Training Begins —

On September 30th, I arrived at the Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, DC with five other newly hired reservists destined for deployment to Iraq. Two of us will go to Baghdad, two will go to Balad, and two (including me) will go to Tikrit. We hail from NY, PA, TN, NV, NY, OR and MN. There is one alternate among us and three instructors, who were brought in from Ft. Drum, NY; Ft. Bragg, NC; and Headquarters.

We will train here for three weeks, after which we will be joined by six other experienced staff. In total, twelve of us will fly from here to Ft. Benning, GA for a week of “processing” before taking flights to Kuwait and then Iraq. At Ft. Benning, we will be given everything an American servicemember is issued, except the weapon. Can’t wait to see myself in camouflage. This will be a first.

Virginia M. Wright-Peterson’s first book, Women of Mayo Clinic: The Founding Generation, was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2017 and a Chinese translation was released in 2018. Her second book, A Woman’s War, Too: Women at Work During WWII (April 2020) reveals vivid stories of contribution and sacrifice, including women serving in every branch of the military and working in vital roles in factories, shipyards, mines, homes, and communities. Many women relocated during the war years, and they were present at every important battle of the war overseas. Virginia Wright-Peterson has searched for stories that challenge our understanding of ourselves and our world. She has been especially committed to collecting, preserving, and sharing women’s stories often missing in published histories, including the daily news. In her search for a broader perspective, she deployed to a military base in Iraq with the American Red Cross and taught as a Fulbright Scholar at University of Algiers. Virginia Wright-Peterson has a Ph.D. in English and currently serves in administration at University of Minnesota Rochester.