Oral History Interview with Steffane G. Timm

[Interview Begins]

SPRAGUE: So today is December 2nd, 2022. This is an interview with Stephanie G. Timm served in the United States Army from 20002 November 2004. This interview is being conducted by Luke Sprague at the Racine Public Library for the I Am Not Invisible Project as part of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program. No one else is present in the room. Okay. Good Morning, Stephanie.

TIMM: Good morning.

SPRAGUE: Yeah. So could you tell me a little bit about where you grew up?

TIMM: Okay, so I actually grew up right here in Racine, and I have lived here my whole life, so. Yeah.

SPRAGUE: Okay. And if you don't mind me asking, what did your what did your family do?

TIMM: So, actually, my dad worked for the Workforce Development Center for, I believe, 30 years. So kind of the majority of his kind of working career. And 00:01:00then my mom, she had kind of a variety of different jobs. She was really interested--at first she worked with people in teaching computers, setting up computer systems when computers were newer. And then she worked with training people on computers. And then after she did that, she kind of had a variety of different jobs. She really liked starting businesses. So that's what she she worked on.

SPRAGUE: Okay. Did you have any family members that had been in the military?

TIMM: Yes, my dad was actually in the military. He was drafted. I don't recall his years. But he also served in the Army. He was stateside. He worked at Walter Reed and he did the electroshock therapy at that time.

SPRAGUE: Oh, okay.

SPRAGUE: So, drafted. Vietnam era or?

TIMM: Vietnam era. Yes. If I recall, it was right at the beginning. So. But he 00:02:00wasn't, he did not end up going overseas at all, so.

SPRAGUE: Okay. And was this in Wisconsin?

TIMM: Walter Reed. It was, it's Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., was where he was stationed.

SPRAGUE: Okay.

TIMM: Um, that's.

SPRAGUE: What I was curious about, is were his family roots here in Wisconsin or they somewhere else?

TIMM: Yes. Yep. He's lived here also the majority of his life, so.

SPRAGUE: Okay. And how about your mother's side?

TIMM: As far as military goes, her brother was in the military, and he did serve in Vietnam, Vietnam as well, so.

SPRAGUE: Um, yeah, We always like to make those connections.

TIMM: Sure.

SPRAGUE: You know, families that have served down through the generations.

TIMM: Sure.

SPRAGUE: Yeah. And what schools did you go to?

TIMM: Um, so I went to--kind of beginning. I went to Mitchell Elementary, and then I spent middle school and high school at Prairie, and then I finished off my high school degree in 11th and 12th grade at Walden III High School.

SPRAGUE: And I assume those are all here in Racine, or elsewhere?

TIMM: Yes, Correct. They are in Racine.

SPRAGUE: Okay. Cool. Um, what initially made you start thinking about joining the military? Tell me a little bit about that.

TIMM: Sure. So, um, basically, I, when I had exited, when I finished high school, I wanted to go to college, and kind of the same time I was thinking about college, 9/11 was in college. 9/11 happened. And so it was kind of a culmination, initially of, you know, the military, the army was a good choice as far as college assistance. And then 9/11 happened and that was kind of the final--I don't know. It just it felt like the right thing to do at that time. So it was it was those two things together that kind of pushed me, you know, to the point of actually enlisting.

SPRAGUE: Where were you on 9/11?

TIMM: So I was at UW-Platteville and they had this area. It was kind of like a, I don't know, like a basement commons area. Just kind of a nice, quiet place with couches. And I just remember I had this big screen TV and they were just playing, you know, whatever. You kind of ate and just hung out. And all of a sudden it went from playing just normal, you know, T.V. shows and stuff to having that. And I so I watched it happen, like on this humongous screen, and it was just quiet because it wasn't, it almost was like it didn't happen, and nobody really knew how to respond to it. So.

SPRAGUE: What? What hall or building was that in at Platteville? Do you remember?

TIMM: I honestly don't remember. I know that the space we were at doesn't exist anymore. They did a bunch of remodeling while I was there. So. But I don't 00:05:00remember which hall it was in.

SPRAGUE: What did your family say about joining the military at the time?

TIMM: They were excited. I think they felt, you know, number one, I was--my dad was excited because he was in the army and he felt it was a good experience for him. And he felt really good that I was taking the initiative to go because he was drafted and he looked, he looked on it positively that I was kind of making that decision on my own. And then my mom looked at it just as a good experience, you know, a good--to kind of get more discipline than I had had growing up. I really wanted to experience that. And she found that to just, just a really good idea at 19. And she was proud of me for making that decision at such a young age, you know.

SPRAGUE: What were your feelings about it at the time?

TIMM: Well, I was 19, so I was you know, I was really, I was really excited about it. And I kind of played into all of the advertisements and, you know, I was going to be, you know, awesome and I was going to be the soldier. And, you know, so at 19, I was, I was really excited and working with the recruiter, of course, get, you know, got me even more excited because that's their job. So for me, I was, I know I was excited for a challenge. I was really excited for that.

SPRAGUE: Mm hmm. Excuse me. What did, what was your thinking in terms of did you know at the time you wanted to be in the Reserves or--tell me your thinking in that process, versus active duty or another role or did you make that decision later?

TIMM: Um, I think, being 19, I thought the Reserves would just be easier. That's the honest truth. I, you know, I didn't really realize at that time. There's a 00:07:00lot I didn't realize, but that's, I didn't realize the reservists were kind of what they were. They were the Reserves. They're often the first people to go and the active duty kind of stay back and do their job. So I didn't realize that. So I was like, "Oh, you know, this will be great. I'll go in the Reserves. I'll proudly do my partial duty and, you know, and it'll be perfect," so, that was kind of my 19-year-old thought process.

SPRAGUE: So tell me a little bit about traveling to, I'm assuming, basic training?

TIMM: Yes. So that was at Fort Jackson [Columbia, South Carolina] and it was actually a really nice base. I ended up in--oh, I really liked it--I ended up in a really tough platoon. So I got a lot of discipline, a lot of training. And it was a whole, it was a whole different experience, something that I had never 00:08:00gone through before. It, it was just really, it was really positive. And I ended up with a couple of drill sergeants that really ended up pushing me hard. They kind of brought the best out in me, I think so.

SPRAGUE: And that was at what time in 2002 about?

TIMM: Uh, so 2002 I started in July, and if I recall, it was a while ago, but I believe my basic was nine weeks long.

SPRAGUE: And how did you get there from Wisconsin? I'm assuming you left from Wisconsin.

TIMM: I did. I flew out. Um, I can't remember if I--I think I flew out from Milwaukee. And then we were put in---I can never remember the name of it. Hold on. I can't remember the pre-basic training that you go into. Intermission? Anyway.

SPRAGUE: MEPS?

TIMM: MEPS. And then you go and then you do like the intake and it's called--oh, I can't think of it. I think it's starts with an I. But anyway, um, I can't think of it, but, anyway.

SPRAGUE: Okay.

TIMM: I forget that word.

SPRAGUE: And that initial intake before basic was where? Was that up here or was that somewhere else?

TIMM: So the initial intake. Well, first we went through MEPS and then we did an intake that was at Fort Jackson. But I can't I can't remember what it was called. It was a few days. And when you got your your gear and your boots and everything that you needed, and then we were actually brought to the place in Fort Jackson where we would start training.

SPRAGUE: Do you happen to remember, just on chance, the unit name at all, maybe?

TIMM: I don't.

SPRAGUE: Okay.

TIMM: I don't. I mean, I do have the documentation on it, though, so.

SPRAGUE: Okay. No biggie. So what were your first impressions at Fort Jackson?

TIMM: You know, it was interesting because, you know, when we first got off the bus and we just started the process. I wasn't there were a lot of people that were--I watched a lot of people just be stunned that they were being screamed at and they were being just absolutely baffled. And to me, I just I just watched it happen. It was exciting to go from my childhood where everything was kind of easygoing and I was able to just do whatever I wanted, you know, because I was really introverted childhood, so I didn't get into trouble. So then to go in this environment where they're like, "You have to do this and you have to get this," and they're screaming at you. And I'm just I'm taking it all in. I am one of the weird ones, I guess, because I loved it. I thought it was, I thought it 00:11:00was great. And I thought it was great to just have somebody tell me exactly what to do, exactly what my schedule is going to be. And I was, I was excited to see what was going to happen every day. So

SPRAGUE: How about the experiences with different people? What was that like?

TIMM: You know, it was awesome. And it was awesome because they were, these were all people that I would have never met. And you get this experience of, oh, that. It's kind of cheesy, but we're all the same. I mean, we all come from different backgrounds. We all go to different schools and live in different places and have different income levels and we're different colors. But there was this instant camaraderie. You know, even if you didn't, there was nobody I really had any sort of issues with because we were all there together fighting for the same thing. So there was just this almost instant understanding. So I, I 00:12:00loved it. Even when you kind of had, you know, some minor gripes with somebody, at the end of the day, you still had to do you still had to do your job.

SPRAGUE: What were some of the proudest moments that you had at basic?

TIMM: Um, probably in the final, in the final week. We had to do our, our long trek. I don't remember how many miles it was 15, maybe 20 miles in total. And by the end of it, you know, we walked all the way to where we were going to camp, and then all the way back. And I was dehydrated and tired. And there was, you know, calluses. And, just I mean, I was in so much pain, but I finished it and 00:13:00that was like weeks of training, and to get, to walk back into the barracks and to take a shower and to know I had finished it and the exhaustion and the sleep deprivation and the just crazy, just the craziness of experiencing it and finishing it was so substantial. And to, you know, as you go through basic, the drill sergeants become relatively nicer and nicer [Sprague laughs]. You know, by the end, you know, you had gained their respect. You had worked as hard as you could. And to complete that and to have that on top of it, to know that they're proud of what you did and what you accomplished. That was that was an incredible, incredible feeling. And probably my second one would be doing the gas chamber [Sprague laughs]. Which I survived that. It, just, yeah, it's things 00:14:00like that that just kind of pushed me to the edge that I wasn't sure if I could do, and I did it! It's amazing what you can accomplish when you're put into that, when you don't have another choice, you know. And there were people that fought it and was like, you know, I got to do what I got to do and I did it. So I can look back and say that.

SPRAGUE: Do you think that that experience helped inform later as you're in your become older, more experienced as an adult, your life, your your philosophy in terms of doing things?

TIMM: Yes, I think it's affected me kind of in in both positive and negative ways. I think it's affected me positively because I'm very strong-willed. You know, I got a lot of that from my mom. But then going into basic really reinforced that. I'm exceptional at taking direction from people. So, you know, 00:15:00beforehand I was kind of, you know, flighty and did whatever. And once I went to the military and I learned how to listen to a chain of command and I learned how to adapt to a wide range of settings, I took all of that into my civilian life. So, you know, but on the on the negative side of things, if I don't have direction, that can kind of be difficult because then I, I'm so used to somebody, "Do this," and I'm great at doing it. But then when I have to make decisions, I falter. Because when you're in the military, you don't really make decisions. You know, there's always somebody above you making the decision. So that's kind of another, you know, it's a positive negative. I got a lot of that from the Army.

SPRAGUE: What were some of your least favorite activities at basic?

TIMM: Yeah, well, probably the ones that didn't make any sense. Number one. 00:16:00Well, one of them is but one of them didn't. We had to, like, if I remember correctly, we had to sit outside of our barracks and pick weeds for some reason and dig through the dirt [laughs]. So I don't really. In fact, some of it was really silly stuff. Like pick out all the stones from the dirt. Okay, great. And the other one, I was terrible at. This is just because, again, I was 19 and I, you know, but we had to stand in line to get our chow. And we're always, like, a substantially long line. And so they would come up and you would have to answer certain kind of trivia questions or--I was terrible. I was supposed to be reading the manual and I, I never did. So I always had to do push-ups. And I did the whole thing where, you know, as they would come by, I would like, look at the ground or pretend to be doing something else. So hopefully they wouldn't choose me. They always chose me. So I always got in trouble, and probably some 00:17:00kind of side activities. And then I was also really terrible at remembering rank. So I was always never sure who to, who to salute. So that was kind of 19-year-old mentality that still wasn't great at studying or remembering certain aspects. So [laughs].

SPRAGUE: What, what people--do you remember any particular people that stick out in your mind?

TIMM: I don't remember their names. I do really have to think about it. It's been so long, but. I just remember, I really strongly remember faces and just small things. I had a a friend in there, again, I can't remember her name, but she was an excellent and she was an excellent artist and she would always draw stuff for me. And she was amazing. I remember little things like that or another 00:18:00guy who always let me jump in line to make my phone calls at the payphone when we were allotted our time. So I just I kind of remember just little events and and just little things about people that were made it just really special.

SPRAGUE: So one of the little slices of life--if you could tell the readers and the viewers a little bit about the the telephone and how that worked.

TIMM: Oh.

SPRAGUE: They may not know about what you're talking.

TIMM: Sure. So basically, I believe now they're actually allowed cell phones [Sprague laughs]. But when I was in, in 2002, we had this row of payphones and they were like, I want to say maybe five payphones kind of next to each other with a few feet in between each one. And we'd all make lines per each payphone. And I don't remember if they were, if this was set to be maybe once a week. It 00:19:00wasn't. It wasn't a lot of time. And every single person, the drill sergeants would stand there and you'd go up to the phone and you'd get 5 minutes and you would have your little pay card that you, with your minutes, and you'd put that in and you kind of get your quick five minutes to call your parents and tell them, "Yeah, I did the gas chamber today," and then they'd ask how you're doing. And then that that was it. There was no, oh, you could take ten or twenty. Five minutes. That was all you got. Usually the drill sergeants weren't too lenient on it, but there were a couple of times where if you weren't able to get a call through or, you know, something happened to the call, they would let you go through again. But they made sure to let you know that they're just being really nice this time and it won't happen next time. But so that was, that was kind of the process. It was always really exciting to get just those few minutes because otherwise all it was was letters and we'd do mail call every day. So.

SPRAGUE: And while you were in the lines, were you at ease, at parade rest, or was it, just it was relaxed?

TIMM: Oh, it would have been at ease.

SPRAGUE: Okay.

TIMM: Yeah, but yeah, there was no relaxed standing around [laughs].

SPRAGUE: Did, was your basic both genders or all the genders together. What was that?

TIMM: Yes, all the genders together. And then we were separated by barracks. So you had a female and then a male barracks that were, I believe, in the same building. So they were close together, but they weren't, they weren't coed.

SPRAGUE: And in terms of drill instructors, what were their genders?

TIMM: I had one male drill instructor, who was about my size, which is about five feet tall, and then I had another male drill instructor and those were our two mains.

SPRAGUE: Mm hmm. Any encounters in terms of racial relations during that time or experiences that you had while in basic?

TIMM: Um, not that I can think of. It was pretty diverse, so there was nothing that really stood out ever. We kind of had a wide range of everybody in our platoon.

SPRAGUE: Okay. Yeah. Okay, So you graduate from basic. What happens next?

TIMM: Yep. So the next thing that happens is I get, I got sent off to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, and if I remember correctly, I believe we had, we got there and spent about a week before we actually started training. So we have, we had some time to wear our civilian clothes and just be out and about for at least a few days. And then we started at Redstone Arsenal and began job training, which for me would have been the 55 Bravo Ammunition Specialist training.

SPRAGUE: What were the, what was that week like, while you were in civilian clothes in Alabama?

TIMM: Um, it almost had, it almost felt, it was equally as freeing as it was frightening because it wasn't normal. It didn't, it almost felt uncomfortable because I got so used to, and so comfortable, wearing my uniform all of the time. And just being in that environment for those several weeks, that being kind of free to choose what I wanted to wear and to, yeah, to make that decision was uncomfortable and it felt almost unsafe being among other civilians because there--when you're with your unit or your platoon, you know everybody, you know what everybody's doing, everybody's on the same page. You're in civilian life 00:23:00and you don't know what people's intentions are and you don't know what they're thinking or doing or where they're going or what they think about you. It's just a very uncomfortable, almost too open environment.

SPRAGUE: Oh. Why? I'm just curious. Tell me about choosing becoming a 55 Bravo.

TIMM: So. Oh, I wish there was a big story to this, but there's not [Sprague laughs]. Again, I was 19 and I didn't study for the ASVAB, so I did not get a lot of job choices. Ammunition specialist was one of the choices, and I thought it sounded cool, so that's why I went with it. So that, you know, know, looking back, I wish I would have, you know, studied because I think I could have got something, you know, that I really had a passion for. But, you know, you live 00:24:00and you learn. So.

SPRAGUE: Any particular experience, as you remember from AIT that stick out in your head?

TIMM: I don't, I don't remember a lot from AIT, to be honest with you. I remember a lot from basic. AIT, there was a lot of classroom training. Um, I really remember a whole lot of sitting in a classroom and lots and lots and lots of PowerPoint slides [Sprague laughs]. Um, so I, that's, I don't, I honestly, you know, thinking back, I don't remember a ton from that time period specifically for some reason.

SPRAGUE: How long was your AIT?

TIMM: So I believe the AIT was the one that was nine weeks, I believe basic was 00:25:0011, but one or the other. But it was, it was similar to the basic training time period.

SPRAGUE: I've got to ask, I'm curious, uh, ordnance or ammunition specialist, were you ever afraid of handling the materials? You know, the bombs, the bullets? The--

TIMM: No, I was excited [laughter]. I thought. I thought it was really--actually, I thought it was really fascinating and it was kind of, you know, I'd never been, as a kid like, a blow-em-up, you know, ammunition type of person. But when you start to kind of see all the PowerPoint slides and all the different kinds and the names and all of that stuff, it's actually really fascinating. And we did go out, to get to go out in the field and see what did what. So it was just, it was, I don't know, it was just really informative. It was kind of it was kind of cool. So I guess no fear whatsoever [laughs].

SPRAGUE: About when did you wrap up AIT?

TIMM: Um, so, that would have been two months, about November or so. November, December?

SPRAGUE: And do you remember at the time celebrating any of the holidays during November, during Veterans Day or Christmas while on post or anything like that?

TIMM: Honestly, I don't remember celebrating at all, for really any, any of the holidays, Thanksgiving or anything. Interestingly, after I finished, I don't remember a whole lot at all from kind of what I did. It it was it was kind of as though my army training became the forefront, and then kind of going back to 00:27:00civilian life is kind of this muddied nothing. I don't really remember anything from that time period. It's almost like it's kind of gone. So kind of odd.

SPRAGUE: Mm hmm. Okay. So you graduated from AIT?

TIMM: Yes.

SPRAGUE: And you've come back to Wisconsin, I assume?

TIMM: Correct.

SPRAGUE: And tell me about your first unit there and what that was like as a reservist.

TIMM: Sure. So the 826 Ordnance. They were Milwaukee on Silver Spring. I usually, at least for part of the time, I got rides up there from my parents and it was really just kind of standard supply work. I would go out there and do my 00:28:00weekends and, well, like I said, it wasn't really anything substantial in making sure accounts were correct, checking any of the ammunition we had in store. So, yeah, it was pretty, I think, pretty standard. Actually, a lot of the time that I was there, I did kind of 50% work and 50% kind of milling around, waiting for the next job.

SPRAGUE: Did any particular drill weekends that stick out in your head, like, you remember fondly or you remember not fondly about?

TIMM: So. Oh, man. So at one point, again, I was--I got to reiterate that I was young, but I did, when I had found out that I was being mobilized a while 00:29:00beforehand. I had, I had a lip piercing and I was on the news 'cause I just had some just reservations and some fear of being sent over. And so the, I think my mom had contacted the Racine Journal Times, the local newspaper about it, and they wanted to interview me. And long story short, they came and did the interview, and I wore my uniform with the lip ring in.

SPRAGUE: Cool.

TIMM: [Laughs] So that did not go well. I, that I was, if I remember correctly, I was on the front page of the newspaper with that on. And not surprisingly, I was contacted very quickly by my superiors, and I was more or less reamed for doing that. And I remember one drill weekend I went in and one of the guys--I 00:30:00kind of kept to myself mostly--I had a couple of friends--and one of the guys while we were working on supplies stuff was like, "All right, you know, aren't you the girl that did the, you know, the thing with the lip ring?" And I'm like, "Yeah." And he's like, "Man, it's like, I hated you." He's like, "But you seem pretty cool now [laughter]." So that was, that was probably like, that was the one thing I remember the most. So it took me a long time to live that down. But yeah.

SPRAGUE: And how about for AT?

TIMM: I'm sorry. Say that again.

SPRAGUE: For Annual Training?

TIMM: Yes. So I. So was. Let's see. I know. Just hold on one second. Um. So my, 00:31:00if I recall, my two weeks a year was actually the point that I, the first one I did was when I was actually mobilized to go to Puerto Rico. So it would have been, I did all of my training. I did my one weekends a month. And then by the time we got to the two weeks a year, that was the same time that I was called to transfer to Puerto Rico. So I fell in line. So that would be my would have been my first two weeks, which it ended up being longer than two weeks.

SPRAGUE: Before we get to that--

TIMM: Yes.

SPRAGUE: --what was, what were you doing, you're drilling two weekends, or was it--

TIMM: One weekend a month.

SPRAGUE: I'm sorry. I get that mixed-up.

TIMM: That's okay.

SPRAGUE: What were you out in the civilian world doing?

TIMM: Um. So. I was living--as a reservist I didn't get paid a lot, so, of course, I had to get a second job. If I remember, I was working at Blockbuster Video. I had an apartment with my best friend, and to be honest, I was struggling pretty bad as far as paying bills. And at the time I did a lot of bouncing checks and, um, to try and cover, so that, so everything was kind of clean and steady and good to go in my army life. But at home there was a lot of just, struggle. The apartment was kind of always a disgusting mess. So I really struggle with keeping all that in line. But then the military part of it was where everything was stable and concrete and good to go. So.

SPRAGUE: So with that in mind, what was your mindset coming into, you know, what was your reaction to being activated and knowing that the military had that, you know, what was your mindset at that point? As it happened, not necessarily later, but in that context.

TIMM: I guess a lot of confusion. I didn't know. I didn't really know what it meant. I guess I was--again, I didn't realize that reservists were kind of the first to be called up. And it was a shock. You know, I'd only been in for, um, well, just a little bit of time at that point. So, you know, it's just for one, 00:34:00I didn't think I'd be called up at all. And for another, if I was to be called up, I didn't think it would be just a short period of. After enlisting, I, I did not expect it at all. And it was frightening because there was no--it wasn't like work where I could call in and say, "No, I'm not really interested." It was, you know, the walls were closing in whether I wanted to them to or not. And it was a struggle because, uh, because I had kind of fallen back into civilian life, even though it was unstable. But I had kind of gotten used to going back to being kind of lackadaisical and, you know, and, and then all of a sudden I got called up to be in a situation where everything was disciplined and regimented again. And I was being thrown into that without having planned ever 00:35:00going back into that type of situation. So, yeah, I guess even though I knew it was a possibility, it was never felt like it was actually ever going to be a possibility. So, scary. I, I don't I don't know. I think I was really disconnected when I got that letter. So.

SPRAGUE: Do you think maybe your thought process on not being called up was informed by pre-9/11 reservist and Guard duties where they may have not been thinking they were going to get called up necessarily during the Cold War and post-Cold War, or not?

TIMM: I just, no, I think what it was is, I think just at my age, I, it was the, you know, teenage, early twenties: this is not going to happen to me, this is going to happen to everybody else type of situation. You know, yeah, 9/11 happened, you know, but we were going to be okay and nothing crazy was going to 00:36:00happen. That's kind of how, I guess I, I just didn't put two and two together that that was a possibility.

SPRAGUE: So orders come down. Tell me about pre-mobilization and mob--how did that happen? How did you get deployed?

TIMM: See. So. I trying to remember. I remember being on the plane, but I. I think we, if I remember, we all met up at the 826th, um, location in Milwaukee. And then we all went up to, I don't remember if it was O'Hare. I don't remember which airport it was, but I remember being there with my parents and my friend 00:37:00at the time. Um. I remember my friend gave me a teddy bear, which ultimately I couldn't take with me. I remember that. I can see, I can see the teddy bear there and I can see myself closing the car door on it. But, um, and then, yeah, I waited there with my mom and dad. And my mom gave me a book and it was, um, called, like, The Monster At the End of This Book, I think it was. It's a children's book that I really loved [laughs], and I think that's what it was called. I still have it. And then it have like a, after you read the whole book, it had a letter at the end that I'd be okay. And so I, when I was on the plane, I had that book with me. I kept it with me. I didn't put it with my gear. And 00:38:00from that point we flew off to the Puerto Rico. So.

SPRAGUE: So one of the questions I have to ask you is--having been through this--were you, was there someone significant you were leaving behind as you deployed or?

TIMM: So I, there was a, there was somebody that I was seeing, ah, It was, it was for maybe a couple of weeks at that point. So nobody, no marriages or long-term. But it also was a little harder because it was still in that honeymoon period. And then I'm yanked and kind of thrown into this, into this whole new environment separate from them. So made it difficult.

SPRAGUE: So you get to Puerto Rico. What happens first when you get there?

TIMM: So when we get there, we're being set up to actually go to Camp Santiago. But prior to that, we stayed at, um, I believe we stayed at Fort Buchanan [Puerto Rico]. And it was just a few days, kind of a layover type of thing. We stayed there. I remember we went to one of the, I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but this little Puerto Rican restaurant in Puerto Rico, myself and all my battle buddies that were there and spirits seemed okay. Nobody seemed really afraid or, you know, we just kind of kept positive. And so we stayed there for a few nights. I remember we went to like a club at some point and, yeah, then after those couple of days, then we took a bus out to Camp Santiago. That was in Aguadilla.

SPRAGUE: And what is Aguadilla? Sorry.

TIMM: Nope, that's just like a, it's similar to, like, a city. Just the location. That's where Camp Santiago is located.

SPRAGUE: Okay. And was that with the same unit or were you assigned to a different unit then?

TIMM: So we were actually merged with the 266th of, Camp San--or of--Puerto Rico. And, basically, the 266th, um, stated they needed more bodies and so 826th was called up to merge with and become the 266th of Puerto Rico.

SPRAGUE: What, ah, did you have time to react to that? What was that like merging the two units?

TIMM: There wasn't really time to re--unfortunately, there was really no time to react. So we got to Camp Santiago and we were more or less kind of dropped off 00:41:00without any direction. When we were initially dropped off, there were no, there was nobody in command. So we were kind of thrown into this group. There was a drill sergeant in our, in the 826th, now the 266th, that tried to take charge. So it was a couple of days of the 826th, knowing the 826th, and the 266th knowing the 266th, and just kind of this mass of people thrown together without any initial direction or introductions or, and a lot of the, ah, I believe it was all men, I don't remember any women from the 266th. But, in any case, obviously, well, not obviously, but a good share of them did not speak English. So that also kind of made a disconnect. So it was, it was really difficult, 00:42:00especially with no direction.

SPRAGUE: So there was no commander? No first sergeant? No--

TIMM: There, there wasn't. So when we got there, yeah, there was nobody there in command. And like I said, that was a couple of days when the drill sergeant took charge. They took charge as a drill sergeant. So there was initially kind of a lot of yelling and trying to get people in order. And then we did have some actual, I don't remember their rank, but I do remember they came in and then started to get things together. And they were from, potentially, Fort Buchanan, I don't remember. But they came in and then things started to come together a bit more and then we had an actual chain of command in some direction. But even at that point, nobody knew, even them did not know really what the plan was. 00:43:00There was no set in stone: "You're going to train for two weeks, four weeks. This is the goal." That did not exist.

SPRAGUE: Do you have any opinion or impressions as to why that situation turned out, why it went into that state?

TIMM: I think the reason is, is because we were, we being the the government and the military were kind of trying to throw things together and figure things out after post 9/11. And I think there was just such an influx of people joining the military. And there was, there was just not a lot of, there was a lot of confusion and not a lot of oversight. So it was just kind of a chaos, I think, across the board, across all branches. That's my assumption. But I think it was one of those things where, throw them together and it'll take care of themselves 00:44:00because we have other stuff to focus on.

SPRAGUE: [Coughs] Excuse me. So you had mentioned during the pre-interview a little bit about horses running around. Give me a, paint a picture if you could. I mean, it sounds, it sounds interesting to me from the aspect of how things, you may or may not want them to be [laughs].

TIMM: Sure. So Camp Santiago was actually shut down due to health code. The buildings were dilapidated. There were wild animals kind of roaming around, garbage overflowing. So it was shut down, actually, before we got there. And again, nothing was really planned aside from getting us there. So they basically just reopened the doors once we got there. So there was no cleaning it, updating the buildings. You know, half the toilets and showers were clogged, overflowing, 00:45:00didn't work. The, like I said, all the buildings were really in disrepair. Where we did formation was in a parking lot outside of the, I guess, main building. Um, the kitchen, there was insects and spider webs and geckos and kind of everything all over the walls and the floors. Nothing was clean, so, it smelled like garbage all of the time. Our con--we lived in these concrete kind of huts that were all together. And every morning you'd wake up, you'd have bug bites. And I don't mean bug bites, like six bug bites. I mean, chicken pox level, of your legs are covered in bug bites. And that was a common that was just a common 00:46:00occurrence. Everything was not just army second hand, but not taken care of. Really awful secondhand mattresses, blankets, pillows. There was a teeny tiny little hut of a [inaudible] there, which is a shopping center. Little, tiny little, the smallest you can think of [laughs]. And, again in disrepair. Kind of had second hand items being sold. And so it was very clearly kind of thrown together so we could live there.

SPRAGUE: About how long did it take from spiders and animals running around to clean water and food and and some level of stability?

TIMM: Uh, so the only thing we got that changed was we got fed every day. So 00:47:00nothing really changed as far as cleanliness. We were kind of told to just work with what we have. You know, if the toilets don't work, then don't use them. If they're overflowing, just skip those. So we had like this, you know, ten toilets that we just used and we ignored the rest of them. We cleaned as best we could, But, you know, it had been closed down for some time. So, I mean, that there was really no, there was really no changes. We did what we could as a unit when we were there, but the animals were still around. So there's one point where--because we had to leave the concrete huts and kind of go walk all the way down this grassy field and around a gate to get to the bathrooms--so there was one point that I went that did that trek and there was just a stray horse hanging out, sleeping [Sprague laughs], so [laughs] scared the heck out of me. 00:48:00But, yeah, there was that. And there's like these sidewalks and kind of like this gutter almost where all of the sewage and water kind of mixed together and would flow through. I don't remember the garbage as ever getting picked up, so it was, as long as it was livable enough, that's kind of how it stayed aside from we got fed and it was pretty much rice every day.

SPRAGUE: Oh.

TIMM: So.

SPRAGUE: So they did attempt hot meals, or rice meals at least?

TIMM: Yes, it was rice meals and MREs [Meals Ready-to-Eat].

SPRAGUE: What training did you do while you were there?

TIMM: So the training was interesting because a lot of it was I mean, it used to be a fully-working camp. So they did have locations for training. So day-to-day, 00:49:00it wasn't like basic training where it was, here's the plan. This is what we're working toward. It was kind of a roll of the dice, okay, let's maybe go to this location today and train on this. One of the things that we did, and a lot of it wasn't explained, which I don't expect the Army to explain why for everything. I don't. But, for example, one of the things we did, and this is the one thing that stuck in my mind for all of these years, is we were took out into a training area, field, lots and lots of field at this camp, kind of a middle of nowhere type of feel. And we went out and we had these white tents that we all stayed in. We were fully geared up. And we were told to, if night, we told to go to sleep, and we were allowed to sleep in 15, 45 minutes, an hour segments. And 00:50:00then they wake us all up. And that was several times during the night that they did that over the course of a couple of days. They would wake us up, no extra training, just stand in formation and then wait and then go back to sleep. And that was the process through those couple of days. And one of the people, one of my, the other soldiers that was in my unit, we all had loaded M-16s and he had a mental breakdown. I don't remember if it was the first or the second night, but we woke up to him screaming and threatening people, yelling, kind of a mixture of Spanish and English. And he was, we were surrounded by those big garbage, like, storage containers. And he was running around and slamming the butt of this M-16 on those storage containers. And that's what we were woken up to. And 00:51:00after that happened, he just, they got rid of him. There was no debrief or talk about what they did or, you know, check in to see if any of us were all right. It was like it never happened. He was just gone. So that's probably the biggest, you know, that was the most kind of jarring event, I guess.

SPRAGUE: Did you have anybody get injured in your unit while you were there?

TIMM: Uh, not that I can think of. No.

SPRAGUE: Okay. I assume you had ranges or that type of activity as well or not? If they were preparing you for Iraq or what?

TIMM: We did. I don't remember doing any--we--the only practice I 00:52:00remember--because I don't remember working on a range at all--but we did have, like in one of the, kind of, well another one of the buildings that was in disrepair, there was one of, there was one of those, I guess it's not a game, but it has an M-16 on it. You can kind of shoot it. It's like an airsoft type of things. You can get the feel of the recoil and you can train your aim that way. There was just one lone game that we would play, but I don't remember any range training at all. It was more like clearing a room type of training more than anything.

SPRAGUE: How about in terms of ordnance? Were they, whatever ordnance people do to train?

TIMM: The only thing that I recall is we did work on the maintenance of vehicles. That was one of the things that we that we worked on, a couple of 00:53:00forklifts that we had to. So we every day, or every few days, we had to do maintenance on the vehicles. Um, so again, not a lot of training having to do with our actual job, more training having to do on the survival level of things and how to deal with the groups that we'd be encountering when we were in Iraq and that kind of thing. So it was more on a survival level and less on a how are we going to do our job when we get there level?

SPRAGUE: Were the vehicles from Puerto Rico or the units, the vehicles from Wisconsin?

TIMM: They were from Puerto Rico. Yes.

SPRAGUE: So tell me about them think, you know, the eventual deployment to Iraq and that sequence.

TIMM: Yeah. So, basically, what happened was, um, I guess I'll kind of, I had 00:54:00informed my, one of the one, one person in the chain of command. I don't remember the rank at this, at this time, but I had kind of written a, I had written a letter. I wrote statements about my, the, an issue I was having with my mental health. So that kind of started the process of getting me pulled for medical. And I didn't hear anything about it until we got the orders on mobilizing to Iraq. And then they actually pulled me from going with my unit a 00:55:00day before they were actually shipped off. So.

SPRAGUE: Do you think that was done intentionally the day before or what, in terms of the timing of it?

TIMM: I don't know why they did it that way, um, because at that point, I, I figured I would get some help. Um, I was also dealing with another medical issue, IBS [Irritable Bowel Syndrome], which is really what they focused more on. But I was hoping to kind of get help and then be able to go with my unit. And I thought that up until the moment that they told me that I, I think it was just the normal kind of hurry up and wait last minute mentality. I don't I don't think it was done maliciously. I think it was just one of those things where, Oh yeah, that's right. We got to fix this. Pull her before she goes kind of thing.

SPRAGUE: What are your what are your thoughts on that?

TIMM: Um, I, I was [sighs] Well, you know, at the time when I was pulled outwardly, I felt relief because I wouldn't have to struggle with what I was struggling with, overseas. And, and but deeper inside, what I kind of hid, that I didn't, I didn't realize I was going through this at the time, but I felt an enormous amount of guilt and feeling like I failed my unit and I had abandoned them. But kind of the second that that feeling happened, I buried it. Not consciously. I just, I didn't realize that I even had those feelings until a few 00:57:00years ago from now. So I was, I wouldn't admitted that. I wouldn't have admitted at the time that I was devastated, but I was, because it was really hard to deal with the fact that these people that I had known and trained with for so long, I wasn't able to go with them. So.

SPRAGUE: And what, how have you been able to approach that in terms of, and to work through that, and deal with that?

TIMM: Well. Well, first of all, unfortunately, it was made worse because when I 00:58:00was pulled, I then spent a few months at Fort Buchanan. Just to wait. And it was a lot of, kind of, unknowns. I didn't know when I was going home or what was going on with my unit or I don't know what was happening. So I received no medical care at all regarding my mental health. Nobody talked to me. I mean, I had a few incidences in, at Camp Santiago of cutting myself, ah, hoping to not wake up. It was after the event with, um, that, the life threatening--um--so I, 00:59:00you know, I told the person, um, one of the people in my chain of command about that, but it was all kind of swept under the rug. It was never dealt with. Um, just none of it was talked about. So I went to Fort Buchanan, and then I went to Fort McCoy, sent to Fort McCoy. And I, neither of those places I was allowed to work. And it was, um--They told me that due to my condition, which they said IBS, they didn't even mention the mental health. They said I wasn't allowed to work. I wasn't allowed to do any tasks. I was basically allowed to sleep all day and, you know, go off base and do, you know, go to the mall [laughs]. That's what I was allowed to do. And nothing was really explained to me. So I spent, let's see, I spent a couple of months in Camp Santiago, and then I spent, let's see, it was 11 months, so eight, nine months between Buchanan and McCoy of not 01:00:00being allowed to do anything and not having any care. So because of that, because of not dealing with what I went through, and because I had nobody to talk to, it created a lot of issues that I think could have been avoided, because by the time I was done and I finished at Fort McCoy and they finally told me 11 months into my active duty that I could go home, I believed that nothing was wrong because nobody talked like anything was wrong. So I went home thinking I was okay and I was fine. I wasn't fine. I isolated a lot. I was very, I had a very short kind of fuze. I just couldn't handle people. I spent a lot of 01:01:00time just playing video games and I jumped through a lot of different jobs. I couldn't stick with a job. I couldn't, I jumped through different schools. I couldn't find a school or what I wanted to do. And I really struggled with making friends. And so I just, I kind of kept to myself. And because of how they treated the whole situation, and because nobody acted like anything I went through was of consequence, I, you know, like a 21-year-old, was kind of like, "Oh, well, yeah, I didn't go through anything. And none of this is a big deal." And I didn't realize that what I went through and the circumstances and all of it was a big deal until just a few years ago when I started working with a therapist and they heard what happened and they said, "No, that's, of course that affected you." Um, so I'm just recently realizing that and accepting that 01:02:00all of that happened and that it was a big deal and that I'm not blowing it out of proportion. And it's still hard for me to say that because I still feel like, "Oh, it was a crappy place, and the guy threatened my life, and, you know, whatever. Big deal. People go through that every day." That's kind of my--so I'm still dealing with that and, and dealing with feeling like I abandoned my [breathes] unit. But as far as how I'm working through it, just therapy, it's a long time that I've--it's years, you know, almost 20 years that I've told myself that it's not a big deal and that I'm okay. So it's a lot of, a lot to work through. So.

SPRAGUE: What, what ended up happening with the Army? What was the situation when you left, ah, in terms of the state of, you know, how did that, how did 01:03:00that finally play out, after coming back to Fort McCoy?

TIMM: Can you explain a little bit more.

SPRAGUE: What, what, you talked about spending a lot of time in bed.

TIMM: Yes.

SPRAGUE: Eight to nine months. What was your discharge from the Army? What did that look like?

TIMM: So I had an honorable discharge. I didn't get medical. Again, a lot of this wasn't explained to me. You know, the not allowing me to work. You know, not really telling me what was going on. I got a lot of, "We don't know. We're still waiting. Things are being reviewed." But at no point was I sat down and said, "Okay, we're", you know, "waiting on this," or, "We're trying to get you a medical discharge," or, nothing. If I--it was literally in November that they called me up and said, "Okay, you're being discharged in a few days." And that 01:04:00was it. Out of nowhere. There was no, there was, I,I, I got nothing. It was kind of a void for months. And then all of a sudden I was, "Okay, you're out, you're discharged." I didn't really, there was no real debrief. There was no follow up as far as, hey, stuff happened to you. "Go to the VA." I, the VA was, from what I recall, never explained to me. I didn't sign up for the VA until like ten years later. So it was I was kind of just kicked out the door. And that was, that was it there. I don't--no follow up in any capacity [clears throat].

SPRAGUE: So obviously, um, your opinion from when you started and when you 01:05:00entered military to when you were discharged, your experience is very, I'm sure, changed.

TIMM: Yeah [clears throat].

SPRAGUE: Go ahead. Sorry.

TIMM: It has. When I--I'm very conflicted. I, I loved basic. I loved the training, um. I think I just ended up in a very unfortunate situation. And I think I realized that, you know, on one hand, the military and the government can really care, and but, they can also go the complete opposite direction and pretend you don't exist, which unfortunately, when we were sent to Camp Santiago, you know--when I was in Fort Jackson and doing my basic and Redstone Arsenal and doing my AIT [Advanced Individual Training], you kin--you, you felt like a soldier that was doing something. You felt like you were learning something. You felt like you were being a part. You felt like you were noticed, at least in some little bit. And when we were sent to Camp Santiago, we were 01:06:00trash. We were thrown into a space and forgotten about. You know, it was, you know, at first it felt kind of good. Oh, we're going to merge with 266. We're going to be a help. We're going to work together. We're going to go. We're going to do our job. And, when we got there, we realized, oh, the government just kind of, the military just kind of looked at the 266, the Army, and they said, "Oh, they need people. Just, all right, just grab these people and throw them in there and just they'll just they'll figure it out, you know? Oh, it's dirty. They're there. They'll be fine. And it was, it went from feeling like a soldier and feeling like I was doing something to feeling like no more than a piece of garbage that was forgotten about. I've tried to contact Camp Santiago for records, for example, the letter I wrote. Then they basically stated that once 01:07:00we left, the camp was shut down again and all records were lost. So, we're, myself and my unit, are a ghost. So that, that time period. So, yeah, I look back now and, you know, all, all I want, and I think my, you know, my fellow soldiers or my battle buddies want is just to be recognized. We were there [laughs]. It was tough. But, you know, just recognized. And it just, it's very hard to go from feeling like you're something to, to realizing you're just one teeny, tiny part in the cogs that may be forgotten about, you know, on a whim.

SPRAGUE: So tell me about after the discharge in November of 2004.

TIMM: Yes.

SPRAGUE: Tell me about bringing that forward to today and what that was like coming out of the Army. What was that transition like?

TIMM: Because there was no, it was a--it was black and white. So I knew the military. I knew the Army. I knew my job. I knew the system. And then there was no, like, nice gray transition area. I didn't get to go to black and then transition from gray and then to white. It was black. And then you were kicked out and it's white. And now you have to figure out how to live in white. And, I don't know. I felt the same way I felt when I was at Redstone Arsenal, where there was this freedom and I should have felt like, "Yeah, freedom and they should do what I want. And I can find my own job and I can wear my clothes." But 01:09:00I didn't feel that way. All of a sudden, I had to figure everything out. I had a, I didn't just have a job. Ammunition specialist doesn't translate to anything. So I was at ground zero. I had nothing. I had no skills. I didn't. I was told who I was for two years. Now I don't know. I don't know what I want to go to school for. I don't know what job I want. I don't, it's, it was like starting over. And so it just a whole lot of trial and error, a whole lot of this job and then that job and, you know, try and make friends or choose around people. Okay, isolate, try school, quit, try school, quit, try a job. Quit. It was that for years, years and years. And then I got little pieces like I started to go to the VA and get some help from them. So it was, it was really hard. And 01:10:00when I tried to go back to school, I was trying to use the post-9/11 GI Bill, but there was some confusion on paying for it, and they said, I should have gotten this percentage. And then I--so there's some confusion where I ultimately ended up owing them, I think like four or five grand. So there was that that kind of, you know, messed things up. So it's just been I haven't started to feel stable. And I think the therapy is what's helped me feel. I feel like I'm finally starting to find the real me. But I did. I didn't start to feel stable or capable or on solid ground until 2019, 2020. So it's been a few years. And 01:11:00just, just now, the past year, I've just finally started to feel good. But I'm at a point now where, now, okay, now I feel stable enough to actually find myself, you know, who am I and what do I like? Yes, I was a soldier, but I'm not a soldier anymore. And I have to find out who this person is. This this person, this person that I was before the military. Who is that? And I'm trying to find that person, so.

SPRAGUE: Do you? I know you. You now work with veterans?

TIMM: Yes.

SPRAGUE: Do you see that happening in your peers, that you're going through that transition and struggling with that transition. And working through that?

TIMM: I do, actually. I see a lot of the veterans I work with [pause] still very 01:12:00much exist. How do I say this? They still very much exist as veterans, and I see that that military member in them is always in them and it will never go away. And you can just see it. And it's, interestingly, it's allowed me to accept that to a great degree, that that's just, that is kind of molded into me now. There's no separating myself from that person. So I do, I absolutely see that. And I absolutely see their abili--their inability to transition, because a lot of, a lot of them I know they're starting kind of more transitional services now from going from military to civilian life. But most of the people I work with are older and never had that either. So. And interestingly, a lot of them still 01:13:00don't know what services are out there. Oh, I want to say maybe 50% of them aren't signed up for the VA. They don't know how. It's too convoluted. But even I get questions all the time what services are out there for vets. So there's still some, there's still some struggle after all of this time.

SPRAGUE: So. So tell me about how you're working with veterans today and that experience?

TIMM: Sure. So, I, I'm, I'm so lucky to have the job that I do. I am the veteran market director at Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin. And so I run the Veteran Market, which is basically a food pantry for veterans and surviving spouse 01:14:00households. And, yes, it's, you know, a food pantry. They come in. They're able to actually shop for what they need. Everything is free. But there's an element to it because it's veteran that makes it so different. And I'll give you an example. We have we have shopping hours, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tuesday morning, we don't open till noon. Every Tuesday, we have a group of vets between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. that bring chairs and they all sit outside our door and wait for the doors to open. And they just talk. And they have done that for months. They will do that in the middle of winter. They'll just hang out. And that's that's the environment that we have. And I think it's really special specifically because it's veterans. It's there's, just this--there's all ages and all different types of people, all walks of life, and they'll just sit, and 01:15:00they'll just talk. And that's how the entire environment is because of that, because that's just how the connection, whether you were me and you only were in two years or somebody who did 40 years. There's a, there's a connection there. And so. That's, that's what makes the Veteran Market, and just my job, really special because I get to be among other vets. So, yeah.

SPRAGUE: For the person who's watching, who's not a veteran--

TIMM: Yeah.

SPRAGUE: --listening in who's not a veteran. Tell me if you can--I know this might be hard--tell me a little bit about the connection you're talking about between veterans. If you can [both laugh]. No pressure.

TIMM: So there's. There's almost this--it's like this thing where you can look 01:16:00into another vet's eyes and without saying it or doing anything specific or anything like that, there's just this understanding of like, [pause] um, "You signed the paper. You did it. You and I, we're on the same level. And because the military is the military, I know you went through something. And I know to some degree, you struggled. And it wasn't, completely different struggle, you know, one person struggling with being poor, another person struggling with a death. It was like this military struggle. It's a very specific struggle that all military members go through. No matter how long you were in, you went 01:17:00through something. And that there's just this comfort in knowing that. And there's this respect that you, my fellow vet, took that courage and that power to sign the paper and to serve your country. You did the same as me." Um, you know, and I, I always feel so guilty that I was only in for two years, but, even that, I still get that connection with them because I still did it. Because I still stood up. I still raise my right hand. I still signed the paper. I still did all the steps. And so there's, there's a, there's just a connection. It's, it's a really, it's a really beautiful thing. And I, I like it because, um, of, 01:18:00among civilians, I always kind of feel like an outcast. So, I don't, I don't, I feel when they're all in there, I just feel safe and I feel like they're not judging me. So. I, it's, it's like I can just kind of, I never feel embarrassed of who I am or what I'm doing or, I guess [laughs] I could say or do anything. They be like, "It's cool, you're a vet," I think. "We, we appreciate you and everything that you're about." And so, yeah, it's, it's just, it's like an automatic acceptance. It's like this automatic acceptance card that you get whenever you walk into a room of vets than when you're by yourself. So.

SPRAGUE: What. What is it like working with volunteers in your organization?

TIMM: Volunteers are wonderful and that's at--they all--well, no, we get, we get veteran volunteers, too. Probably about a 50% vets and just people with vets in their family. But that, it's, they all have such a passion. They all come in there having a passion for helping veterans. And that creates this kind of camaraderie among the volunteers, because they're all there for a very specific cause and they're all connected to vets in some way. You know, they have a family member or friend or they are a vet. So they they all, you can, you can tell that they're there to work hard and try because they have such a close 01:20:00connection to it.

SPRAGUE: What are some of the plans for Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin? What are some of the things that are in the works?

TIMM: Okay. So as far as the Veteran Market side, one of the things that we're working on at the moment is, I'm always, I want to give the best to our vets. So I'm working on a remodel at the moment to really make it feel like a grocery store setting, because one of the, and that means redoing the floors, the shelving, getting new paint. And the reason for that is because, there's an issue with veterans--and I know this for a fact personally--there's an issue with pride, and you say, "Well, I'm not going to go to a food pantry because that's where, you know, people are struggling. And I don't want people to see I'm struggling," um, and there's just a heightened sense of pride. So I want to do as much as I can and say, "No, look at this. This is--your worth this. this, 01:21:00this is for you." So that's one of the private projects I'm working on personally. Another project under the market is going to be the mobile market. So that's going to be a renovated school bus that's going to have a Veteran Market inside it. And we're actually going to travel, starting with southeastern Wisconsin, and go to locations and just have a schedule that will be out there. And veterans in that area can then use our service and it'll-- twofold, obviously will help the neighborhood, but also we'll be able to find out where the greatest need is and then potentially moving forward, as we get those statistics, we'll be able to open up better markets in other areas as well. And then also we have the [Gary G. Wetzel] Veteran Village, which is our 15 tiny home village for homeless and at-risk veterans. It's an all encompassing program to get them back on their feet. So that mobile market is also another way for us 01:22:00to find if there's housing needs on top of that as well.

SPRAGUE: Any ideas when mobile market might launch?

TIMM: Quarter one of 2023.

SPRAGUE: Oh wow.

TIMM: Yeah. End of--our plan is end of quarter one just to kind of be safe. But we've had the mobile market kind of in the works and planned since, I'd say, the beginning of 2022. So right now we're kind of in the midst of getting the bus and getting the print and all that kind of stuff.

SPRAGUE: What other veterans organizations are you involved with, or, are not?

TIMM: So the--let me think--the people I work the closest with would probably be the County Veterans Service Offices of all of the, you know, as far as the Center for Veterans Issues, CVSO, of course, the VA itself, the Milwaukee 01:23:00Homeless Veterans Initiative. I know I'm going to forget one, they all have our contact and then they send veterans to us as far as if they need food or if they need housing. And I'm trying to think--I know I'm going to forget one, and I'm going to feel terrible--but those are some of the organizations that we're working with. Yeah.

SPRAGUE: We just passed Veterans Day. What do you do on Veterans Day?

TIMM: So usually we have, we work with a couple other groups for Veterans Day doing food drives. That's our main, that is our main focus. I'd like to do 01:24:00something special for our veterans for next year. We usually kind of--the most that we have--let me let me step back. [Pause] Yeah, at this time we don't really do anything special aside from food drives for Veterans Day. Um, and I'd like to change that moving into 2023. I'd want to do something special, especially for our clients. This, this 2023 year, I'm really going to--I, I just came on July of 2021, so I've been kind of picking things back up for this past year. But 2023, I really want to focus on the market clients and do something really special for them.

SPRAGUE: Mm-hmm. How about on a personal level? It--

TIMM: I just started. This is going to sound silly, but I've just kind of started to, because of therapy I've been going through. I've just kind of started accepting myself into that. So now I'm getting to a point to, I don't want to say celebrate, but to accept that I'm a vet and that I am worthy of, you know, the little bits of "Happy Veterans Day," and, you know, the community support that happens. So I'm, I'm still moving my way into being okay with that. So. So nothing substantial yet. I'm still kind of wary about allowing my self to do that.

SPRAGUE: So in thinking about this, really two kind of questions. How has your 01:26:00life changed for for being in the military? And, what if, you know, how things might have been different if things hadn't gone down at Camp Santiago the way they had? How do you think your life might be different?

TIMM: Okay. Um. [Pause] So, like I kind of explained earlier, the, the experience in the Army gave me a lot of positive traits. Um, you know, my ability to, my attention to detail. Um, to listen to direction, to be extremely reliable, um, to always just be aware and keyed up, which is both a positive and 01:27:00a negative. Those are some really positive aspects. I, I think I came out of the Army a much stronger person. Some of the negatives, though, I'm, [pause] I struggle with sleep because of what happened in Camp Santiago. And that my insomnia has actually landed me in inpatient care a couple of times. So, you know, not getting that mental health follow up, um, or any sort of anything really affected me. Um, so mental health is a huge one that's been a pretty 01:28:00large burden this whole time. So if Camp Santiago didn't happen, I think. [pause] I honestly think that I would still be in, and I think I would have, if I just would have gone through a normal training pre-deployment preparation, I think I would have been okay. I think I would still be in. You know, I aside from being scared, when I went to Camp Santiago, I. I was, you know, I was like, all right, you know, you got your you've got to do and so I signed the papers, and I think it just really broke me down. And not in a good creating-a-soldier 01:29:00kind of way, but in just a, a complete breaking down of me as a person. And I do--I think if I wouldn't have gone to Camp Santiago, then it would have just been normal. I would have have had a full term, if not re-enlisted, because I did, I loved I loved being in the Army. And I--that, that experience, even though it wasn't that long, you know, month and a half, it completely changed everything. So.

SPRAGUE: What, what motivated you to do this interview?

TIMM: This is part of my, um. I mean, one thing is part of my forcing myself to accept that I am worthy and that I am a vet. Um. And accepting that other people 01:30:00I mean, you know, if you guys didn't think I was a vet, you wouldn't have invited me. So it's part of me saying, "Okay, okay. Yes, I'm a vet." And I also want to talk to other women that weren't in that long and just tell them you are worthy. You did sign the papers. You did it. It does--it is, and it is okay that you are scared. It is okay if something happened to you that you couldn't control. It is not your fault. I want to be here for--I want to be that voice for those women that are sitting at home, because I think there's a lot of them that don't feel like their service was worth it, or they didn't serve long enough or they didn't do enough or they didn't deploy, so they weren't worthy. Um. That's so wrong. And I'm also saying that so I can accept it eventually. Um. 01:31:00But that's why I'm here. Those are the two reasons. And the big one is to just tell them that those women that, you did serve, and you are a real veteran, so they are worth it.

SPRAGUE: Is there anything else that we missed that you'd like to cover?

TIMM: Um. I don't regret. I just want to say that I don't regret going in the Army. I still--it was really hard, but, you know, I, I don't, I will never regret it because it it did make me who I am today. So I'm, I'm proud of that. 01:32:00All the good and the all the positives and the struggles and the negatives. And still I'd still never take it back. So.

SPRAGUE: Okay, then. You don't have anything else?

TIMM: No, That should be good.

SPRAGUE: Okay. Well, thank you. That will conclude the interview.