Tomorrow Magazine Veterans Day Special Issue, 2003

You could see
their anxiety,
wondering
what would
happen next.
Nadine Craig
U.S. Army, 1984–1987
Michigan Army National Guard,
1988–2001
U.S. Army Reserve, 2002–present
Sergeant First Class
Corporate Auditor, Detroit Axle
UAW Local 961
WNadine Craig as told
to S.C. Biemesderfer
When I joined the Army in 1984, I
suppose it was a career choice more
than anything. I was on full-time
active duty for almost four years.
Most of that time, I was stationed in
Colorado, working as a communications
and satellite systems technician
with the 124th Signal Battalion.
I joined the National Guard in 1988
and moved up to the rank of staff sergeant.
In 2002, I joined the Army
Reserve and was promoted to sergeant
first class. I knew at that time that
there was a real chance of being called
to active duty. And in December of last
year, just before the holidays, I was put
on alert that I might be activated. So
was my husband, who was also a
reservist at the time.
In March, I was called up. First, I
was sent to Camp Atterbury in
Indiana. I spent a month there training
to prepare Army trainers going to Iraq
in emergency care and first aid in the
field — everything from performing
CPR to applying a tourniquet.
About a week after the training,
I did a two-week rotation at Fort
McCoy, Wis., training people who’d
been activated to go overseas. That
was hard, working with the younger
troops. You could see their anxiety,
wondering what would happen next.
Sending people off to war is a tough
thing to do.
It was also tough being away from
home, especially since I have a 16-
year-old son. But everyone at work
was really terrific — they gave me a
going-away party and a plaque, and
named me March Employee of the
Month. That meant so much to me. I
was proud to be serving my country
— and proud to know I’d be coming
back to such a great group of people
at Detroit Axle.
✮
September 1998. U.N. Security
Council calls for ceasefire to end
civil war in Kosovo. NATO takes
steps to intervene.
1998 1999 2001
1998. Daimler-Benz and
Chrysler Corporation merge.
June 1999. NATO moves
peacekeepers into Kosovo.
Sept. 11, 2001.
Terrorist attacks in
New York, Washington, D.C.,
and Pennsylvania.
Kosovo,
22 www.uawdcx.com
Bosnia,