Photo By Staff Sgt. Patrick Caldwell | Capt. John Qualls (right), a personnel officer with the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – American small towns are often distinguished by their similarities.
Each community radiates parallel ethics but also defines itself by its own personality, and Capt. John Qualls can recognize those unique distinctions easier than most.
Qualls, the personnel officer for 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, grew up and still lives in Heppner Ore., a hamlet of about 1,600 people. While he said there are items that separate each small town across the arc of rural Oregon, he also said there is a common current that flows through the 3rd Bn. from those tiny settlements.
“We are all from a similar area,” he said. “Our morals, our families are similar. We probably played against each other in sports. We have a lot in common.”
Those small-town values play a crucial role in the 3rd Bn.’s success in Iraq, Qualls said.
“We’ve brought all these values of those little towns and applied them here,” he said.
Like a large percentage of the 3rd Bn., Qualls is no stranger to Iraq. He served as a platoon leader in the battalion when it deployed to northern Iraq in 2004.
He admitted there is a big difference between his job in 2004 and his work as the battalion’s personnel officer now.
“Last time, obviously, the threat level when you left the [Forward Operating Base] was much higher,” he said.
Now Qualls, who is entering his 14th year of military service, sits at a desk at battalion headquarters. Yet the two jobs, platoon leader and personnel officer, are not mutually exclusive in terms of importance.
If a 3rd Bn. solider goes on leave, he can thank Qualls and his personnel staff. If a solider is injured, Qualls knows about it. And, if a solider encounters pay problems, it is Qualls and his team in the personnel shop who fix it.
“I’m responsible for all the personnel; awards, injuries, leave, all the pay, anything you’d associate in the civilian world to a human resources job,” he said.
Like his first tour, though, Qualls said he faces stress. The tension, though, is different than what is normally associated with command of a platoon.
“I worry about everyone getting leave,” he said.
In the civilian world, Qualls works at the Bank of Eastern Oregon. He manages a group of loan officers as well as his own portfolio.
“[My employers] have been great all through this,” said Qualls, who graduated from Heppner High School in 1995, said those small town connections followed him to Iraq.
Not long ago, he received a letter from one of his former customers. The letter talked about the customer’s grandson who hit a home run in the high school baseball quarterfinals.
“They’re thinking of me, even while I’m over here,” Qualls said.
Qualls said his reason for joining the Army National Guard 14 years ago were simple ones.
“I wanted to do something for the country. Something bigger than myself. I knew I had to give back something,” he said. “We’re proud of the heritage we have in Eastern Oregon and of the battalion’s hard work and dedication.”
One thing Qualls said he could never get used to is leaving his family for a year. While he said soldiers sacrifice when they deploy, families pay a high price too.
“I’d say families sacrifice more than we do,” he said. “They don’t have us there to help with the kids. For children it is hard as well. The lack of having a parent there is probably the biggest sacrifice of the war.”
Qualls said this deployment demonstrated strength not only in his ability to lead but also his capacity to overcome challenges.
“[The deployment] has made me more resilient as far as spending time away from my family,” he said. “I think we all have a greater appreciation for family to the point we won’t take them for granted.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2011 02:46 |
| Story ID: | 72755 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 252 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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