The only thing Kathryn Remm wants for Christmas, besides maybe her grandma’s rhubarb pie, is to spend time with her family.
She will get her wish with just the third or fourth Christmas she’s had at home in the last 17 years.
‘I’m usually overseas,? said Remm, a chief equipment operator in the Navy and former Groveland Township resident who will be back in town from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. ‘This will be my first time seeing snow since I was in Korea.?
The 35-year-old has traveled the world since joining the Navy on Aug. 5, 1991, just a few months after graduating from Brandon High School. She is part of the Naval Construction Force and is on a rotation where she is overseas for six months and back in the U.S. for 10 months. Her most recent deployment, to Iraq, was her first to a country in wartime. She left in April for Ramadi and returned to Port Huenenne, Calif. on Oct. 23.
A large portion of Remm’s deployment was doing convoys throughout Iraq, near the Syrian border. She notes her battalion logged over 400,000 miles.
On a project in Nyebuake, the construction force set up a facility for the Marines, enabling them to train the Iraqi army to be self-sufficient. Other projects included drilling wells, refurbishing a government center and security improvements for the Army’s outer perimeter.
When on a project, Remm worked 12-14 hour days, seven days a week, often for a month straight. The heavy equip-ment operator was on the road with the rest of the construction force often, driving at night for cover and concealment and sleeping during the day.
‘Some places are better and safer, but honestly, terrorists are terrorists and don’t wear uniforms,? she said. ‘They blend in. That’s the hard thing about being over there, because you’re trying to build the trust of the people, but at the same time, you don’t know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. It’s the most dangerous assignment I’ve had, but I wasn’t worried. It’s comforting when you know you’re with the best forces in the world.?
Remm noted a lot of progress has been made toward the goal of getting the Iraqis to be self-sufficient.
‘They are so much further than they were,? she said. ‘Bombings and crime is down at an all-time low, because of the training of Iraqi police and the army. You actually see children playing in the streets. They are trying to get their economy going again and order and discipline is a lot better.?
Remm believes Iraq will eventually have peace, a stable government, police force, and order and discipline.
‘The people over there want peace,? she said. ‘They want to be their own country. They’re to the point where they are the ones making the difference, because they’re pushing the bad people out. They’re turning strangers and bad people in to the military.?
Remm was not permitted to spend time with the Iraqi people, but noted that most of the women are still covered in traditional dress that does not allow their faces to be shown, and the culture as a whole seemed primitive to her? with sheep herders on donkeys, for example.
‘Their way of life is a lot different,? she said. ‘They don’t have a lot of money. They don’t have the luxuries we have, that’s for sure.?
She notes the weather in Iraq was exceedingly hot? ranging from 112 to 127 degrees during the day? and also really dry. In some areas that are irrigated, there is grass and palm trees; but where it is not, the sand is hard and when it rains, water is not absorbed and there is flooding. Mostly, she said, ‘everything is tan.?
While the heat was extreme and she won’t miss it, she isn’t exactly looking forward to the Michigan temperatures.
‘I missed my nephew the most, it’s hard being away from him,? said Remm. ‘He’s the reason I’m coming back to the cold.?
She is unsure if children of her own are part of her future.
‘I’m in the Navy for the long haul,? she said. ‘I’ve got three more years, but I’m not retiring, I love it still. I love the comraderie, you can’t get this anywhere else. The travel is great and I get 30 days vacation per year. I’m getting paid to do what I love. My dad told me to do something you love to do, because you will probably be doing it the rest of your life, so you might as well be happy.?
Remm is the daughter of Norm Pacer of Ortonville and Deborah Pacer of Waterford.
Other family members she is looking forward to seeing at Christmas are grandparents Geraldine and Arnold Pacer of Ortonville; sister, Angela Pacer; nephew, Joshua Pacer; and aunts and uncles Debbie and Al Jacob and Marv and Linda Pacer, all of Ortonville.