Capt. Terri Bradley administers the re-enlistment oath to
Sgt. Charles Hall, far right, and Staff Sgt. Jesse Prater at Fort Hood, Texas,
recently. (Courtesy Photo)
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.
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Prater said he always wanted to join the service because he grew up with an
uncle who was an Army Ranger. "He always talked about how much he loved the
service," Prater, a light-wheeled mechanic with Headquarters and Headquarters
Detachment, 546th Personnel Services Battalion, 64th Corps Support Group, 13th
Corps Support Command, said recently.
A single father, the Dallas native said, "The people I work with in the motor
pool have become family."
Prater re-enlisted recently with Sgt. Charles Hall, another battalion soldier.
The two men took their oath and then celebrated with a helicopter ride around
Fort Hood.
Like Prater, Hall said he always wanted to join the Army. "I feel it's an honor
to serve my country. I feel everybody should serve. It would give younger
people more responsibility, maturity and character," he said.
"Knowing my wife, Mary, and my family are safe, because of what I do," Hall
said, gives him great satisfaction, even though he admits it is difficult to
spend time away from his family.
Both men said professionally, the Army is teaching them how to be leaders.
"There are all kind of job skills to learn, not just mechanics," Prater said.
"It's the experience of leading others, learning how to deal with different
situations that's important," Hall agreed.
Hall and Prater said they recognized the importance of their jobs more fully
after deploying to Operation Iraqi Freedom. "We provide the power in the field
when we are deployed," Hall said.
"And as a mechanic," Prater said, "the Army doesn't move without the vehicles.
We keep the vehicles serviced, so we can help the battalion accomplish its
mission."
Their experiences overseas have left stories for both men to share with their
children. For Prater it was his first sight of the pyramids of Egypt. For Hall,
it was the 18-inch spiders in Kuwait.
(Tam Cummings is news editor for the Fort Hood Sentinel.)
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