PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Being away from family and friends can be hard for military members deployed around the world, but as two Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktya members found out, home is never far behind.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Hert and U.S. Army SPC Marya Wolfe, both PRT civilaAffairs members deployed to Paktya province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, are from small-town Sheboygan, Wis.
Little did they know that they had so much in common.
“We had never met each other prior to this deployment,” Hert said. “It wasn’t until we started talking in our office we discovered we are from the same hometown and graduated from the same high school.”
Hert and Wolfe are both graduates of South High School in Sheboygan, Wis.
“I couldn’t believe that I met, let alone work with, someone from the same town and high school as I,” Wolfe said.
Hert is a 1976 graduate of South High School and joined the military directly out of high school.
“I graduated halfway through my senior year,” Hert said. “By the time all of my fellow classmates we’re graduating, I was through basic training and stationed at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio.”
Wolfe is a 1987 graduate of South High School, where she participated in cross country, choir and was part of the ‘Self High Singers’ student jazz group.
Civil affairs is a career field in the U.S. Army comprised of mostly U.S. Army Reserve members. They support the units mission primarily by advising the commander of developments related to the civilian population of a given area.
“Being reservists, we’re able to draw from our civilian job skills and experiences,” Hert said. “I personally served two terms as an elected county board supervisor in Winnebago, Wis., which has helped me give advice to my commanders in past deployments.”
Hert has served two tours in Iraq and most recently had a deployment to Africa.
Wolfe is currently serving on her first deployment.
“All the support from back home really means a lot,” Wolfe said. “Having Lt. Col. Hert here from the same town really makes all the things and people I miss the most seem that much closer.”
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2011 01:28 |
| Story ID: | 75754 |
| Location: | PAKTYA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Deployed members discover a small hometown in common, by Wesley Farnsworth, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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