'3 Geronimos' spouses experience Soldier life for a day

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew Winstead
  • 4-25th ABCT PAO
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The cold justified the use of every single layer of arctic gear issued.

It was to be a full day of snowshoeing, jumping from a 34-foot airborne training tower, and shooting small arms at a military range.

There was just one oddity for this full day of training, it wasn't for the Soldiers to participate, it was for their wives.

On Jan. 14, 31 spouses from the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, met at the 3 Geronimo battalion headquarters for a day of military style training dubbed G.I. Jane Day.

The activities, normally conducted routinely by their husbands, were selected by the battalion to challenge the women as well as entertain them, affording them a chance to experience what their Soldiers go through on a regular basis.

The events began with a detailed morning class, given by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Lothspeich, of B Company, 3-509th, about cold weather awareness at their battalion headquarters, where the wives were taught about prevention of cold weather injuries and how to identify the warning signs.

A collective chuckle went up as the slide showing real world pictures of frostbite came into view.

Following the class, the wives fully suited up in a mix of civilian gear and their husbands' cold weather uniforms and broke down into four teams to conduct a competitive snowshoe foot march to their next objective, jumping out of the 34-foot Airborne training tower.

Lt. Col. Shawn Daniel, the battalion commander of 3-509th helped to encourage the visiting spouses as they mustered the courage to leap from the tower.

While two jumpmaster qualified Soldiers from within the battalion, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Goodart and Staff Sgt. Kyle Romohr, ensured maximum safety during the tower operation.

"You don't have to jump if you don't want to, this is just for fun," Daniel said with a grin as a wife hesitated at the door. "But between you and me, this is something you'll remember forever if you do it."

With a little more encouragement and a few friendly jeers from her husband in civilian clothing below, the wife exited the tower and screamed out a loud... "Geronimo!"

Following the tower, the wives were transported to the Biathlon Range by large military transport vehicles called light medium tactical vehicles.

Once there, they broke for a quick MRE lunch.

"I can't believe you guys eat this stuff," said one of the wives to her husband as she struggled to finish her egg and cheese omelet meal.

As the teams finished their food, they were introduced to the next leg of their adventure, dragging a loaded Ahkio sled down and back up a steep frozen hill.

After gaining the experience of moving an Ahkio sled uphill, the women were taken to the shooting portion of the day and allowed to fire M-4 carbines, and M-249 Squad Automatic Weapons.

Their husbands and other members of HHC, 3-509th, under the guidance of Capt. Robert Heidt, the executive officer for HHC, watched closely to make sure safety procedure was followed and assess their shooting ability.

Once the wives had fired a carbine, they were given a belt of linked 5.56-mm ammunition and allowed to fire from the SAW machine gun.

Lying belly down in the prone position, the women were coached on how to operate the weapon effectively and fired off their 50-round belt of ammo in five-to seven-round bursts.

Dena Daniel, the wife the 3-509th commander, helped to come up with the idea of G.I. Jane Day with her husband.

"I wanted to do something with the women of the unit like we used to do at other duty stations we've been at," Dena said.

"Fort Benning had the 'Downey Mile' and I really think it helped improve the morale of both the wives and their husbands.

Especially once they were able to experience firsthand exactly what their husbands go through in a given work day."

The battalion has already experienced some positive feedback on its Facebook page.

"I had so much fun at GI Jane day," posted Bailey Binning, one of the wives who partook in the events.

"Thank you for that amazing experience. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the other wives as well as to get a unique glimpse at what my husband does.

I have a new appreciation for everything servicemen and woman do. Thanks again!"

Pleased with the apparent success of the day, the battalion plans to use the additional motivation and freshly obtained understanding of military operations to further improve morale and communication between its Soldiers and their spouses.

Activity days like G.I. Jane Day are hosted to serve several purposes like entertainment and friendship strengthening as well as to develop the communication bonds, trust, and familiarity with officials in the unit which will ease the transition processes when deployments come around again.