1 50 1 https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/b8f89507e064a025be2474b9356bea19.pdf 9e0ba619f66ff2f7acac2b096bca332a PDF Text Text Nate McQueen Military History Interview: 05 OCT Appalachian State University, Boone NC ME: We r in Boone North Carolina at Appalachian state university my name is Nathan McQueen and I will be interviewing SFC bush for American military history oral history project ME: So sgt bush where were u raised SFC BUSH: I was rais~d in Germany, and Mississippi ME: and how did that affect your interest in the military at all? SFC BUSH: Well my father served 29 years in the army and I grew up a broad all over the world in military bases so that kinda influenced me in the fact that was the kind of life style I wanted to me a part of. ME: And when did you choose that you wanted to join the military? SFC BUSH : Early part of 1990, January bout January February 1990 ME: And have you been in continuously since then? SFC BUSH: I have, 22 years of total since ME: wow .... And which branch were u initially serving in? SFC BUSH: National Guard complete ME: Ok, So you have been in the National Guard the entire 22 years SFC BUSH: Yea, I enlisted as an m-day solider traditional. And then in 1993 I went active duty for the National Guard ME: Can you define m-day solider? SFC BUSH: m-day soldier is a traditional soldier; they perform duties part time for the National Guard. T~1ey serve one weekend a month and two weekends during the summer serve part time and that was my initial assignment and then in 1993 I had the opportunity to go active duty full time for the guard. ME: What made you want to pick this branch of service? �SFC BUSH: It just happened that way ...... there was no I mean there was no, it was just what was the most accessible at the time. ME: alright sounds good, sou mentioned that your father was ~!ready in the military. Was that one of the main factors for you wanting to join the military, or was it more for school? SFC BUSH: A lot of it had to do with my father, but some of it had to do with my current situation within the community. I wasn't headed in the so called right direction so it was basically I needed to do something to get out of town. And in the sense but I knew the military was something that would come in my path sooner or later and it did and I'm thankful for it now. ME: so when did you first go to basic training? SFC BUSH: 13 February 1990 ME: Can you describe some of your experiences while you were there? SFC BUSH: it was pretty good. I mean it's still basically the same concept as it is today. It was 8 weeks back then. I went to ft sill Oklahoma, so it was all male, we didn't have any females there. Strategically it was all combat arms so was no female recruits with us, it was all guys. It was a good times. Met a lot of cool guys, still talk to one of them. As a matter of fact, but overall it was a good experience, it gave me some motivation and direction and ... good foundation. ME: Are there any outstanding memories you have from there or is it just all pretty much a blur? SFC BUSH: No I remember a lot of it, 1 mean still today I can basically take you through basic training. But uh.. probably the most memorable would be the confidence course, it was rainy muddy and it was just a lot of fun we came in and we were just packed full of mud it took us 4-5 days to get everything clean. It was just a really really good time. ME: Can you describe what the confidence course was like SFC BUSH: It is an obstacle course basically it was what civilians would know as an obstacle course. Some of it requires team effort some of its individual part, but its different obstacles you had to maneuver. In a certain period of time, and it was just a lot of fun. Like I said the trenches under some of the obstacles were full of mud and water and it just made for a really really good time ME: I had similar experiences like that from basic training and its definitely memorable. SFC Bush: Those are the ones ... ME: Have you ever been deployed in your military career? SFC BUSH: I have, I have been deployed three different times. �ME: Where to during those ... ? SFC BUSH: I was deployed in 1990 to Desert Storm. I did most of my duty at Fort Hood because by the time we got ramped up and were certified to go across the water things had ended. It was basically a 100 hours war. We remained on active duty for about 7 months so that we could get our VA benefits and finish out training at NTC and places like that. Then in 2001 , 1 mobilized and when to Bosnia Herzegovina for a peace keeping mission, and spent 7 months there. And then in '05 I ramped up and when to Iraq in support of operation Iraqi freedom. ME: What was your initial MOS when you enlisted? SFC BUSH: Initially I was a 13F forward observer, basically I was the eyes on target, enemy target to call in artillery and destroy those targets . .ME: and have you changed MOSs or have you remained the same SFC BUSH: I am a 13 F ultimately but right now as a recruiter I'm a 79T which is recruiting duty ME: What kinds of duties did you perform while overseas? SFC BUSH: In desert stonn I was basically a pvt so it was whatever I was told to do. Worked in the artillery there as well I mean as a forward observer world I was a pion I was nobody as far as rank went. In 0 l I was a platoon sgt for an artillery cell that was in support of an infantry battalion and basically our duties there was to manage 28 weapons storage sites there in country. We keep track of the weapon·s whether or not they were moving them, when they needed to move then for training. All that had to go t through our cell. And we would do surprised inspections on those weapons storage sites it was probably one of the better deployments I've ever had because of the weapons systems I got to see and track and it was pretty cool. 05 I went back as a fire support guy, fires support NCO for the task force I was involved with. And basically our function was to acquire High Value Targets or high value target area. And provide artillery support for our forces on the ground ME: Did your unit suffer any casualties while you were deployed SFC BUSH: Yes ...... (long awkward pause) ME: Have you been a 13F the entire time? SFC BUSH: Well with the exception ofrecruiting duty I'm not a 13f per say now it's my secondary MOS but once I leave recruiting and go back to the field I'm always a 13 F ME: Have you been in the North Carolina National Guard the entire time, or. .. ? �SFC BUSH: Negative, I stated my guard career in Mississippi and then in 2008 I moved to North Carolina. ME: Have you been awarded any medals or citations in your service? SFC BUSH: A few, I cwn a ... I own 6 AAM and 5 RCOMs, overseas service ribbons, NATO service medal. Oh my gosh .. . ME: Can you define the first medal you said AAM? SFC BUSH: AAM, Army Achievement Medal it's for doing stuff that's above and beyond. Your normal duties, the RCOM is another one it's a little bit higher it's the same. Its going above and beyond the what your are required to do, setting the standard exceeding the standard and performing the duties above what is required of me and you get acknowledged for that and so I've strived myself to do that in my career. ME: You mentioned that your first deployment was mostly stateside how long were your overseas deployments. SFC BUSH: again I spent 7 months in Bosnia and I spent 5 months in Iraq so 12 months a year total time overseas ME: And what were your barracks and living conditions like overseas? SFC BUSH: In Bosnia it was nice we lived in a base camp that had what we call .... "Huds" they were wooden barracks, 4 men to a room, 4 men to a building and you know shower facilities everything was there mess hall, very nice, comfortable living. 05 in Iraq started out down south for about a month in what we call 2 man little uh .... Cans is what we called them. Basically 2 men in a little building looks like a conex it's been refurbished has air conditioning in the window wall locker, two beds, shower facility it was ok. But Then we moved up north we occupied a bombed out facility. Sand bags no shower facility no mess hall we basically ate "T rats" and MREs for four months and basically lived in a shit hole ME: And how did your morale differ between you and your troop between the two different. .. SFC BUSH: areas? ME: areas SFC BUSH: Down south we were really relaxed wasn't as stressful of an environment we weren't shot at. When we went up north and basically got into the so called fight in support of the 2°d Marine division up there it took a toll on you, I mean you were getting shot at almost daily you were constantly in firefights and we were losing guys and you know the stress level was heightened and we were we were, ya know basically fighting for our lives up there �ME: It must have been rough ME: And then you have the weather to deal with on top of that. I understand it really hot but can you just in some way describe the level of heat? SFC BUSH: Its difficult you know its 112-120 something during the day in a matter of an hour or 2 hours it drops down to 80 something degrees at night. But people think that 80 is not that cold but when you drop 40 something degrees in an hour's time it takes a toll on your body it's a shock so you have to be prepared for both. I mean again 80 degrees doesn't seem that cold night but when you drop that drastically that fast in temperature and your body has been hot all day you have to be prepared for that. ME: I'm sure it would be a shock for your system there ME: When you were deployed how did you keep up with your family? SFC BUSH : The most recent deployment in OS technology has caught up with to so Skyping and email and things like that are very accessible, in certain areas. We had one small computer lab that eventually got established up there where we were so it was 4 computes and you kinda basically rotated in when you could. But always back to the good ole pen and ink, You know, paper and a pen and writing letters, care packages and things like that. M E: So what kind oflasting relationships have you developed with people that you've been in the military with? SFC BUSH: I have I got some good lifelong friends. I have one in individual we have been serving with since we both joined. He's actually in active regular army now. He is a recruiter out in Arizona but he's basically what I would call a life friend. I could pick up the phone any day of the week and he would be there, same for him. Kids I've put in the guard I've kept up with to see them graduate college and move on into the real world or to out to active duty. It's been for me to its been good for me to know that I helped them accomplished that. It's been a good expenence ME: What has your interaction been like with the officers in your unit? Good, bad or all the above? SFC BUSH: For the most part pretty good you know every now and then and I'm sure it goes for us as well it is what you make of it, for the most part most of my leadership has been pretty good throughout out my care rive only had maybe one or two officer that I just couldn't get along with. Or just didn ' t fit with so to speak, for the most part most of my leadership has been pretty good ME: Would you say the same about your subordinates or has that been more of a challenge dealing with them? �SFC BUSH: I would hope that my example in leading by example I would hope that they could say the same about me, that you know having watched SGT Bush and learned from him I was influential or played a significant part of their lives as well and that's what I strive to do to lead by example. ME: As an ROTC cadet I will be a future officer here what kind of advice would you have for me progressing through my career as an officer? SFC BUSH: Take care of your people. I can't stress that enough it's probably the most important. Get to know your people. Understand the way they think so u can know them and learn how to plug them into critical tasks. Utilize their skills and assets, is probably the most important thing as a leader, first line leader especially, Is knowing your individuals and what they are capable of and learning how to utilize them, but definitely take care of them is the ultimate. ME: That's definitely good; do you have anything else you would like to add in closing? SFC BUSH: No, it's just. ... Proud of what I've done, I Jack a little bit for retirement so I'm very proud of my career and consider it to be pretty accomplished in my yes anyway and that's what matters to me, but just thankful for the opportunity of serving my country. ME: Well we definitely all appreciate it too thank you for your time, this concludes the interview. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project Description An account of the resource Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers. Copyright Notice: Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. File size 986 KB Military Branch military branch (U.S. Army, etc) U.S. National Guard Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McQueen; Nate Bush; Steven H. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. McQueen, Nate Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Bush, Steven H. Interview Date 10/5/2011 Number of pages 6 Date digitized 2/10/2015 Checksum alphanumeric code 9d16ba4b649902009058fb35e92128e3 Scanned by Leah McManus Equipment Epson Perfection V600 Resolution 300 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal; non-commercial; and educational use; provided that proper citation is used. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived UA.5018. American Military History Course Records Recording rate A/V rate (48,000kzh x 16 bit) 48000kzh x 16 bit Format, original Document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 5018_Bush_Steven_20111005_transcript_M Title A name given to the resource Interview with Steven H. Bush [October 5, 2011] Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Language A language of the resource English English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McQueen, Nate Bush, Steven H. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used. Description An account of the resource Steven Bush, raised partly in Germany and partly in the United States, grew up in a military family. In the early 1990s he enlisted as an m-day soldier, and then he decided to go for full active duty in the National Guard. He did his basic training in Fort Sill and was deployed three times to Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Iraq. Subject The topic of the resource Bush, Steven Veterans Iraq War, 2003-2011 Persian Gulf War, 1991 United States Interviews Personal narratives, American Bosnia Desert Storm Fort Sill Germany m-day soldier National Guard Operation Iraqi Freedom