Jane Wayne to the Rescue

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Edge | U.S. Army Spc. Gadiel Rosario, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, adjusts the Advanced Combat Helmet for his spouse Yashira Rojas for the Jane Wayne event held at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., Nov 15, 2013. The Jane Wayne event was an opportunity for the military spouses to take a more in depth look at what their spouses do on a daily basis and to get to know each other. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. David Edge)  

FORT POLK, LA, UNITED STATES

11.27.2013

Story by Sgt. David Edge 

4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

FORT POLK, Louisiana — Grenades were thrown, bullets flew through the air, but it was not soldiers on the attack but their spouses during an event called Jane Wayne, Nov. 15, 2013. The 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, hosted this event to allow the 2nd Battalion spouses to get acquainted with each other and get a working knowledge of their husband’s jobs.

To begin the daylong event, spouses went to the firing range where they received training on the M9 handgun, M320 Grenade Launcher, M500 Shotguns, M4 Carbine, and hand grenades.

“At the range I got to shoot all kinds of guns. My favorite gun was the M4,” said Daniela Ruano, wife of Spc. Brian Ruano, Company F, 2nd Battalion.

One of the soldiers said he was not expecting his wife to be up to the challenges presented at the event.

“I’m very proud of my wife. When she was shooting the M-9, she surprised me. I did not realize how good of shot she was with that weapon,” said Ruano. “It was kind of scary, that she had such accuracy with the M9.”

The wives were then put on the back of several light medium tactical vehicles and transported to the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer building for vehicle roll over training.

“I’m jealous because he always gets to do cool stuff at work. My husband has been really excited about this Jane Wayne event, that way he could show me some of the things that he gets to do at work. It’s nice to know what he is doing,” said Monica Lehman-Croft, wife of Pfc. Louis Croft, Company B, 2nd Battalion.

The third and final event of the day was held at the Fort Polk’s air assault obstacle course. The couples competed as a team for this timed event. For safety reasons most of the obstacle course was closed to the spouses. The teams were allowed to participate in five events.

Spc. Brian Ruano and his wife Daniela ran the fastest time of the day.

“Today was awesome. I think we wives can better appreciate what our husbands do, now that we have an idea of what they go through and the Meals Ready to Eat aren’t bad, but I would never want to eat them every day for three weeks,” said Yashira Rojas, wife of Spc. Gadiel Rosario, Company F, 2nd Battalion. “Today was fun but I know that his job is not always fun. The responsibilities are huge and I do appreciate what he is doing because I know that he is doing this for his family and he is also doing this for his country.”

• Date Taken: 11.27.2013
• Date Posted: 11.26.2013 23:58
• Story ID: 117441
• Location: FORT POLK, LA, US