Photo By Staff Sgt. Erika Whitaker | Staff Sgt. Christopher Foster, Transportation Management Coordinator,
523rd Movement Control Team. Photograph courtesy of Staff Sgt. Christopher Foster. see less
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Army Reserve noncommissioned officer succeeds under pressure in and outside the Army
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. – Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Christopher Foster has experienced plenty of pressure during his nearly 16 years as a Transportation Management Coordinator for the 523rd Movement Control Team in Michigan City, Indiana.
From planning and scheduling the worldwide movements of unit equipment and personnel to documenting and inventorying freight shipments, Foster likes his job despite the stress.
“The best part of my job is that we either get to see or are a part of the overseeing of movement in and out of a theater of operations,” said Foster. “Movement control teams can be one of the first groups in a theater and some of the last groups out to ensure movements go according to plan.”
Foster excels in stressful environments.
He was not intimidated to go to Basic Training when he was 17 years old.
“I joined the Army because it was always something I wanted to do, to serve,” Foster said. “I didn’t consider Basic Training stressful. I saw it as another life challenge I needed to complete. I was mentally prepared for the yelling drill sergeants and physically prepared for the work I would have to do. My parents, Greg and Lisa, raised me to believe that if I had a goal in front of me, then I needed to do whatever’s necessary to complete it.”
Foster was also inspired by his father to join the Army.
“I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps,” said Foster. “He was an Army Military Police Officer for four years and served as a civilian police officer for 30 years.”
Foster experienced a different kind of pressure in his civilian job as a firefighter and paramedic for the Kankakee City Fire Department in Kankakee, Illinois, but he still performed well in high-stress situations such as being part of a patient’s critical trauma care and delivering a baby.
Foster became a firefighter to help people.
“I do truly like helping people, usually in the worst times of their lives,” Foster said. “Probably one of the most rewarding things is bringing a person back through CPR, and being able to talk to their family, or going to see the person you brought back. I’ve helped birth about a half a dozen kids, and now I see those kids walk around town. The most recent one was a horrible accident where someone had to get trauma care and transported by Life Flight (to a specialized medical facility), but then I got to speak to that person because I didn’t think they would make it.”
Foster was already working in the medical field when he decided to become a paramedic.
“I have been in the medical field since 2013,” said Foster. “I started as a Certified Nursing Assistant then became an Emergency Medical Technician (Basic) and lastly, a paramedic.
Foster explained how he was able to perform well under pressure on his job as a firefighter and paramedic.
“You learn to be resilient,” he added. “You know your job and that you’re there to help people. After a few years of experience, you learn to stay calm. I think I use stress as motivation to make sure the tasks or missions given to me are completed. I always say, ‘Slow is smooth’ and ‘Smooth is fast.’ I use my military and life experiences to stay calm. My civilian job taught me to always remain calm in stressful situations because if I, as a leader, look stressed out, then the people under me may get worried or stressed out. So, I have to stay calm and ensure the mission gets completed.”
Foster also credited his wife Katelynn for supporting him in his careers.
“My wife stays at home with our two kids, and she’s with them 24/7,” said Foster. “Especially when I’m gone, and I can’t talk to them. She runs the house whenever I’m gone, and I know that everything will be alright.”
Foster also credited his parents for helping him be calm and productive under pressure.
“I guess I was raised ‘old school’ in not really getting stressed out,” Foster said. “Instead, you know that you must get this mission done or complete whatever task is given to you. You don’t have time to get stressed out. You just have to figure things out along the way.”
Finally, Foster encouraged those who were thinking about joining the Army to embrace the challenges they will face.
“Give it your all,” he explained. “If you want to do something, you must give it 100% and have pride in what you do.”
Although Foster acknowledged that military life was challenging, he stressed the advantages of military service.
“Besides gaining a career, the experience, life skills and education you obtain in the military can be very rewarding,” said Foster. “If you only enlist for four years, you can still say that you are in that one percent that signed the dotted line and served your country to make it better.”
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