REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Career aspirations took the Aviation and Missile Command's Marlayna Counts to the other side of the world. But it was her first-hand view of the support Soldiers receive from the Army's civilian workforce that will continue to motivate her now that she's returned to Redstone Arsenal.
Six months in Afghanistan gave her an experience in logistics, contracting and acquisition that is sure to influence her career as she moves forward as an AMCOM item manager matrixed to the Utility Helicopters Project Management Office, Program Executive Office for Aviation.
Deploying in support of Soldiers and their mission was a goal that Counts set for herself in 2012 when she was studying for her master's degree in logistics and going through the Army's intern program.
"In the Black Hawk office, we support Soldiers and work through a lot of challenges to provide the right product, right quantity, right condition, right place and right time at the right price to the right customer. I wanted to see the other side of the process on how those seven 'r's of logistics impact the Soldier. I wanted to work directly with the units overseas and learn better business practices because of the experience," she said. "I wanted to gain a better understanding of the mission overseas."
This time last year, Counts was taking the steps to make her deployment a reality. Despite being newly married, she continued to pursue her goal, completing the paperwork required to deploy through AMCOM's Army Field Maintenance Directorate as a member of a Contract Oversight Team.
"We deployed and redeployed through Fort Bliss, Texas. They had a long list of on-line training requirements to meet before departure along with a health checkup and shots that had to be taken before traveling to the Middle East," Counts said.
In December, four months into her marriage, she left behind her husband and family along with everything she holds dear to deploy to Afghanistan.
"Five days prior to deployment, I said goodbye to everyone," said Counts, who lives near Fayetteville, Tenn. "It was so hard. My mom said 'Come back to me, baby' and that was really hard."
Counts' husband traveled with her to El Paso, Texas, and the couple enjoyed the time they shared there between the various meetings and appointments Counts had to prepare for deployment.
"There were at least 250 of us -- civilian, contractor and military -- who deployed together," Counts said.
The group traveled by commercial airplane to Pease International Airport, New Hampshire. It was a stop that gave Counts her first insight into the meaning of a deployment.
"We were met by Pease Greeters. They are volunteers, most are prior military, and they greeted us and sent us off with goody bags," Counts said. "When we redeployed back to the states, they greeted us again. They welcomed us home with hugs. It was really touching and so nice to be able to hug someone. It's nice to have that team support when you deploy and when you return."
The group then traveled on to Germany and then to Kuwait before finally landing at their destination -- Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.
Counts' new home was an 8-foot by 22-foot shipping container with no windows.
But she didn't spend much time in her new home. Counts and the civilian team she was assigned to worked 10 hour days seven days a week. As a Property Book Officer/Logistics Management Specialist, Counts was responsible for overseeing the work of DynCorp Aviation employees in support of a $28 million aviation maintenance contact.
Without the Contract Oversight Team, there would be no supervision over the maintainers and contractors who are conducting maintenance on the aircraft in Afghanistan," she said.
Counts traveled with the contractor to several different forward operating bases to check equipment and to ensure they were in compliance with contract's standard operating procedures. Besides Bagram, she traveled to Kandahar, Mez, Dalkhe, Jalallabad and Kabul.
"The equipment helps the contractor perform maintenance on our aircraft, but the equipment is also owned by the government," Counts said. "So, I had to be able to account for things like wrenches, nuts and bolts, tractors, pressure washers and all the other pieces of equipment the contractor used to do that job.
Counts also assisted Soldier units that had equipment that needed to be turned in.
"They want to make sure to receive credit on the parts they turn in. Because of who I worked for, I was able to reach back to AMCOM and support the units by assisting them with these needs," she said.
As an AMCOM item manager for the UH-60M Black Hawk at Redstone Arsenal, Counts is used to the detailed work of accounting for a large variety of equipment.
"In the job I left and I returned to, I manage about 150 items for the UH-60M," Counts said. "While I was gone, my workload was redistributed evenly across our team. Now that I'm back in full swing, I'm picking up past relationships I had with vendors, contract specialists and other office's that we work with on a daily basis.
"The things I learned in Afghanistan have given me a new perspective of the work that we do. I have insight into what kind of support Soldier units need when they are in the field."
Counts learned about how Soldiers use aviation systems in theater, and the demands that being in theater puts on the systems, and the Soldiers who fly and maintain them. She especially found interesting the missions of the Army's unmanned aircraft, Gray Eagle, Raven and Predator.
Working in an environment where there is constant fear of an attack also helped Counts grow her faith in God. Although there were rocket attacks, Counts was confident she would be okay and she often repeated the words of Psalms 121:1-2 "My help comes from the Lord."
"Several rocket attacks landed pretty close to where we were at and there was a Special Operations Soldier who was killed by a direct mortar," Counts said.
"In my heart, I knew God would protect me and keep me safe. Without God, our dreams couldn't be lived to their fullest. He should be our only fear in life. He is near to protect us through hard times and wants us to find comfort in Him when those trying times come."
Although there wasn't much down time, Counts did get the opportunity to visit an Afghan bazaar.
"They were amazing. The bazaars were like huge flea markets. I particularly liked all the hand-made rugs. Some of them were 50 to 100-plus years old," she said.
She also flew in a Black Hawk to Kabul that was piloted by an officer from her hometown.
And, about four months into her deployment, Counts was able to take two weeks of leave in Hawaii, where she was reunited with her husband for a late honeymoon. The trip helped her to overcome homesickness.
"I really missed my family and friends, and my Granny Linda's Sunday cooking after church," she said. "When I got home, it was a great feeling jumping off the plane and smelling American air again. Gazing at the beautiful rolling hills of Tennessee was a moment of standstill for me. It was nice to see so much green again. Visiting with my family and friends was exciting and a touching moment. I've enjoyed spending time by our pool, and in our flower beds planting and trimming.
When it comes to life lessons, Afghanistan taught her plenty. One lesson that stands out the most to her is to always be grateful for what she has as a U.S. citizen.
"Your perspectives on needs and wants really do change when you've been to a place like Afghanistan. You realize that you can live on very little," she said. "I learned a lot about better business practices and I gained a remarkable insight experience into leadership.
"But what I really took away from the whole experience was a sense of honor to be able to work with the military and civilians who are on mission in Afghanistan."
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