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Twentieth Job of Bob - Rural Ambulance Part V - Date with fate post 32 - New service member for a day
This entry was posted on 1/27/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob, Fate Fairies.
The fall of 1996 saw a log-jam of events so to speak. I was working at the rural ambulance service during nights, lifeguarding at the "Y" in the mornings, lifeguarding at Sports Medicine in evenings, and I was ensconced in the Practical Nurse program in tech school. I have already brought up the rather serious heart condition I went through ( heart ordeal) that semester and how it affected my direction in life. One other event took place I never mention much. At the time, my rural ambulance service had limitations to the patient care levels and the training we could attain. Through connections from classes and ambulance experience, I knew the ambulance service on the south side of Madison offered more opportunities - in training, higher certification, ambulance calls, and closer connections to the Madison hospitals. I went through the hoops of joining that Southside ambulance service. It was a collaboration of two cities on the south side of Madison. I did not give notice to my small ambulance service as I knew from experience, one might be better off making sure new ventures pan out before burning the bridge back to the old one. I told the bigger service I would start around Christmas because tech school had a rather long mid-school-year break. I took the tour of the new place, got to met some of the organizers, took all the physical exams, turned in all my vaccination records, and filled out the many layers of paper work. In the mean time, as I have mentioned, near the end of the semester my heart did not cooperate. It took me a good semester after the fact to get my full strength back after the episode in the hospital. I left the nursing program and decided to err on the side of regular college in the spring of 1997. A guy that I had a class or two with and was a member of the bigger ambulance service would quietly ask me once in a while if I felt good enough to officially come on board. But, in my heart - no pun intended - I knew I would never be able to make the transition to the more complex and active service. I often ponder if my life might have taken quite a different direction if I had finished the nursing program and became involved with that busier urban, and higher designated patient care ambulance service. Another fork in the road. Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Sergeant Joshua Charles Brennan, 22, Ontario, Oregon, and McFarland, Wisconsin died on Friday, October 26, 2007 in Asadabad, Afghanistan. He was wounded the day before in Korengal Valley, Kunar province while in combat with Taliban fighters. Brennan was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team out of Vicenza, Italy. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted the military mission was called Operation Rock Avalanche. The paper went on to say Joshua was the oldest child of Mike Brennan, a Madison, Wisconsin police officer who was in an Army military police unit in the first war with Iraq. Josh's mother lived in the state of Oregon at the time of his death. Josh Brennan grew up in Oregon with his mother; he would spend summers with his father in Wisconsin; and, he attended school in McFarland, Wisconsin between the ages of 8 and 10. While in Wisconsin he was said to have enjoyed water skiing, tubing, and wake-boarding on Lake Monona. While at Ontario High School in Oregon he ran hurdles in track and played football. Sergeant Brennan was in his second tour in Afghanistan when he was killed. He earned three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.
The Web site afghansitan.pigstye.net a data base for military casualties mentioned Brennan was due to end his military service in September 2007 but he was extended another year under the military's stop-loss policy to retain troops. Joshua had hoped to go to college in Madison after his military obligation was up and perhaps join the Madison Police Department, like his father.
The Web site militarytimes.com noted via information from the Associated Press that Army Specialist Hugo V. Mendoza was also killed in the same battle. The site also mentioned Sergeant Brennan was shot in the leg in August of 2007 and returned to duty after his recovery. Josh was remembered as a dedicated, dependable man. He was a 2003 graduate of Ontario High School in Oregon. He was known to hunt elk with his grandfather. The Web site corroborated Brennan intended to attend college and pursue a career in forensic science or criminology after his service. Brennan worked a part-time job at a print shop as a young man in Oregon. In Wisconsin forty Madison police officers served as honor guards for Sergeant Brennan's funeral services and he received full military honors.
The Web site legacy.com posted an obituary from the Idaho Statesmen which notes Joshua Brennan was born May 30, 1985 in El Paso, Texas. Joshua is survived by his mother, Janice (Jason) Gates; father Michael (Michelle) Brennan; brother Robert; sisters Jessica, Brooke, and Courtney of Oregon; sisters Christina and Brittany of Wisconsin; and, grandparents Chuck and MaraLee Stoffers, Victor Baker, Mary Ellen Brennan, Diane Richel, and Jim (Ann) Richel.
It is important to note the significant event connected to Sergeant Brennan's death: On the day of the battle, then Army Specialist Salvatore Giunta while pushing forward to repel the enemy assault, saw two Taliban fighters dragging the wounded Brennan away. Giunta killed one fighter and wounded the other. Giunta immediately moved Brennan to cover and began first aid. Brennan was evacuated to Asadabad, Afghanistan, where he died of his wounds the next day. For his actions, Giunta became the first living United States military service person serving in an ongoing conflict to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Now a Staff Sergeant, Giunta was presented the Medal of Honor by President Obama at the White House on November 16, 2010 for his actions on the battlefield.
Sergeant Joshua Brennan was the 10th Wisconsin military service person to die in Afghanistan since October 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
99,383 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,828 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,436 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1462 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
841 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,127 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,140 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
103 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
27 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
145 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
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