Photo By Spc. Anthony Zane | Col. Gina D. Seiler, division surgeon, 36th Infantry Division of Marion, Texas, laughs...... read more read more
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BASRAH, Iraq – With more than 700 Texas National Guard soldiers deployed to Contingency Operating Base Basra, the chances of running into some Texas influences are about the same as passing a barbeque joint while driving through the Lone Star state.
A prime example on COB Basra is Col. Gina D. Seiler, division surgeon for the 36th Infantry Division.
The heat of Iraq and the desert sand isn’t the same atmosphere or terrain Seiler is used to on her farm in Marion, Texas. Nonetheless, she carries out her responsibilities during deployment with the same fortitude as caring for her family and farm back home.
In true Lone Star spirit, Seiler and her family have more than 80 head of cattle. Usually when she’s not working, she tries to help out with whatever needs to be done, whether it is mowing or hauling hay. Seiler does “anything to get out of house work,” she said with a boisterous laugh. At home, mowing is the big stress reducer for her, she added. She would get on the tractor or riding-mower, put on the iPod, and start mowing.
Riding around the farm on her tractor under the Texas sun is a safe place for Seiler to sing out her favorite tunes to her heart’s content. She is less bold while driving through downtown Marion in the car, where she will sing, but always with the windows rolled up.
Even without her life’s soundtrack playing in the background, Seiler moves about with vitality and a kind smile, as though her life was a musical.
“The energizer bunny has nothing on her,” said Master Sgt. Lotta Smagula, chief medical non-commissioned officer, 36th Inf. Div. “Believe it or not, she’s actually calmed down a lot since I first knew her and started working with her.”
Smugula has worked with Seiler for more than 10 years and says that Seiler’s priority has always been taking care of soldiers.
“Her number one concern has been, and always will be, looking out for soldiers,” said Smagula. “That’s one of the things that I most admire about her. I’ve worked for a lot of people, and unfortunately they have a tendency to be looking out for themselves first, and that is one characteristic that she does not have. She is always going to look out for that soldier first.”
Seiler has taken her passion for taking care of soldiers and made a successful career out of it.
“As the division surgeon, I have to oversee all of U.S. Division-South’s concept of health service support,” Seiler said. This means she tracks the medical assets to support over 9,000 soldiers in the nine provinces of Southern Iraq.
“It’s an overall collaboration to understand and know where all medical assets are, to ensure our soldiers have expedited medical care,” she said.
Seiler graduated from the University of Texas in San Antonio in 1984 with a bachelor of science in medical technology and already had the military on her mind.
“Well, I’m an Army brat to start with,” she said. “I was married and I was about ready to finish college, and I said, ‘You know, I’d like to go do something fun.’ I like the military, I grew up in it. So I talked to my husband,” she said. With his support, she joined the Texas Army National Guard in 1986.
Then in 2006, after finishing a two-year distance education program with the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., Seiler graduated with a master’s in strategic studies.
Even the high demands that come with being a colonel can’t wear down this rugged Texan. At the end of the day, Seiler finds time to relax in her own way.
In the evenings when the heat dies down, she likes to spend her down time painting murals on the concrete “T-walls” surrounding her containerized housing unit.
“Oh, I’m a T-wall tagger,” Seiler said with a laugh.
She and Smagula decorate the T-walls outside their CHU together with such Texas images as the cactus, the rattlesnake and the armadillo with the Lone Star beer. Also, the famous ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ and ‘Come and Take It’ logos, which are Texas symbols of freedom, proudly adorn the area outside their front door.
In addition to painting, she also relaxes with her roommate by watching movies projected on one of the T-walls, creating their own personal, outdoor theater.
“Believe it or not, I had never seen any of the Harry Potter movies,” said the mother-of-two with a grin, “So we started the Harry Potter series of seven … and I’m hooked.”
She uses these hobbies as a way to relax. Finding ways to relax and stay resilient are very important for soldiers during deployment, said Seiler. In addition to her primary responsibilities overseeing USD-S medical assets, Seiler said she is proud of her active role in the Lone Star resilience training.
The program focuses on soldier’s physical, social, emotional, spiritual and family well-being by teaching soldiers to recognize signs and symptoms of stress.
If they see these signs in their battle buddies, they learn to recognize them and learn how to deal with them, she said. Soldiers’ responses to the training have been very positive and they “get very pumped about it,” she added.
Seiler may not have had the Lone Star resiliency program when she began her career, but she attributes her own resiliency and success as an officer to the non-commissioned officers and staff she has worked closely with over the years.
“It’s absolutely imperative that you surround yourself with good NCOs, as well as a good staff,” she said. “They’re the ones that are going to make or break an officer, in my opinion,” she added.
Mentoring several lieutenants in the past, Seiler says her advice to them has been to find a good NCO and pick their brain, but to remember the difference between their lane and the officer’s lane. To Seiler, mentoring young officers is important because it helps them become strong leaders and reach their goals.
Whether she is mowing the grassy fields for the cattle at home or managing the medical assets for soldiers in the southern region of Iraq, it’s all about care-taking with Seiler.
“Always take care of your soldiers,” said Seiler. “If you take care of them, they will take care of you.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2011 06:14 |
| Story ID: | 74202 |
| Location: | BASRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 371 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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