Serving our country, Back to Serving our students

April 30th, 2009
Interview by Johnny Jensen

Mr. Crider, a Physics and Chemistry teacher at Stadium had to leave us last year and head to battle in Iraq as a Helicopter pilot and Division Air Evacuation Officer. He started teaching again at the start of 2nd semester. Johnny Jensen, assisant webmaster, had an interview with him and asked him a few questions on his experience over in Iraq.




Johnny (J): How was your experience over in Iraq?
Crider (C): Hard.  Being away for a year is never fun.  

J: What was your role over there?
C: Helicopter pilot and Division Air Evacuation Officer.  

J: What was the atmosphere like?
C: Everyone is tired.  It is a very demanding cycle.  But we have soldiers with family that are on their thrid deployment in five years.  I was called up out of the blue, so that made it harder on me than most.  Based on my long active service... I had no military commitment.   So I was faced with a patriotic challenge.   I believe God had a purpose (I am still unsure what it is) so I went. I think I made the right choice.

I lacked the life preparation time that other active duty soldiers had.  That made it hard on my family... child care, fatherly/ husband roles and many other loose ends all had to be taken care of.  I had only three weeks to report for flight training... that made the rest of the 13 months very painful.  Flying over Baghdad made it extremely hard on my family. About seven months into the tour I was promoted up to the Aviation Division Staff.   That made things a little easier for those on the home front.  However, in all reality I was in a more dangerous setting.

I was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.  10th Mountain is a unit that was started on Ft. Lewis/Mount Rainier before WWII.  Their motto is "climb to glory" and has a mountain as the emblem.  It seemed so strange to me that my classroom views of Mount Rainier and students had to haul themselves to the attic every day I was gone.  The Division Sergeants Major gave me a flag to put in my classroom when I told him that story.  It is up over my door to remind me that my students and SHS suffered as well. It was a tough two-school years of short/long term subs.  Chemistry and Physics are not subjects for revolving teachers.  Ms. Colcough took on my first period class to keep the ship afloat.  So this deployment wasn't just hard on me.  

To anyone associated with Team Crider....you will always be in my heart.  I sat on my classroom floor and teared up when I saw it.  I carried that shirt and the waldo hat with me on every mission... It meant the world.

J: How long were you stationed there?
C: I had 3 months of flight training and 10 months in country.

J: Any experiences you would like to describe in detail?
C: It was a bad place and harsh environment.  I saw horrific things and was in a place that wanted me there as much as I wanted to be there.  The big student question: did you kill anyone.  No.  I fired my weapon..but never with that intent.  I was the pilot - most of the shooting was done by the back of the aircraft.  My job was to keep us from getting shot.  I was shot at by very large weapons and we had people die... but it wasn't as bad as Normandy.  We had the advantage. 

We were treated very well by America.  Many things can be said about the previous administration, but no one will say that the soldiers were underserved.  I had the best equipment and provisions in the history of warfare.  We had the best food and plenty of air conditioning for sleeping - unfortunately not outside.  Oh, and every hanger had about a thousand boxes of girl scout cookies (can't beat that.)  I will never eat another snicker doodle in my life.  The good part was that it was so hot we sweat all the food off continually. 

J: What/who did you miss the most when you were over seas?
C: I missed every part of my life: my children, my wife, my family, my friends; and especially my students.  My students are the absolute best.  The support I got from SHS was very inspiring.  From Facebook / Myspace, to email notes to letters in the mail.  I am very happy to have that opportunity to realize how great some people are.  

J: Do you enjoy being back at Stadium and teaching again?
C: Oh yes.  It is the best opportunity I have every had.  I have seen and done some cool things… but nothing like being a Sherpa to 120 kids trying to figure life out. I am very tired.  I used to laugh and smile a lot more.   I used to have jokes every day and made the classroom a lot more fun.  It has been a very long 1.5 years.  I can't wait for summer, when I can get a chance to reset and come back to school with the fire that I used to have.  However, I appreciate every day of teaching more because of the deployment.  And I can’t think of any place better.  I'll be here for life.  

J: What's your past experience in military?
C: 12 years active duty flying blackhawk helicopters.  When I left active duty I packed my flight gear in a box and put it under my house.  Every time people asked if I could go to Iraq I responded "when donkeys fly and they need a pilot who hasn't flown in five years."  I suppose they needed both.

J: What's your past experience in teaching?
C: I am a new teacher.  One year at Mount Tahoma followed by three months at Stadium before I left.  So I was just getting the teacher pieces together when I shipped out.  Poor timing by Uncle Sam.

J: Has the war experience changed you as a person?
C: Yes.  My memory has been affected, and I don't sleep as well.  Now I sometimes stare at a physics/chemistry problems on the white board that I used to breeze through.  It is frustrating.  I don't laugh as much.  I hope to do more of that soon.     

I was a practicing christian before I left.  I am a God fearing/adoring christian now.  If you didn't have religion before - you found something over there.  

J: Anything else you would like to tell us about?
C: Just a sincere appreciation for everyone who cared enough to think of me while I was away.  Cards were great... but the thoughts (that I knew were there) were even better.  And and even bigger "hooorah" to those who kept things together while I was away.  My homecoming was a dream.  200 vets and children lined up a DFW airport waving flags and hugging me home.  40 friends, family, and students at Sea Tac for a surprise homecoming.  And the numerous friend/family parties...how cool.  It really meant the world to come back to my classroom as I left it. Ms. Colclough and Ms. Ountugs and Mr. Kellett really made a displaced soul feel as if he never left.  I went over there for the people of the Northwest...to make them proud, and I can tell they appreciated it.  I would do it again if my country asked (but I will stay very low in the foxhole until then.) 

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