Well, I did it!! On April 19th, I competed in the Combat Spouse Competition. The 4th Brigade spouses joined together to become “soldiers for a day”. We participated in the same testing that our husbands do as soldiers, including the physical fitness test (PT), Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT), the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST), Litter Carry, Drill and Ceremony, and the Combat Infantryman’s Test (CIT). It was a full day of work and training (not to mention the months of working out prior to the competition day).
The day began with the PT test. We completed all 3 of the components that the Army requires for its soldiers: a 2 minute round of push-ups (full-on…not girlie), a 2 minute round of sit-ups (not crunches), and a timed 2-mile run. I maxed out the pushups with a whopping 58 in 2 minutes! Overall, I scored a 283 out of 300 and earned the Army Physical Fitness Badge. Only 6 spouses competing that day achieved this goal. And amazingly enough…it was pointed out…that 2 out of those 6 were chaplains’ wives! My command spouse commented, “I thought chaplains’ wives were supposed to be sweet and soft.” Not this wife…
After the PT test, we broke up into groups by battalion to complete the rest of the events. Our first event was drill and ceremony where we were “trained” by an actual drill sargeant. He even made us drop and do push-ups because we “looked too happy.”
After drill and ceremony, our battalion moved to the MOUT exercise. We camo-ed up and got our weapons ready to clear a building of hostiles. My job was to clear the stairwell and keep it guarded. I was pretty tough on the lady coming back from the bathroom.
We also tried our hand at weapons qualifying using the EST, an indoor, electronic shooting range. We took 2 tests, firing at targets at varying distances and then took a test firing in an actual scenario. I think I did pretty well, all things considered. You have to score a 23 to qualify … I scored a 17.
The litter carry was probably one of the toughest things we did. We had to low crawl, under the wire (which for us was streamers tied across a portion of the field), secure our wounded, and then low crawl him back to the helo-pad. Let me tell you…that is not as easy as it sounds or looks. I could not ever get the hang of keeping my rear-end down, not kicking the person behind me, and dragging the stretcher all at the same time.
Last, we took the Combat Infantryman’s Test, a written test covering history of the brigade and each individual battalion, rank insignias, Army medals, historical Army dates, and a variety of other topics. We had been given a study guide prior to test day, so I did pretty well on that, missing only one or two questions.
Finally, each battalion competed against another in Tug O’ War in round robin fashion until one team was left standing. Our battalion’s Team 3 took 3rd place! After all the events were completed and scores tallied, we had a ceremony announcing the big winners…4-64 Armor battalion was the winner for the day.
It was what happened during that ceremony though that will stick with me for a long, long time. It just so happened that we were standing at the platform when 1700 hours came around. As soon as the notes for “To the Colors” began, LTC Colls, the rear detachment commander for 4th Brigade called out, “Present Arms!” Because we were still soldiers, we, alongside the rear-detachment soldiers who worked with us that day, saluted as the flag was lowered. I cannot tell you how much pride I had not only for myself for what I had accomplished, but for my husband and for this new Army life. After the flag was completely lowered and the last notes faded away, LTC Colls said this, “Today shows why we are not just Army, but why we are Army Strong!” I was overwhelmed! I finally felt like a real part of this Army Family.
This Combat Spouse Day taught me a lot about the Army, our soldiers, my husband, and myself. The Army is full of a prideful people…men and women who are proud to wear their uniforms, proud to salute their flag, and proud to defend our nation. Among those men and women stands my husband, who has done so much to follow God. The physical training, the education, the Army protocols, and the service to our soldiers…I am overwhelmed with pride in him and with all that he has accomplished. By participating in this Combat Spouse Day, I found a whole new respect for what all of our soldiers go through on a daily basis, whether they are deployed or at home. I felt like in some small way, by participating and really trying very hard to do my best that I helped S, that I encouraged him on his long journey back home, that I let him know that what he is doing is important to me. And I am no longer just his wife….I’m his Army Wife!
Choosing Life 
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