Army Sgt. Jack Cormack of the 362nd Military Police
Battalion, Ashley, Pa., uses a speed gun to track speeders on Logistics Support
Area Anaconda, Balad, Iraq. The bullet hole in the unit's patrol car came from
a shot fired from outside the camp perimeter while Cormack was on patrol. Photo
by Master Sgt. Jack Gordon, USA
(Click photo for screen-resolution
image); high-resolution image
available. |
That's how Army Reserve Sgt. Jack Cormack of the 362nd Military Police Battalion
sees his service, dating back to 1971. He said he enlisted then instead of
waiting to be drafted, perhaps have more control over his destiny in green.
Today, some of the much younger 362nd soldiers call Cormack "Pappy."
"They kid me about being in so long," Cormack said. "I was in before some of my
boys were born I call them my boys, but they're men
every one of them.
Sometimes they call me 'Grandpa,'" he mused.
Like the rest of the unit's soldiers, Cormack performs patrols every day within
Anaconda's perimeter. Anaconda, the hub for distribution of material and
supplies in Iraq, is home to some 23,000 soldiers.
Cormack said the patrolling isn't always uneventful. He recalled a recent night
when a round whizzed past his head. Ballistics examiners determined that the
hole in his vehicle's glass was indeed made by a bullet.
"Some nights are so quiet you'd think you were back home in Pennsylvania or
West Virginia," Cormack said, "and other nights
it gets pretty interesting."
Cormack still recalls his "early" training for being a soldier came from his
Boy Scout leader, who also recruited him into the Army.
Cormack said the Scout leader "had us looking like a bunch of miniature
Rangers: Every piece of camping equipment we had was government-issue surplus,
down to the entrenching tool. We had web belts everything!"
Cormack completed basic and advanced training for an infantry assignment at
Fort Polk, La., where he also qualified with the mortar and 90 mm recoilless
rifle.
His first assignment was with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and within
months found himself in Thailand, where his unit was assigned as a security
force for the 7th Air Force. Cormack's service during the next year in Southeast
Asia is something he keeps close, but it isn't because he can't remember it.
"I look back on that period as the Army's darkest days the public wasn't
behind the army like it is today," Cormack said.
He contrasted the early 1970s perception and awareness of military service to
that of today. "When I went to Ashley, Pa., I was shown patriotism like never
before," he said. "The people of Ashley will remain as my 'other' hometown for
as long as I live. It's something I didn't experience in the early days. If I
get Alzheimer's, that's the one thing I hope would keep repeating itself. I
hope the good Lord never lets me forget that."
Cormack said he's glad to see soldiers today "getting their due" from America.
In fact, when he was returning home on rest and recuperation leave during his
Iraq deployment, he was moved into a first-class seat on the final leg of the
long flight, and was presented with a set of wings from the collar of a Delta
pilot.
"He said he had 28 years with Delta and he remembered the old days," said
Cormack. "I couldn't take off my sewn-on rank, so I gave him a bill with Saddam
on it, from the old money."
Before being called to duty again for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Cormack served
as a "Hometown Hero" recruiter during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
in the early 1990s. The taste of military life again was enough to rekindle his
interest. After his tour, he joined the Army Reserve and was assigned to the
492nd Replacement Company in Beaver, W.Va.
After a few more unit changes, he served a year in Bosnia in 1996-97 with the
335th Military Police Battalion. His law enforcement experience with the
Department of Public Safety made his training as a military policeman much
easier, he said. He graduated in the top 10 percent of the class.
Cormack enjoys his role as the old soldier in the 362nd, and is always ready to
crack a joke to maintain the morale of his troops. He is proud too, to still be
serving
again.
"I've seen a lot of 'em come and go," Cormack said. "I remember 'Two-Dots
Running,' a young cadet. I raised him up he's a captain now and I'm proud of
that. These young men have really shown me what an American soldier the new
American fighting man
is all about. It is a world of difference I've seen
a lot of changes."
Before his mobilization for OIF, Cormack was content as owner of "Mad Jack's
Cycle Dreams," a Harley Davidson dealer and motorcycle repair shop, in Beckley.
(Army Master Sgt. Jack Gordon is assigned to the Public Affairs acquisition
team, Army Reserve Command.)
 | Army Sgt. Jack Cormack of the 362nd Military Police Battalion,
Ashley, Pa., communicates with contract drivers entering Logistics Support Area
Anaconda, Balad, Iraq. Photo by Master Sgt. Jack Gordon, USA
|
 | High resolution photo
|
 | Army Sgt. Jack Cormack of the 362nd Military Police Battalion,
Ashley, Pa., prepares for yet another perimeter patrol around Logistics Support
Area Anaconda, Balad, Iraq, the largest concentration of support equipment and
material in Iraq. Photo by Master Sgt. Jack Gordon, USA
|
 | High resolution photo
|
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