FORT JACKSON, SC - For Soldiers in Basic Combat Training, 10 weeks may seem like a long time. For one Soldier, the road to graduation took more than a year.
Pvt. Nancy Miqueo, who will graduate tomorrow with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, first came to Fort Jackson for BCT in March 2008.
Only three days into training, she broke her leg and was sent to the Physical Training and Rehabilitation Program.
From the start, the doctor who treated her had little hope that she was going to be able to stay in the Army. However, Miqueo was not ready to give up.
"I told him I didn't want to go home," Miqueo said.
A short time later, she was offered a medical discharge for the first time, but the Soldier was not swayed despite being told that her healing process would take a long time.
"I said I didn't want to take it. I wanted to heal and go back to basic."
It proved to be a challenge. While in rehabilitation, Miqueo developed bilateral fractures and shin splints.
"I was on a dead man's profile pretty much the entire time I was there," she remembered.
Still, quitting was not an option for Miqueo.
"It's always been my dream to be in the military and work for this country," she said. "I'm not from this country (originally). I'm from Mexico. When I was growing up, my biggest dream was to come to this country and serve in the military."
The 30-year-old mother of two found strength in the possibility of fulfilling that dream.
"Wearing my uniform every day - that's what kept me motivated," she said.
The months dragged, but she was finally cleared to start BCT again. Miqueo was apprehensive at first.
"I felt more confident, but I was still scared of getting hurt," Miqueo said.
Soon after she arrived at her new unit, she was confronted with her first challenge.
"One of our first training events was Victory Tower, which is, of course, where she fractured her leg," said Staff Sgt. Robert Wyper, one of Miqueo's drill sergeants. "We talked to her prior to (the event) and her head was in the game. She was strong. She, in fact, wanted to be the very first person in the company to go through it, to set the standard and lead the way, which I thought was amazing."
Miqueo made it through Victory Tower, and though she had to catch up on her physical fitness scores, she persevered.
"I used her as a role model, as an example for a lot of my platoon for the seven Army Values and standing up for what we should be doing in the big picture," Wyper said.
"She's persevered with so much heart - it spoke volumes. She overcame a lot of obstacles. ... She's a model Soldier -- a great Soldier with a lot of heart. She's what we're looking for."
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