FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - It's not every day that an Army spouse gets to don an old pair of ACUs or BDUs and hit the range for a morning of weapons-firing and then complete an invigorating run through Fort Wainwright's obstacle course. But June 16 was not just any day; it was GI Jane Day for spouses of Bobcat Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Trading in their civilian identities, more than 60 spouses took on the GI Jane challenge to walk in their husbands' combat boots for a day. They formed up at the 1-5th battalion headquarters at 8:30 a.m., split into two groups and then moved to the Small Arms Range Complex in Stryker vehicles, not their typical form of transportation.
Lindsay Day, wife of Spc. Douglas Day, C Company, 1-5th, said she was most looking forward to shooting at the range, but also really enjoyed getting to ride alongside her husband in a Stryker vehicle.
"It was awesome," she said. "I loved it. I got to see what he does."
This was one of the main objectives of the event, said Maj. Dan Hart, 1-5th executive officer. "We wanted to create an experience for our Soldiers' spouses that would give them an idea of what their husbands do each day," he explained. "We also wanted to provide an opportunity for spouses to get to know each other and have a really good time."
Day said that was what he hoped his wife experienced during GI Jane Day. "I'm looking forward to her getting to shoot machine guns," he said. "This may be the only opportunity she has to do things like that and go through an obstacle course. I'm also glad that she'll get to spend time with other wives in the battalion."
After a safety briefing and basic weapons demonstration, the first group of spouses hit the range, firing the M4 rifle, M240B machine gun and M249 squad automatic weapon. Each spouse was paired with a Soldier coach who helped her trouble-shoot, adjust and make the most of her range experience.
1st Sgt. Larry Addy, B Company, 1-5th, first sergeant, said his wife had perfect form. "She looks great," he said as he snapped photos of Angela Addy firing the M240B.
Another GI Jane participant, Krystal Driver, wife of Spc. Randy Driver, B/1-5th, said her husband encouraged her to attend. "He wanted me to come so I could shoot a machine gun," she said. Weapons firing at the range topped most spouses' lists as the favorite GI Jane activity.
Kiley Bangs, wife of Sgt. Jared Bangs, C/1-5th, said her favorite part of the day was achieving the highest score on the M240B, qualifying as an expert. "She has a good coach," her husband said.
Taking away a greater understanding of what her husband does from the whole experience, Bangs said she will have better insight into her husband's work in the future.
"I think it's really good for her to see what I do even though this is just a small part of it," he said.
GI Jane Day provided a link between spouses who are new to the Army, like Kiley Bangs who has only been married a year, with those who have more experience as Army spouses like Katie Payne, wife of Lt. Col. Brian Payne, 1-5th commander.
"We have a lot of new Soldiers and family members in the unit so it's a great day to just get to know each other and build those relationships," Katie Payne said.
The group was also joined by two board members from the 5th Infantry Regiment Association who said they jumped at the chance to travel from the Lower 48 and spend some time with today's Soldiers.
Paul Robinson and John Cartwright served with 1-5th in Vietnam and said they were blown away by the attitudes, motivation and professionalism of the 1-5th Soldiers they met during their time at Fort Wainwright.
"I'm very appreciative of being invited up here to spend time with these Soldiers and their families," Cartwright said. "These warriors are a highly motivated, trained, squared-away bunch of guys."
A bonus for the men was getting to go through the GI Jane Day activities with the spouses, although they said their pride took a beating at the rifle range.
"The sad part for John and I is that we watched (the spouses) fire and then we got to fire some of the weapons ourselves and they put us to shame," Robinson said. "It was disastrous. They're laughing at us still at the rifle range."
Another part of the GI Jane experience was clearing a building at the urban assault course, complete with Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System gear so spouses would know if they had been "hit" during the exercise. The elaborate laser-tag scenario allowed spouses to experience a common way their Soldiers train - both with MILES gear and with urban scenarios involving buildings and clearing rooms, said Josh Silver, A/1-5th commander.
"We wanted to include as many aspects of our training as we could and help them have fun doing it," he said.
After eating MREs, the obstacle course was next on the agenda for the GI Jane spouses and although some of the obstacles were eliminated or altered for participants, it was still a challenge. But it was one that spouses like Maria Boeckers, wife of 2nd Lt. Eric Boeckers, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-5th, who completed the obstacles with her husband by her side, said will give her greater compassion and understanding when her husband talks about obstacle courses in the future.
The couple arrived at Fort Wainwright a few weeks ago and viewed this event as a way to jump in to the community. "I'm having a great time," she said. "It's a great way to meet other wives."
Frequent deployments make events like GI Jane even more important, Katie Payne said. "Knowing that a deployment is going to come in the future, this just gives us an opportunity to get to know each other and to bond and also to get that better idea of what our husbands do on a daily basis," she said.
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