When I met Steph vs Now

The first day I saw her I saw a pretty girl, I mean soldier. She was serving breakfast chow. I said hello and like the movies our eyes locked.

I was stationed in fort Stewart Georgia, and was on TDY on a trip to Fort Knox where Steph was stationed. I was there for three weeks to train. Steph was my counterpart, she ran a maintenance platoon. I was a lieutenant for a heavy truck unit.

As luck has it all my gear had been stolen on the bus trip up to Kentucky from Georgia. I had no uniforms other than my formal dress uniform which was on the packing list. I’m still upset about the $3,000 FLPL (charge) I had to pay, and sometimes late at night I think about what I’d do to the theif haha.

But rewinding back to when I had met Steph. My unit and I had just got off a 16 hour bus ride from FSGA to FKKY. We were all tired and I, having no uniform, was dressed in jeans and a hoodie. Something my unit was laughing at me about. My unit… these guys were amazing. They were not the most polished soldier but dang they could get things done. Most had legal issues, or could not pass army regulations for height and weight but damn could they fix an axel on a MaxPro MRAp or engine swap on M1070 HET (tank transport) in fact at one point on our drive up to Kentucky the bus had some maintenance issues. I was reading a book on maj winters in ww2. “The Greatest Battle”I think it was called. The bus driver said we’d need to stop and wait for road side assistance. I’m not sure what they did but the maintenance team from my truck platoon got up and had the bus running before the roadside could even get there.

We finally got to Kentucky and got right off the bus to a soft training environment where field ration were being served. Imagine an army tent with army food inside it. Army food is especially tasty when you are hungry and cold. I had slept maybe 2-4 hours on the bus and looked a mess. As I walked in the tent, Steph was the first person I saw. She was smiling of course. We locked eyes, I assume because I was the only doofus in civilian clothes. I looked at Steph a little more, it was hard not to see she was very beautiful even in the ugly army ACU uniform. She served me army eggs the liquid kind that tast like rubber unless you put salt on them. I sat down and started eating. She got off the serving line and got her plate and sat down with the other officers at the table next to me. She looked at me again and smiled. I leaned over and told her all my uniforms were stolen. She told me she heard. Apparently word travels fast when a stupid LT makes a stupid mistake.

Anyway. I was in a unique situation where I was in a separate unit that reported to a larger unit. My company commander I now reported to was a hell of a guy that I got to know via visits and emails over the past year. He helped me out. He managed to get me some gear. He was in hi 40s. Usually company commanders are in their late twenties or early thirties. So not only did he have rank over me but was also experienced. He served in some high profile engagements in Afghanistan one of which was made popular by a documentary. Something that peaked my interest in cameras early on.

He formally introduced me to Steph. She worked for him as his maintenance officer. I was there to learn combat logistics and management of gun truck teams in preparation for deployment to retrograde mission in Iraq.

On a casual conversation Steph mentioned she had been tasked as the officer in charge of an M240 and M249 (light machine gun) firing range and also a dining out ( a formal military dinner). At that point I had a little experience running ranges, down in Georgia. I told her if she needed any help just text me and I gave her my number.

A day or two later she texted and asked if I’d like to go out with the other lieutenants to dinner. I did not have a car. She drove an old Range Rover discovery that smelled like it had a fuel leak. She agreed to pick me up.

I went to dinner with her and a few other colleagues but my eyes were on her. Her smile literally made my life better. And I’d fight to keep that feeling.

Two weeks later after some busy training events, weapon ranges and convoy live fires which we all crushed we were at the formal ceremony dinner Steph had to plan. This was a formality for unit preparing to deploy overseas and a chance to just relax. My company commander that I reported to he got me a whisky. I don’t think I had enough chest hair at the time because I could not handle but one or two sips. Turns out he got Steph one too. She could not finish hers either so we got together and got a new drink. I got a beer and she got a gin and tonic. We had a few moments to talk and get to know each other. She was so beautiful I remember thinking. As we were talking an unknown higher ranking officer came up to us. I stood up to show respect. He then said my uniform was out of regulation. That my jump wings were too high above my pocket for regulation. He was doing on the spot corrections to make me look silly it appeared. He said something like an actual lieutenant would know better. As he was saying that Steph stepped in between both of us and started making corrections to my uniforms he was talking. Her kindness really showed me who she was there. I could care less if my wings were 1/4 in vs 1/8 in above my breast pocket. I get its attention to detail but I was there to learn how to do retrograde convoy ops. Which I passed with great success. To make matters worse the officer started hitting on Steph. Steph very tactfully handled the situation as I felt powerless.

There’s more to the story but I think I’ve written too much. If you made it this far thank you but part of me just want to write this down for my own sake.