Photo By Michel Sauret | Staff Sgt. Gary Thompson, platoon sergeant for the 203rd Trans. Company out of Arden...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT IRWIN, Calif. – “You can’t keep a good man down” is a well-known phrase and apparently “You can’t keep a good man out,” either.
Staff Sgt. Gary Thompson, platoon sergeant for the 203rd Transportation Company out of Arden Hills, Minn., retired from the Army Reserve after 27 years of military service in August 2004, but would not stay in the shadows forever.
Thompson had been injured on a mission in September 2003 when he was convoy commander for the 353rd Transportation Company hauling fuel in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thompson said that while dismounting from his vehicle, he jarred his back and injured the sciatic nerve in his hip, leaving numbness in his right leg and extreme pain in his lower back.
Thompson continued on with the mission quietly and returned with his unit in December 2003. Over a period of time, he did receive treatment at his local Veteran’s Affairs Hospital at Fort Snelling, Minn., and although he was not medically forced out of the service, he found he could no longer physically perform to Army standards, so he chose to retire when his contract was up.
“The doctors and staff at the VA were very busy, yet they still scheduled me expeditiously and were very professional and courteous. They alleviated much of my physical discomfort, but there was still too much pain to continue and it hurt to think my military days were over,” said Thompson.
Life goes on.
Thompson was adapting to his new life as a civilian when he met Colleen Kenney, a “highly competitive and health-conscious woman who was also a veteran.” But before they would marry, she returned to the Army Reserve after her own twelve year break in service because she couldn’t live with Thompson “without a patch on her right arm.” She is now Staff Sgt. Colleen Thompson of the 407th Civil Affairs Battalion, but she is still waiting to put that combat patch on her arm.
Thompson continued his own strive for excellence in health and fitness. Having exhausted the limits of standard medical care, Thompson sought alternative health care methods for his injuries and was able to find them in the Team Health Center in Champlin, Minn. During just a short period of months, chiropractic care completely eliminated his residual lower back pain, removed the numbness in his leg and restored him to the health he had prior to his injury.
“I never thought I would be able to feel that way again,” said Thompson.
Already retired, Thompson could have found many exciting things to fill his time. But armed with his renewed health, Thompson said that he, like his wife, was also highly competitive and was “driven to return to service for a number of reasons.”
For one, he had never attained the rank of sergeant first class.
“That had been an important goal for me. I also didn’t like the fact that a major reason for my retiring was an inability on my part to keep up,” he said.
For another, much of his family was in the service. In addition to his wife Colleen, also in the military are his twin sons Jared and Jory, Jared’s wife Tara, and Colleen’s children Michael and Stefanie Maza.
Thompson had restored health and proper motivation, and then came the light in the darkness.
“When I heard that a new Army Reserve transportation company was being formed in the area, I jumped at the chance to track down the forming unit,” said Thompson.
Thompson also knew if he found the unit, they would be interested in him.
“I have had a variety of jobs in the service from naval instructor and submarine sonar technician for the Navy, to truck driver and instructor for the Army. Seasoned non-commissioned officers in transportation in the Reserve are hard to recruit and it was the right opportunity at the right time,” said Thompson.
He was ready, but it would take him more than ten months to get through the red tape to officially get back in.
“The administrative process took a long time because of my lengthy break in service and fairly unique set of circumstances, but I never had any doubts along the way as to my decision to come back,” said Thompson.
And so in late May, after a nearly six year break in service, Thompson was able to emerge from the shadows and step out into the light to enlist one more time. The 203rd Trans. Company pinned his stripes back on and immediately put him a leadership role when he volunteered to attend annual training at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., with his new unit.
Thompson said he is glad to be able to be back in a position to share his experience with younger soldiers and has found his return to be everything he imagined it would be and more. Thompson also said he is very thankful for his return to good health and considers it to be quite gratifying to be able to, as he put it, “keep up with the young bucks.”
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2010 11:39 |
| Story ID: | 54402 |
| Location: | FORT IRWIN, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, From Out of the Shadows: Reservist steps into NTC training after six year break in service, by SGT Bob Timney, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
