Changing uniforms in a life of dedicated service

Photo By Sgt. Rodney Foliente | Staff Sgt. Shane Bohns, Paladin howitzer gun chief, Headquarters and Headquarters...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. Rodney Foliente | Staff Sgt. Shane Bohns, Paladin howitzer gun chief, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, walks the line Apr. 20 in the staging area motorpool of the National Training Center, Fort Irwin. Bohns, from Cassville, Mo., and his fellow Soldiers of the Warhorse Brigade soon will go into "the Box," NTC's realistic and grueling two-week exercise as a preparation for an upcoming deployment. NTC simulates combat scenarios and challenges for training Soldiers prior to shipping out to Iraq or Afghanistan. The training also incorporates people from the two countries as role-players within the villages of the training event, teaching Soldiers cultural awareness as they learn how to work with the local people.  see less | View Image Page

UNITED STATES

04.21.2008

Story by Sgt. Rodney Foliente 

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

✔ ✗ Subscribe

19

By Sgt. Rodney Foliente
2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division

FORT IRWIN, Calif. – There are many brave Americans who stand out and wear a uniform as a symbol of their dedication and service to their country and its people: they comprise the Armed Forces, law enforcement officials, firefighters and other government officials.

Although the uniform serves as a reminder, symbol and source of pride, it is not the cloth but the heart that beats within which shapes their mettle.

Staff Sgt. Shane Bohns, Paladin howitzer gun chief, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, has worn the uniforms of two lines of service to this country: that of a Soldier and that of a policeman.

From Army greens to police blues to Army deserts and then grays, Bohns has worn them all proudly.

The 37 year-old from Cassville, Mo., first enlisted into the active Army in 1992 and served as a field artilleryman until 1995.

He said he was in college studying criminal justice to be a police officer. But he was young and reckless and wanted to get his act together.

"My dad was in the service," he began fondly. "It's always been in my mind to be in the Army and follow in his footsteps." But on the other hand, "I always wanted to be a cop since I was a kid," he said with a grin.

With such decisions to face, he joined the Army, which provided the discipline, financial assistance and a springboard to fulfill his other dream of being a police officer.

In 1996, he joined the Missouri State Police Academy and graduated the following year. He started as a K-9 officer before joining the multi-jurisdictional drug task force where he worked as an undercover narcotics agent and then a methadone lab investigator.

With a part of his mind still lingering on the Army, thoughts of additional retirement and the impact of 9-11, he joined the Army Reserves in 2001.

He was pulled from his police duties to be mobilized in 2003 to London, where he conducted terrorist investigations with the Royal Ministry of Defense Police.

After he came back home, he said he found his police position filled. Since he came back earlier than expected, his position slot wasn't yet open for him. Rather than waiting for it to re-open or finding another job, he decided to rejoin the Army full-time in 2005 and left the Reserves and police force.

"(My family and I) thought it would be a good move so we came back into the Army." He said he talks to all his Soldiers who are considering leaving the Army after their stint is over.

"Having been in the Army and then out, you see that it's tough in the outside world. You're not going to find another job that takes care of you and your family the way the Army does."

Shortly after reentering the Army, he deployed as a Paladin gunner and squad leader with 1st Infantry Division to Iraq and provided security for explosive ordnance disposal in Baghdad.

He admitted that there are hardships in the Army at war, such as being separated from his family during deployments. When asked about his upcoming deployment he said with no hesitation, "It's my job. Nobody likes to be away from family, but this is what I do. My wife loves the Army and supports our decision."

He has been married 11 years to his wife, Jenny, and they have two children: a 16 year-old boy, Jacob, and a 10 year-old girl, Ashley. He and his wife met right after getting out of the Army the first time. He does plan to leave the Army for a second time ... but only after he retires from it.

He said he's torn about his decision of leaving the Army in 1995.

"I regret getting out of the Army the first time, but I'm glad I got to do what I wanted to do." Not many people get a chance to work in two jobs they've dreamt of and loved.

Both jobs complemented each other, and what he learned in one benefitted the other, he said.

"Being in the Army gave me more discipline. Also, when you train in the Army, you take action when someone gives you something to do but you also learn to take initiative. As a police officer, it's a job where you have to take initiative to do the job right."

Being a policeman gave him greater leadership abilities. When he had to respond to a call as a policeman, "you have to take command of that situation. It gives you the confidence and the know how to lead. Wherever you're working, you're in charge of those people. That's you're job."

His past of dedicated service takes him to where he is now, a leader of Soldiers in the Army, with his current experience building upon his past experiences to make him even better.

In February he arrived at Fort Carson, Colo., to serve with his current unit. "I got here, with such short time before deployment to the National Training Center, but the unit gave me a lot of time to take care of my family and situate them. Any time that I needed, they gave it to me. It makes me feel better about the unit: that they're going to take care of me."

Even though he has only been with 3-16 FA for a short time, he said he has a good impression of his unit.

"The overall knowledge that the unit seems to have and the camaraderie within my unit gives me more confidence for coming out here and training with them for what is to come."

The 2nd BCT is currently at NTC, preparing and awaiting their rotation inside "the Box," which will conclude in the second week of May. Many servicemembers consider NTC as the 'gateway to deployment' for Iraq or Afghanistan. Although the Warhorse Brigade has received no official deployment orders, the BCT is getting ready for an upcoming deployment.

This is Bohns' second time to NTC since 1994. He remarked wryly that "NTC has changed a little bit since then."

He said he is ready to deploy wherever and whenever his country calls and is proud to serve, in this uniform or that.