U.S. Army1st Lt. Tiffany Vaughan, executive officer for Headquarters Troop, Tennessee National Guard 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment laughs with Iraqi children. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Litton, regimental chaplain's assistant for the 278th ACR
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Tiffany Vaughan is the executive officer for Headquarters Troop, Tennessee National Guard 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, currently serving in Camp Taji, Iraq. She is a Medical Service Corps Officer on her first tour in Iraq.
The last year has been one of many firsts, many lessons, and a whole lot of living out of a bag. As we near the end of our time here at Camp Taji, I find that through all the looking forward to getting home that one would expect at a time like this, I have also really found myself reflecting a lot on the past year. How I got here, how I’ve changed, what I’ve learned, and where I’m going now; these are all questions that I have been devoting a lot of thought to lately.
If you would have asked me a year ago what I was expecting this experience to be, my answer would have likely been “I have absolutely no idea”. This was my first deployment, and on top of that, the day I came to this unit was the day we began our annual training, right before we mobilized to deploy last year.
Somehow between all my anxiety surrounding a new job I had never done before, the uncertainty of finding myself in a new unit with 140 faces and names I had never seen before, and somehow trying to learn what the heck I was supposed to be doing and do it at the same time, I didn’t really have time to worry about what the next year was going to bring. I didn’t have time to worry, which was a good thing.
Somewhere along the way I have become a part of a family of 140 (and larger really because of all the people outside of this unit that I have had the pleasure of getting to know), learned things I didn’t even know I didn’t know about, and become somewhat proficient at a job that I had no concept of how to do when I first came into it last Fall. I consider myself very very lucky.
As we pack up, turn-in, and get down to a bare-bones operation, I look around at the people I have seen every single day for the past year. I remember when I had absolutely no idea what anyone’s name was without reading their name tag, let alone what job they did or for whom they worked. Now I can look around at the sea of familiar faces, and know what each and every person specializes in and when I am given a task that I am uncertain of, I know exactly who to go to for help. I am so thankful for these people and the knowledge that they have been more than willing to share with me. I have learned more than I ever dreamed I would, and the support I have had has been both amazing and humbling at the same time.
I will admit that the last days here are going by slowly. My unit is the absolute last unit in the regiment to leave country, so watching all the other units trickle out over the last two months has been a tedious process which will make getting home at last that much sweeter for sure. I am going home to a lot of changes and I am looking forward to everything with eager anticipation, and a sizeable dose of impatience! I am planning my wedding in Nashville, Tenn., for May of next year, after he gets home from his latest deployment to Afghanistan.
I am very excited to get home and delve into my plans. I am itching to get home to gather up my “fur clan” made up of my two horses and a crazy Blue Heeler dog, my faithful companions and the way I spend virtually all my free time when my fiancé is deployed and I am home by myself.
Riding horses is one of the things I have missed the most this past year, as I have been doing it all my life and until now I have never gone more than a few days without at least being around a horse. My countdown is definitely on for that! I can’t wait to do all those “girly” things that I miss so much, like book myself a day at the spa, go shopping, and enjoy a nice dinner and a glass of wine with friends. Plans are already in action for all of those things!
I am definitely ready to get back to normal life, but I can say with 100 percent honesty that I would not trade this past year or the experiences it has given me for anything in the world. I have learned infinitely more about my job, the Army, and myself and what I am capable of than I ever would have dreamed of before this all began.
I have seen things and been places that the average 24-year old female doesn’t get the chance to see and experience. I have learned to do a job from the absolute ground up and I am proud of myself for how far I have come and I am proud of these people here with me and so thankful for all the help and support they have given me. And I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I will be adding about 140 more names to my wedding guest list now.
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