Patricia Neeland in 2005, at her home

Patricia Neeland manages a career as a social worker and takes care of six foster children, as well as her own two children, all while being a member of the National Guard. An officer now, with the rank of major, she began her military career as an enlisted person. She has had many accomplishments in her short fifty years of life. During our interview, she confidently told her story over the background noise of her many children.

My dad was Charles and my mother Mary, and I have a brother named Robert. [My earliest childhood memories are]* pretty basic. You know, my parents were married fifty-five years; it was a pretty stable marriage. So basically, it’s a pretty ho-hum childhood. You know my better memories would be of my grandmother's in Independence. She lived by the zoo in the park, but I'd say a pretty stable childhood.

I didn't [protest Vietnam]. I was a teenager during Vietnam. Now, I had friends killed in Vietnam, but it was just as a civilian. But I think that it was just a real crazy time growing up because that was during the civil rights movement. Living up by Kansas City, at night they would have, uh, curfews, and there were a lot of riots going on. So, it was just a real crazy time. And then, let me say, that opposing the war was like-- if you were young you opposed everything. You opposed old people, I mean it was almost a whole time of revolt. Just, hard to describe it. You know, that's when they had dress codes in school; and I remember kids revolting against the dress codes. Now, you couldn't wear jeans when I was a kid to school. But it was just a time of people challenging rules and structure. The world was apart on everything.

[I'm married to] John Bozich. In 1988 I worked in the same place he worked, [in] De Soto, Kansas. We both worked at a residential center for children. I have two children. I have Kirsten who is thirteen, and Seth is eleven, their last name is Nemecek. I was married previous to my marriage to John. I've only been married three months [to John]. Yeah, we were married for four days, and that’s when I went to [hurricane] Katrina. [I've been a foster parent] probably about ten years. I have, eight kids [counting my own children]. They were born after I was in [the military], so that's all they've known. Sometimes my son resents [it], like when my drill weekend is [when] he's got an activity; and his last two birthdays I haven't been here.

I went into the military late in life; I was thirty years old—twenty-nine exactly. I was going back to school to get my masters, and I thought I would join the reserves, and do that concurrently with the reserves. I already had a bachelor’s degree. My parents were very much against it. They weren't very supportive of me, as a female in the military; but once I was in, they became very supportive of me. I'm still in the military; I've been in it twenty-two years now. My dad was in World War II. He was a bombardier on B-24. Navigator, I guess, also a navigator.

So, I started out in the military as enlisted. Although I had a degree, I went in enlisted, and I was a medic. Then, when I finished my master’s degree, I took a direct commission as a social worker. So, I've been a social worker with the infantry division for about eighteen years. I went through basic, enlisted training for eight weeks; and then I went another eight weeks as a medic. Now they have changed that so that people who go in as a medic become EMT qualified; but I became an officer as a social worker so that didn't apply to me. My unit is in Springfield, Missouri. Its a medical unit, we are a main support hospital unit; and we've recently reconfigured under troop command. So now, we're a smaller medical unit. Right now we just changed [our name]. Right now we're the 206 ASMC. We used to be company E seven, thirty-fifth MSB. We just changed like a couple months ago. We're the 206, under troop command.

There's been a lot of memorable moments. You know, I train two weeks out of the year since we’re a medical unit. We really do medical support. It has given me the opportunity to see things I may not have seen. A couple years ago we supported the engineers in South Dakota; so, I got to see Mount Rushmore. I got to see Crazy Horse monument; things that I otherwise would [not] have traveled to see. One year I was in Tombstone, Arizona because we were at Fort Huachuca; so, I got to see the OK Coral. One year, we were in San Francisco. We stayed right off of where the Golden Gate Bridge was; and so, there's been some interesting locations in the training.

The training has always been interesting because [we] just drive out in a convoy of trucks and then literally set up hospital units. At my last unit, we had an inflatable hospital. Everything folds up. Everything is really compact, even the operating tables, even the x-ray. Everything just folds up neatly, and just folds in a box. So its really kind of like a giant erector set; so, its kinda interesting when you get there.

[The best part of being in the military is the] camaraderie; I like the people I work with, I'm very close to them. Many of us have been in that unit for many years. A psychiatrist I work with, probably my best friend today, is one of the doctors there-- Jemma, she's a preventative med. officer. I guess, on the other hand, you know, if I were recruiting people there are great benefits for people just within the military, you know, educational benefits. I didn't use those because I already had a degree; but there are people in my unit who are able to get educations that they wouldn't otherwise probably had been able to. [The benefits are] probably one good thing about staying in twenty years. When I turn sixty-five I'll get a retirement check. At age sixty, I think I get health insurance, free health insurance, and then any of the better benefits-- VA loan. I haven't used it, but I do have veterans’ benefits. So if I retired now, I would still get those benefits.

The down side is when I was a single parent, you know, that was really difficult trying to manage because I'd have to drive a hundred miles and stay the whole weekend. But now, with John, he watches the kids and everything-- it's not so bad, but as a single parent, it was very difficult. I'm fifty now, and [being in the army] really takes its toll. I don't weigh a lot, the gear, every year it seems like they add more to it,[and] now a flack jacket . It’s, gettin' physically taxing at times. I just got back last month from New Orleans. Sleeping on the side of the road, sleeping in a cot in strange places. Its getting a little bit old. I mean, I know that I started [when] I was young, and going out to the field and putting up a few tents-- basically we set up everything: set up bath and medical treatment center and all that-- it’s very physically challenging. The bad part about being in so long is most of my long-time friends have retired out.

[New Orleans] was different. We knew from the news what was down there, but when we got down there-- it’s really strange to see a large city deserted. There were military guards throughout the entrances and exits, so there [were] no people on the streets. No people. We were downtown in the convention center, and I was debriefing with soldiers on search and rescue. Just the whole feeling of a city being deserted; it would be like nobody on the streets. You could walk down the streets-- no one. Downtown the damage wasn't so intense, but as we drove out to the outlying areas it was, it was just unbelievable.

When we went to New Orleans, people would stop us. They would show their appreciation to us. We would stop and drink, [and] they would buy us all cokes. They would, give you really positive feelings, just knowing what you should be doing and having the support of the locals.

[In the military] I don't see sexual harassment per se, but I still see bias; just like when we were in New Orleans there was bias. For example, we slept in the convention center, but at night the showers and the port-a- potties were outside the building; females of a certain rank could not go out without escort. At first, it was all females. So, I went and got the first sergeant and said, "So, when I get up in the middle of the night, do I wake you up to escort me?" Then they dropped it to where it was just a certain rank, but it was still females. There was no reason; there had been no sexual attacks. There had been no substantiated events to create that bias, but it was there! And the females really took offense to it. So when that was brought to the commander, it was addressed for future activities. [My superiors are] men; but I have had women superiors. A commander is usually with a unit only two to three years.

The pay is the same for everyone unless you are a specialty pay person, which it doesn't matter if you're female or male, if you qualify for that you would get it. I don't qualify for it. The people that qualify for that are generally your surgeons, your doctors; and in order to keep them in the military, they have extra pay during active duty. But during a drill weekend, we all make the same pay. But it depends on your time in years, and your rank; and so, it’s a formula. It’s pretty basic.

Actually I've never been activated other than New Orleans, and even though parts of my unit have, I've just never been activated. Although, you know, people I work with have been called out. So, I just think I'm lucky about not having to go so far.

[On an average weekend] I have additional duties; I'm in charge of the unit weight-control program, so anyone who's on that program-- overweight or out of compliance with army regulation. Basically, weighing them. I counsel them on nutrition, exercise, and, do all the necessary paperwork. I'm also in charge of the mess section-- food service. So, I make sure that we maintain compliance with those activities. And then, unactive I do mental health services. So, I would technically be like a therapist.

[Our uniform is] a basic combat uniform. I wear boots, LBE (load bearing suspenders)*, um, BEU (battery emergency unit), you wear in your ammo pouches. The water we now wear in camel packs, I don't know if you’re familiar with those. It’s like a backpack that just carries three quarts of water; it’s just got a hose on it. I think most of us now wear the battle dress uniform. The dress code's very stringent. You know, if one wears their sleeves down, everybody has their sleeves down. It’s just like the military, even though it’s the National Guard. But otherwise, you'd wear your canteen; and basically, it’s what every solider wears. I have class A's and B's which are your dress; but you don't wear them, maybe once a year.

Patricia Neeland’s uniform being displayed by her husband

We go through [worrying about going to Iraq]; where they-- stop unit. You know, where you can't leave. You go through that quite a bit. There's been several incidences where we've been close to activation, where they've activated part of us, and so you just deal with it. It’s part of being in there. And so instead of thinking, "Oh my God, I'm going," its not "if," it’s just "when."

[This war in Iraq] kind of reminds me of Vietnam. It’s not a war that's got support. You question why we're there. You question. Presumably weapons of mass destruction, and then there were no weapons. It just makes you wonder why we're into other people's business. And, and it seems like we're doing that a lot. Kosovo, Bosnia, and now Iraq, Afghanistan. Afghanistan I think I can understand more, we're there training their people.

I don't know that [the army has] changed me. I think it’s a good fit because I like work, and I like structure; and so I think we complement each other. [I don't know if I would do this again], you know, ‘cause there's been some times that have been real challenges. It's been a challenge in that it does take time away from my family. But I guess overall, it’s been a really positive experience, the military has done a lot for me.

There's just been a lot of different experiences, but the National Guard-- again I'll just stress-- that it’s basically, you know, state support. I'm not active duty. I've just been weekends; and so it’s a whole different concept than somebody who is active duty. See, I've never served active duty time. You know, some people do two or three years; I never did that. I've always been a reserve solider.

*[...] denotes words not said by the individual interviewed

*(...) denotes phrases added for clarity

Interview conducted by Lora Winters on December 3, 2005.