Life these days for Janet Thompson, a member of the SIU-affiliated United Industrial Workers (UIW), is filled with joy. It is evident not only in the genuine smile she again wears on her face, but also in her outgoing cheerfulness, which for a spell was absent.
The senior pension processor, who works in the Seafarers Pensions and Death Benefits office in Camp Springs, Md., has returned to “her old self” because her son James “Jamie” Thompson is safely home and out of harm’s way. The 21-year-old U.S. Army Specialist returned to his home base at Fort Benning, Ga. July 16 following a 192-day deployment in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He spent the following week home with his wife, Melissa, his mother and younger sibling Jeffrey.
“I’m just so relieved to know that he is home and safe,” said Janet, who has been in the union for more than 20 years. “Now I don’t have to worry about him and whether or not he is all right.
“We’re all so thankful that he returned uninjured,” she continued. “Our prayers go out to all the other families across America and in allied countries who still have loved ones in Iraq. Our thoughts especially are with those who lost love ones during the hostilities.”
A fire support specialist (aka artilliary forward observer), Thompson is assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. His job entails going on patrol, locating enemy forces and then calling back their positions to the main element along with requests for various types of indirect fire (artillery, mortars, close air support) to dislodge them.
Jamie and his comrades arrived in Kuwait Jan. 8 and made final preparations for the mission at hand while other American and allied units (and equipment) arrived in theatre and established their predetermined positions. “We stayed in camps in various locations out in the desert when we first got in country,” recalled Thompson.
On April 5, while sitting in the vicinity of the Karbala Gap, Thompson—along with thousands of his other brothers and sisters in arms—received the order they had been anticipating: Advance on Baghdad.
Led by the 3rd Infantry Division, American and allied Forces spent the next four days moving toward Iraq’s capital city. They encountered major as well as minor battles along the way, paying for their advances with some loss of life and scores of casualties.
“This was my first experience with combat,” Thompson shared. “In a word, it was interesting, but there were still many moments of sheer terror. I belong to a Field Artillery unit, but during combat operations, my platoon and I were attached to an infantry battalion—that we fought alongside—to provide fire support. During this time, we were a part of the Headquarters Company, which consisted of over 250 personnel.
“We were all expecting it (Operation Iraqi Freedom) to be short like Desert Shield and Desert Storm,” Thompson continued, “but after the first couple of days we came to the realization that we were there for the long haul. We all were expecting a real fight . . . for the Iraqis to fight tooth and nail. That’s what we were expecting, but that’s not quite what we got.”
American and allied troops entered Baghdad on April 5 and ultimately took control of the capital city on April 9 as all major resistance collapsed. Saddam Hussein’s control was broken and the Iraqi people at long last were free.
“Once we were in Baghdad, it was kind of weird driving down the streets and having people cheer for you,” Thompson said. “Mothers were coming up and thanking you because their children could now grow up and live a normal life.
“It felt great knowing that we actually helped the Iraqi people out of a tough situation,” he continued. “We got rid of a dictator that has been oppressing them for a long time.”
Although he now is back at his home base, Thompson and his comrades likely will see duty again in Iraq. “It’s nice to be home, but I think I’ll eventually have to go back and participate in our ongoing peace-keeping mission,” Thompson said.
“It’s natural for relatives back home to worry about their sons and daughters in uniform when war breaks out,” Thompson concluded, “but I look at it as doing the job that the Army has trained me to do. I’ve been in for three years now and have three more to go before my enlistment is up. At that time, I’ll probably reenlist and make the Army my career.”
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