105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Courtesy Story

by Spc. Claudia K. Bullard
105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Standing tall, right hand raised, Staff Sgt. Clay Moeller and fellow U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Soldiers reaffirmed their enlistment oath before United States Army Reserve Forces Commanding General Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly in a ceremony at Kandahar Air Field (KAF), Jan. 23.

Moeller and 24 men and one woman from approximately five different units took advantage of the opportunity to sign for individual re-enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000 and another three to six years of service. The Soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to Senior Retention and Transition Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), Master Sgt. Gregory Jacobs, most of the Soldiers he re-enlists receive the $7,500 or $15,000 bonus the USAR is giving to those who re-up for three to six years. Jacobs said the Soldiers receive the bonus as a lump sum payment in the combat zone making it tax-free. That, however, is not the only reason these Soldiers are extending their service in the USAR.

"I'm planning on staying in. This is something I believe in," said Moeller, of Kansas City, currently on his second deployment as a surgery technician and combat medic for Task Force 325th. His first deployment was to Bosnia-Macedonia in 2000.

With nine years in the Army, Moeller, 31, is a United Postal Service supervisor in Lenexa, Kansas and works as a sheriff's deputy for Pottawattamie Co., Kansas. "My first deployment UPS was kicking and screaming," said Moeller. "This one they said, "Hey, just call us when you get back." They're more understanding now, probably because they've had so many f their employees called up."

During the ceremony, Helmly praised the Soldiers saying, "Often service is fraught with frustration and danger but it is also filled with pride and distinction. Not only have you stepped up to the plate the first time but you've stepped up to the plate again."

He dubbed the Soldiers heroes for re-enlisting in a combat zone. "This goes beyond bonuses and recruitment," he said. "It is a simple fact that these Soldiers have found something more than money."

Finding the USAR fit his long term goals and his love for the military, Staff Sgt. Lidel Cordero, 45, has served for 17 years and through three deployments. Standing proudly before Helmly during the re-enlistment ceremony, Cordero said he was going to continue serving until his retirement.

A supply sergeant for B Co, 926th Engineers located in Birmingham, Alabama, Cordero has made the type of sacrifice many Americans think of when they hear the word veteran. He has re-enlisted during times when bonuses weren't always plentiful and deployed on operations receiving little recognition in textbooks. For example, Cordero, of Chicago, Illinois, served in 1989 in Operation Just Cause"a mission to capture and deliver Panamanian leader and drug trafficker Manuel Noriega to justice"yet Cordero remains true to his service. "I love it," he said. "The Army has been good to me."

During the re-enlistment ceremony, Helmly recounted a story that exemplified what he thought serving meant to him. At dawn in a combat zone, he noticed two Soldiers walking with their heads turned away from him. When he approached them, one of them said, "We thought you didn't want to talk to us." The two Soldiers, a cook and supply technician, had brought a hot breakfast to the troops but didn't feel their positions were of much importance. Helmly said he told them their actions were commendable and compared his service to theirs: "All I did was come out; I didn't bring the troops anything to eat or drink; I just came out to bother them."

Later, at Tripler Army Hospital, Helmly said he awarded a young Soldier a purple heart. The Soldier, who was badly burned, told Helmly he had taken the time to speak to him and his buddy on a firebase in the early dawn. The Soldier, unrecognizable to Helmly, said, "My buddy was really happy. You were the first general he ever talked to." His buddy had been killed.

Helmly said, "If he had told me, "you walked by us and didn't come shake our hand," I couldn't have lived with myself."

Whatever the reasons for re-enlisting, personal or financial, they are all patriotic, and the reserve Soldiers at Kandahar Airfield exhibit that patriotism as they take an oath which allows them to continue serving their country.

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