Instead, the 58-year-old volunteered to serve in Iraq. The decision, she said, was met with a combination of shock and awe.“While my family and friends were supportive, they … initially thought I was crazy to want to do this,â€Â she said.But Eberly had all her wits about her when she signed up to deploy. For 22 years she had watched her daughter’s Navy career unfold from the sidelines, offering unfailing support as her daughter headed out to sea for long periods of time or to new assignments across the nation. Her daughter, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heather Kline, retires this month after a career that took her from enlisted to officer, from ship to recruiting office. And Eberly patiently waited for her own adventure to begin. “My mother always wanted to join the military, but she was a young mother and then became a single mom, so the opportunity didn’t arise for her,â€Â Kline said. That is, until now. Eberly, a mobilization planning specialist for Defense Logistics Agency Distribution in New Cumberland, Pa., learned about civilian deployment opportunities through a co-worker, who had deployed through the Defense Department’s Civilian Expeditionary Workforce program. The program trains and equips civilians to deploy overseas in support of military members and missions worldwide. Eberly was hooked. She’d always wanted to deploy, she said, and figured this could be a chance to put her civilian environmental safety experience to good use. Her supervisor, Sue Alpaugh, backed her immediately. “When the [Civilian Expeditionary Workforce] light bulb went off for Barb giving her this great opportunity of a lifetime, she immediately signed up,â€Â she said. “For me, even though we miss Barb in the office and what she brought to the table every day, I am glad for her that she punched her ticket before she retires.â€Â While her co-workers offered immediate support, her family and friends, concerned for her welfare, questioned her decision and ability to take on the task at her age. “I was kind of shocked she wanted to do this so late in the game, so close to retirement,â€Â her son, Michael Eberly, said. But age isn’t a number to Eberly, it’s a state of mind. “Of course I did have reservations about, ‘Will I really be able to do this?’â€Â she said. “But I’ve always learned that it’s not age or gender that stops a person from finishing a tough challenge. It’s a lack of will.â€Â Despite initial reservations, her long-time partner, Mike Miles, gave his seal of approval. “She’d been wanting to do something out of the ordinary,â€Â he said. “She’s always done anything she can to support the country and the military. I told her, ‘Go ahead and do it. Have an adventure.’â€Â “She’s always been a go-getter,â€Â added her mother, 84-year-old Bertha Henry, who has been known to brag about her daughter at Bingo nights. “I’m proud of her.â€Â After attending a two-week predeployment training for civilians at the Camp Atterbury National Deployment Center in central Indiana, Eberly flew to Iraq to support the 199th Garrison Command public works department on Camp Victory. She now wakes up each morning, not to the cool, lush landscape of the Northeast, but to the austere scenery and sweltering heat of the desert. “U.S. citizens should count their blessings every day for their freedom,â€Â she said. “As the saying goes, ‘You’re not in Kansas anymore.’â€Â Although pushing 60, Eberly handles the hefty protective gear and physical demands her job requires without a problem. She’s learned to “pack light or carry a heavy load,â€Â she explained. And to ease her loved ones’ minds, she stays in constant contact with her family back home, who have grown accustomed in time to the idea of her deployment. “I love sharing the story,â€Â Kline said. “I still get raised eyebrows and ‘Did you say your Mom is deployed?’ “But I’m extremely proud of her,â€Â she added. “If anything happened to her I’d be crushed, but proud of her sacrifice. She’s willing to put herself where others wouldn’t. I love that about her.â€Â As for Eberly, she’s determined to live each day of her yearlong deployment to the fullest. “I wanted the opportunity to walk in a warfighter’s shoes, and now I’m doing things most civilians only dream about,â€Â she said. “I’m truly looking forward to it being one of the most awesome experiences of my life.â€Â Oct. 7, 2010: By Elaine Wilson- American Forces Press Service

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert Hofmann, who also serves as an assistant deputy commander with the Palm Springs, Calif., Civil Air Patrol’s Composite Squadron 11, was awarded the Charles E. “Chuckâ€Â Yeager Aerospace Education Achievement Award after completing CAP’s aerospace education program for senior members Sept. 26.Hofmann, who joined CAP in 2008, said the best part about receiving the award is that he now can use what he learned to contribute to CAP’s mentoring program for children and young adults ages 12-20. “I took a 100-question exam,â€Â Hofmann said. “It took me about two hours to complete and was an elective part of completing the next level of my professional development in the CAP. “It felt good, as it is the first step in my education in aerospace knowledge, which is a very important part of CAP and CAP's cadet program,â€Â continued Hofmann, a native of London, Ontario, Canada. “Teaching the cadets about leadership, drill and physical fitness is a skill set that the Marine Corps has given me, but there is still the aerospace education aspect of CAP, which I also need to learn to be able to fully teach and mentor the cadets.â€Â The Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit organization with 59,000 members nationwide. In its Air Force auxiliary role, CAP performs 90 percent of inland search and rescue missions in the continental United States, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and was credited with saving 72 lives in fiscal 2009. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 24,000 young people participating in CAP cadet programs. “Many of these people, both young Marines and cadets, come from backgrounds where they have had little or no guidance in their lives, and these young people have taken the first step to bettering themselves,â€Â Hofmann said. “By having enlisted in the Marines, or by having joined the cadet program with CAP, they have shown that they want to do something more. It is at that point where I can help them with becoming better people and citizens and mentor them for success.â€Â Hofmann also challenged more Marines and sailors to step up and reach out to their communities. “There are so many organizations that need help, and it is very gratifying to give that help,â€Â he said. “I have met some of the hardest-working people I have ever known in the CAP, and they aren’t doing it for anything more than the simple feeling of a job well done. A lot of people think they don’t have time to volunteer, but any effort to lend a hand is appreciated.â€Â Oct. 6, 2010: By Marine Corps Cpl. R. Logan Kyle- Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

On Sept. 17, Airman 1st Class Brandon Horne, a 20th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels truck operator, was on his way to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to visit his wife.It was 2 a.m., and he was driving through Newton Grove, N.C., on U.S. Highway 13 when he saw an all-terrain vehicle driving in reverse at about 20 mph. "Off to my right-hand side, I saw four-wheeler lights and dirt flying," Horne said. "The next thing I know, it turned really fast and rolled a couple times. At that, I stopped my car and pulled into his driveway." Horne found the ATV operator unconscious and intoxicated. He was not wearing a shirt, shoes or a helmet. "It was the first time I'd ever seen a person unconscious," Horne said. "I ran over and checked his airway to make sure he was breathing, and that's when the self-aid [and] buddy care training started kicking in." Once he established the man was alive and breathing, Horne said, he called 911. "He was breathing, but he was breathing kind of shallow," Horne said. "I held his head with my hands and told him he's going to be OK." Horne continued performing techniques he had learned in self-aid and buddy care training as he spoke with the dispatcher, he said. He elevated the man’s feet because he was unconscious, but did not roll him on his side because of possible neck injuries, he recalled. When the dispatcher asked for the man's name, Horne began patting the man down to find his wallet for identification. As he was searching the victim, he noticed blood in the areas he checked and found the blood was coming from the man’s head. As Horne further stabilized the injured man's head, the man began to regain consciousness. Horne began pinching the man's leg and asking him if he could feel it to ensure he was not paralyzed. Finally, the police and the ambulance arrived. "A few minutes after I arrived, the injured man regained consciousness and refused to listen to me or Airman Horne to lie still or stay on the ground," according to the police report written by Officer William Lewis of the Newton Grove Police Department. Once emergency medical services took control of the scene, Horne began looking for a way to clean his hands. "I was a little weirded out, because I had never had human blood on me before," he said. "I ended up washing my hands with diet Coke and hand sanitizer." Horne credited the training he received through the Air Force for enabling him to react quickly and stay calm. "I felt like I had to do something," he said. "As airmen, we're not trained to just stand there." When his fellow airmen at work heard about the incident, they were not surprised. "Airman Horne has a big heart," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Luke Salkeld, the squadron’s fuels distribution supervisor. "It did not surprise me at all to hear what he did for someone else." Horne said he took two major insights away from the event. The first, he said, was to always know where you are when you are traveling. Because of his situational awareness, he explained, he was able to give the 911 dispatcher the exact location of the accident. The second, he added, was never to operate any kind of vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, as the accident victim had. Horne said the lessons he learned and the training he received through the Air Force will stay with him for the rest of his life. Oct. 5, 2010: By Air Force Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps- 20th Fighter Wing

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can affect people who have experienced extremely stressful and traumatic events, such as witnessing the loss of human life or as being a victim of a violent attack.Air Force Master Sgt. Justin Jordan, the Air Force support integration superintendent with the Air Force Inspection Agency here, lives with PTSD. The 17-year Air Force veteran has served numerous overseas deployments and assignments with mortuary affairs. "Constantly dealing with death, dismay and putting soldiers in the ground at record pace is what led me to having PTSD," Jordan said. "Your brain is just not equipped to take that all the time." Those closest to Johnson couldn't tell he was dealing with PTSD, because the signs are not always obvious. "People who worked around me had no idea that I had these issues," he said. "I could be totally freaking out and holding a conversation with them at the same time." His symptoms, he said, include zoning out for hours at a time, flashbacks to stressful events, fear of crowds, avoidance and constant worry. "There were times when I would drive 20 [mph] down the highway because I was positively certain that a tire would pop." His family was affected by his condition as well. "My children suffered, for there were times when I didn't let them go outside to play because I was so worried that something was going to happen," Jordan said. All of these things led his friends and family to tell him something was wrong and he needed help. While attending an event on base with his daughter, Jordan met Jim and Lindsey Stanek, founders of a nonprofit organization called "Paws and Stripes." The organization trains and provides service dogs at no cost for veterans dealing with PTSD and other mental and cognitive disabilities. Jordan said talking with the Staneks gave him hope that this could be exactly what he needed, and after extensive research and consulting with his doctor, he decided to enroll in the program. Paws and Stripes trains dogs to be constant companions of their owners, so wherever the owner goes, the dog goes. Because they are service dogs, in the same category as seeing-eye dogs for the blind, business establishments and airlines must, by law, admit them. Though Paws and Stripes provides veterans with service dogs, Jordan elected to have the organization train a dog he already had, a 2-year-old female English bulldog named "Dallas." Having a canine companion in the workplace is an important part of the therapy that the dogs provide. Because leaving the dog at home would be the equivalent of not taking daily medication, Jordan sought and received approval from his chain of command to bring Dallas to work. "I got a lot of support all the way from chiefs to colonels, who told me that they knew exactly what I was going through," he said. Jordan said taking Dallas to work every day mitigates the effects of PTSD. She has an area next to his desk, and to keep him from zoning out, she is trained to tug on his sleeve several times an hour as well as pace back and forth catch his attention. In the same way that dogs are trained to detect seizures before they occur, "Dallas is being trained to detect if I'm about to have an issue, and if so, she'll do something to distract me," Jordan said. Dallas also is trained to watch Jordan's back. When his back is turned to a door, she is trained to face the door so she will be able to alert him if anyone comes in. Also, if Jordan is in a line, Dallas will position herself behind him to give him space and prevent others from getting too close. All of this is done in a nonaggressive matter. She does not bark, bite or threaten people in any way. Having a dog at work can create challenges, because Dallas is on a leash with Jordan at all times. If someone in the office needs assistance lifting or moving something, Jordan ties Dallas' leash to his belt and then helps out. "I don't want to be treated 'special,'" Jordan said. "I have a dog and she helps me, just like someone with a wheelchair. I don't want anyone saying that because I have a dog I can't do something. Whatever it is that I have to do, me and Dallas will make it happen." Jordan sometimes faces odd stares and sometimes is stopped by people wanting to know why he has a dog in the building. He turns these challenges into opportunities to talk about PTSD and organizations like Paws and Stripes that help veterans assimilate into society. "I've suffered a lot of guilt," Jordan said. "But I'm old enough now to know if you need help, get it. Dallas provides that help. She's got my ‘6’ every day." Oct. 4, 2010: By Brian Brackens- 377th Air Base Wing