
everything you brought with you back home and they keep you up the first 72 hours with processing.” Greene was in the 800 Barracks Division with all special warfare guys. “Whenever you get in trouble you get beat bad [exercise]. “You then meet the special warfare instructors who are current SEALs and SWCC and scary as f**k. You train with them three mornings a week.”
By: Dakota Brewer
Q:
What was the scariest moment and your happiest and proudest moment? “The scariest moment was definitely the first time we met our instructors. They were crazy intimidating, but at the same time you listen intently because you have a respect for them that you wouldn’t anyone else. Happiest moment was the first time we got to wear the NWU’s, which are the blue camos. You take so much pride in putting on that uniform and seeing your name on it knowing you are doing something most people would not dare to.” Greene found out he had a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, this put him on the medical discharge list and he was sent home. He currently attends Texas A&M University-Commerce as a sophomore, where he is working on a degree in human performance. He plans on opening his own gym and going to the fire/paramedic academy for chief and first responder.
Photo Courtesy Brandon Greene
21 years of traveling the world with the Navy
Scott Mobley, 17
Photo courtesy Scott Mobley
By: Amanda Heflin
Scott Mobley, 41 holds a BS in kinesiology and teachers certification from Texas A&M University – Commerce and is working toward a master’s in sport and recreation management. “I joined the Navy in 1990 at the age of 17 because I wanted something more out of life than staying in my hometown working in restaurants or construction,” Mobley said. “My parents had to sign the paper giving me 12
consent to join.” Small town life is harder on some but Mobley ended right back in one, Commerce Texas. “Growing up in small town Florida, there is not much for a young person to do other than work in the hospitality type industry, construction, or an aircraft factory,” Mobley said. “I wanted to see the world, meet new people and get to understand what makes the world tick. I never really viewed the military as a career, just a stepping stone to get college money and to see the world. I ended up making it a career after I realized how much I loved it. I am the youngest of six children from a blended family and money was tight. College money was non-existent and I wanted to make a better life for myself. I have always been kind of a free spirit as well, so this was a great way for me to roam the world and get college money to do it.” When joining the Navy “at first my mother was not very keen of the idea of her baby boy going off to the military,” Mobley said. “She was very scared that something would happen to me and that it would not end well, especially during the wars and conflicts. Over time, she got used to it and saw that I was exactly where I was supposed to be with my life and how much I loved being in the uniform. She came to a good place with the idea. My family has always been extremely proud of me and has always been supportive. There is no better feeling in the world than to hear your kids say that they are proud of their dad.” His wife, Jill, and four kids was his support system while he was in the Navy from May 1990 to June 2011. Mobley was deployed several times over his 21-year career in the Navy. “First deployment was during Desert Storm in 1990,” Mobley said. “I landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Christmas Eve that year. First time
away from home, first Christmas away from home, and I was really excited and very lonely at the same time. I was deployed onboard a ship, the USS Lake Erie as well. Sailed all around the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Gulf numerous times. I was cryptologic support for all of the conflicts from 1990 to present. I worked in cryptology my entire career so I was in direct support of every conflict.” “The scariest memory was when I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and we came under attack during the day by a scud missile, Mobley said. “It was the only daylight attack that we had during that war. I was about 300 yards from where the missile impacted. It hit the middle of a runway and I was unable to leave my station because I was guarding classified material at the time. I had to stay with my load. It was very scary because at the time we did not know if there were chemical agents loaded or gas on the missile which was a popular weapon for Saddam Hussein at the time. A very scary situation that turned out well.” Not everything on a ship is work.
Mobley and his wife Jill. Photo courtesy Scott Mobley
Mobley receiving an award while stationed in Alaska.
Photo courtesy Scott Mobley
There were some fun and games. “While we were deployed on my ship up in the Bering Sea; the seas were very rough, about 25 to 30 foot waves crashing over our bow,” Mobley said. “There is a place onboard the ship that is known as the sonar trunk. The top of the trunk opens up on the main deck of the ship and goes all the way down to the very bottom of the ship. During the heavy seas we could go down and basically skydive in the trunk. When the bow of the ship goes up over the wave we would hang on to a net at the bottom of the trunk and as soon as it would go over the wave, we would jump and the ship would come down as we were in flight like we were skydiving. Once the ship crashed down, there were nets that we grabbed onto to hang on at the top of the trunk and we would climb down and do it over and over. There were lots of fun things that I have done, but that is probably the most memorable. It was a lot of fun and broke up the time that we were away from our families.” Being away from his biological family caused a new family to form with the people he interacted with every day. “The military is like a brotherhood,” Mobley said. “We fight together, we cry together, we eat together, we bleed together, and we live together. We are 13
the tightest friendships that can be found, and the best friendships. There were tough times for all of us, but we always had each other to lean on. We never had to worry about ourselves because we always had each other’s backs. We protected each other through everything and never had to worry about anything as long as we were together. The camaraderie of military men and women is second to none. We are a very tight group of people that have great respect for each other.” Being in the Navy was a career for Mobley. “I retired after 21 years of active duty in 2011,” Mobley said. “I retired because I wanted to spend more time with my family and be with them much more than I had ever been. My family supported me through everything that I wanted to do and through some very bad times. I put in a full career and it was time for a change. I couldn’t advance any further in rank because of a merger that happened, so it was just time to go. I had great times but had to leave it. My wife was very supportive but she knew how much the Navy meant to me. She knew that the Navy was my whole world and one of my greatest loves. She knows that I miss the Navy tremendously and if I had the chance I would go back. My wife and kids understand that being a sailor is my proudest achievement. I love being a sailor and being in the uniform, but there comes a time when you have to hand that torch to the younger generation and let them take it from there. Very proud of the young sailors that I worked with, trained, and led through the years.” There are always things that could have gone better. “I wish that I would have spent more
time studying my job, working harder, and advancing through the ranks more,” Mobley said. “I would still be in today had I done that, but hindsight is always 20/20. I thought that I had given it my all only to look back and realize I could have done better.” Hesitant at first, a school that supports veterans can change the mind of many and make a difference to all. “I am not sure that there is a better university for a veteran to attend,” Mobley said. “From Day One this university has treated me very well and has treated the rest of us very well. I have nothing but great respect and admiration for this university. When I initially started coming to college, I was very hesitant because I had never done anything other than be a sailor. I did not think that I would ever have been a college student. I was not a very good student in high school, so I didn’t think that I would be a very good student in college. Everyone has helped and encouraged me along the way. Seeing other non-traditional students has helped as well. Some of the professors I have had during my time here have been around my age and have always encouraged me to stay on course and get through this. The Health and Human Performance Department has been amazing to me in helping me get my education here. They have always made it very clear that if I needed help with someone, their doors were always open. I will
Photo courtesy U.S. Navy
Thank You To all the men and women in uniform, we thank you for all that you do. Every second, minute, and hour of every day is appreciated by us. Without you all of society and America would not be half as great as it is today. To our past uniformed men and women, everything you have fought for is never forgotten. To the present uniformed men and women all you do for us right now is the backbone to this country. To our future uniformed men and women, just like we thank the past and present we want to thank you for the future dedication you will have to serving society and this country. The time, dedication, blood, sweat, tears and emotions put into serving our country has no price. And to the past, present, and future, we wish you courage when times see unpromising, strength when you may feel weak, and comfort when you may feel alone. As Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.� We believe anyone who has worn any type of uniform for the greater of themselves deserves to be a hero, and is a hero. May God Bless You All!
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