Oral History Interview with Lisa A. Fauster

[Interview Begins]

ROWELL: Today is March 15, 2023. This is an interview with Lisa Fauster, who served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard from 1987 to 1993. This interview is being conducted by Kate Rowell at Mukwonago Community Library in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. The interview is being conducted for the I'm Not Invisible Project and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program. So, Lisa, let's begin with where you grew up.

FAUSTER: I grew up in a town not.

FAUSTER: Too far from here, about a better an hour north.

FAUSTER: Ish West Bend, Wisconsin.

FAUSTER: And I went to.

FAUSTER: All of my schooling there.

FAUSTER: And then joined the village, joined a guard when I was 19.

FAUSTER: So and then my life took a whole different turn.

FAUSTER: From West Bend. Right.

ROWELL: And so what was that like for you when you were growing up as a kid?

FAUSTER: Hmm.

FAUSTER: Not good.

FAUSTER: Okay. I grew up in a household that.

FAUSTER: In today's standards.

FAUSTER: Probably would have been criminal violence towards myself and my sisters, who are both younger than me. I have two younger sisters. And so, yeah, it wasn't good. And it was every day, occasionally a day break here or there, but it was pretty awful.

ROWELL: And so.

FAUSTER: Now I did enjoy high school because then I could get.

FAUSTER: Really active in extracurriculars. During school, I was bullied as well from first grade up til eighth grade. So I was bullied at home.

FAUSTER: So to speak, and bullied. So but high school was a different experience.

ROWELL: Yeah. Do you want to say more about that?

FAUSTER: Well, I like I said, I got.

FAUSTER: Involved with extracurriculars, like yearbook. I was I was one of those drama kids. I was involved. It was very involved with choir and and musicals and working behind in.

FAUSTER: SATs and things.

FAUSTER: Like that. And there I started to form some really good friendships. Two of the.

FAUSTER: Girls I'm still really good.

FAUSTER: Friends with 30 plus years later, so it's pretty cool. Yeah.

ROWELL: And were there any veterans or service members in your family or in your kind of social group?

FAUSTER: Yeah, and my dad.

FAUSTER: Was an Air Force vet. So were all of his brothers, which is three of our brothers on my mom's side. Let me see both of my uncles. At least that was the case while I was growing up. As I got older and my mom's side and very many of my.

FAUSTER: Not necessarily my cousins, my male cousins served.

FAUSTER: But their kids, many of the third generations really got active in the military.

ROWELL: Mm hmm. What was your impression of the military as a young person? Oh.

FAUSTER: I loved it.

FAUSTER: I would I would say.

FAUSTER: That from very young on, I was very patriotic as a quick story that I'll share is.

FAUSTER: Was the bicentennial.

FAUSTER: In 1976. And we went and saw the fireworks and we listened to a band and and then we got home. Mom had the Boston Pops and she loved the Boston Pops patriotic concerts.

FAUSTER: And so she has that.

FAUSTER: I just kind of had this this itch. And so I asked her. It was late night and I was pretty young. It was under ten. Yeah, it was nine at that time.

FAUSTER: Said, Do you mind if I take a walk and just make it and never want to go.

FAUSTER: Outside, if that's okay. It was late ish. It was like nine or ten, just like church is right around the block and then you come back and and.

FAUSTER: So I didn't.

FAUSTER: Go around the block. I went up to the tech school that was several blocks away, and I stood in front of the flag and I prayed for our country. And then I.

FAUSTER: Put my hand on my heart and I sang the national anthem. So, yeah, I've been a patriot all my life.

FAUSTER: Especially loving law enforcement. We had several of our family members have served in some capacity in that manner, but also definitely of our military. I always felt very grateful for them. Mm hmm.

ROWELL: And so when did enlistment arise as an option for you?

FAUSTER: I had a story to it, of course. I shared with my upbringing.

FAUSTER: Well, I'd met a boy in high school my senior year, and of course, we were also in love. And so we got married. Mm hmm. 11 months after we graduated high school. And.

FAUSTER: You know.

FAUSTER: Things were tense between us. I figured, well, his. He's not hitting me, so I can withstand the mental and the emotional sort of abuses and dumps.

FAUSTER: I was also a doormat, you could say, at the time. And he joined the guard.

FAUSTER: Think that I don't know where that's coming from.

ROWELL: I don't either.

FAUSTER: It's very unusual. But. And he joined the.

FAUSTER: Guard about a month after we got married. And he said.

FAUSTER: You know, we really need the money and you need to join because if you don't join.

FAUSTER: Well, we may have to go our separate ways.

FAUSTER: Mind you, I had just gotten married. So, like a good.

FAUSTER: Doormat, I joined. I joined the guard and. Yeah.

FAUSTER: That was an interesting time. I didn't even.

FAUSTER: Know my recruiter said.

FAUSTER: This is the MLS we're going to put you.

FAUSTER: In because while there is a bonus and I had no clue with that, Emma was was 31, Charlie, a radio teletype operator.

FAUSTER: And I didn't find out what that was.

FAUSTER: Until I was in basic training, talking to my buddy that I was like assigned to. And I'm like, Oh.

FAUSTER: Okay, coming in. Communications. Okay, that's cool. And it turned out I really enjoyed it.

FAUSTER: Um, I enjoyed the camaraderie. Um, I didn't have to. I mean.

FAUSTER: The physical part of it was kind of a drag, but it's a.

FAUSTER: Drag for everybody. But I ended up, like, passing my petty tests and all of that just fine. Uh, I enjoyed the discipline. Um, but yeah, being a part of something greater was really cool for me.

ROWELL: And did your husband enlist also?

FAUSTER: He did okay. He did enlist.

FAUSTER: He also was booted out about a.

FAUSTER: Year.

FAUSTER: And a half after we started basic training.

ROWELL: Okay. Do you wish to talk more about that?

FAUSTER: Well, sure. I, uh.

FAUSTER: He he did not like it from the start during basic training. First, you.

FAUSTER: Don't get really from you don't really get phone.

FAUSTER: Calls in the middle of training.

FAUSTER: He called.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: Gosh, four or five times now.

FAUSTER: I had to restart. I had an eye ulcer, so it didn't allow me to qualify with my rifle. Boy, that's how upset about that, because we're.

FAUSTER: Just about into week seven and I got restarted to week to name with another company and that was.

FAUSTER: Interesting, but I ended up qualifying just fine. Um, and so yeah, he called and said, Oh, I really hate this. We need to do something for my work.

FAUSTER: But then I had kind of, kind of grown up just a little.

FAUSTER: Bit being around and that sort of environment.

FAUSTER: And I'm like, Well, we need to seek this out. This is what we we said we.

FAUSTER: Were going to do.

FAUSTER: And he, uh, he allowed himself.

FAUSTER: To get.

FAUSTER: Overweight. And of course, fitness was a big deal in the military.

FAUSTER: Um, he wasn't all that mentally stable. Um, I ended up that year and a half later, I ended up starting a relationship. Not good. I was married, um, but I knew that was falling apart. So I guess in my back of my mind and my brother in care. And he of course, was very upset.

FAUSTER: About this, as he should be.

FAUSTER: But he acted, uh.

FAUSTER: He took his M-16 loaded into to the.

FAUSTER: Male's barracks. I was the only female in, in our platoon. So and.

FAUSTER: They, we all came back from the field. I went to my own barracks.

FAUSTER: Which is kind of cool. I whole barracks myself.

FAUSTER: Now, the guys, they were.

FAUSTER: They were in their own. And he was sitting there and he threatened the guy that I was sort of dating and several of the other, uh, members in our platoon. And uh, so he was, and he went a while for four days, basically dropped his rifle and ran. Uh, he was found and he was, he was kicked out. I believe you got a, a general discharge. Okay.

ROWELL: So it was it was not other than honorable.

FAUSTER: I mean, might have been. I know it was an.

FAUSTER: Honorable he was very upset about that when he come home. And and we were in the process of officially splitting. So.

ROWELL: And was this during your basic training or during 1880?

FAUSTER: Okay. Well, actually, no. This is after.

FAUSTER: 82.

ROWELL: Okay.

FAUSTER: When we were both reassigned to our guard unit.

ROWELL: All right, let's take a pause just for sure. We'll come right back. So this and segment one of the interview with Lisa Foster on March 15th, two. This begins Segment two of the interview with Lisa Foster on March 15th, 2023. So we were discussing your husband's discharge.

FAUSTER: Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, that was a very strange time. I mean, truly, truthfully.

FAUSTER: I know I was making bad choices, especially with the baby daughter.

FAUSTER: Because, of course, they're having a child fixes everything. At least that's a.

FAUSTER: Common disbelief anyway.

FAUSTER: And, yeah, it was just a.

FAUSTER: Very weird time in both of our lives, in my unit's.

FAUSTER: Life. But we made it through.

FAUSTER: And eventually.

FAUSTER: I mean, they didn't my unit didn't.

FAUSTER: Find me at fault with anything, but they, they certainly started proceedings to, uh, to just charge him out. Um, and I.

FAUSTER: I just continue to move on.

FAUSTER: Truth be told, um, after that.

FAUSTER: I didn't move on to grade to very well. Actually got home.

FAUSTER: Um, I had a new apartment at the time in the same town that my unit was. It didn't have. Oh, yeah, I had a car. It was just kind of not working the greatest. But anyway, I made it back to the apartment. My parents and my sisters were looking after my daughter while I was on an annual training, and, um.

FAUSTER: I had a nervous breakdown.

FAUSTER: Uh, basically a picture of one of.

FAUSTER: A picture of a of me.

FAUSTER: I didn't have food, but I have plenty of memories left over. I ate kind of ate on those, uh, smoking, drinking a lot, um, and kind of doing the right thing for about three weeks.

FAUSTER: My parents had no idea. They tried to.

FAUSTER: They tried to call me on my landline cell sort of thing. Back then, I didn't have a bank phone, so, um, and they.

FAUSTER: Would slide notes underneath my.

FAUSTER: Door and yeah, I just. I was just not there, so to speak.

FAUSTER: I never did have any sort.

FAUSTER: Of treatment for that. Um, during the course of that time, they called up my ex and explained.

FAUSTER: We're trying to get hold of.

FAUSTER: Lisa. We should don't know where she is. We can't keep taking care of her because.

FAUSTER: I mean, they had.

FAUSTER: Jobs and lives of their own.

FAUSTER: And so she went to go.

FAUSTER: With her dad and and I eventually lost physical custody of her. Uh, I was also becoming an alcoholic at that time.

FAUSTER: Still making drills, still participating as much as I could. And during those drills, going to annual trainings, trying to do the best I could.

FAUSTER: And and, and I lost.

FAUSTER: The government decided while you're in the West, doesn't.

FAUSTER: Really suit the needs of of a growing.

FAUSTER: Technology and growing technology into I last families. My unit disbanded was during 9092.

FAUSTER: Yeah and the guard sort of shifted and and changed up some in the state and.

FAUSTER: I ended up at a unit instead of my.

FAUSTER: The 64th rack in Hartford.

FAUSTER: I ended up going.

FAUSTER: To the 1/50 11/58 Maintenance Company.

FAUSTER: And so I had no ammo.

FAUSTER: As I.

FAUSTER: Was waiting to see.

FAUSTER: If they were going to retrain me.

FAUSTER: And it never quite happened.

FAUSTER: The last several months of my six year enlistment.

FAUSTER: I was pretty.

FAUSTER: Into the bottle by then, trying to drink away everything that happened in the past with growing up, with being with him, with it, just everything.

FAUSTER: And and God bless my unit.

FAUSTER: I was trained to not make drills and, you know, partying was all important.

FAUSTER: And if even.

FAUSTER: If I thought I could go, I really couldn't. There was no way I could reasonably or.

FAUSTER: Legally drive to my unit.

FAUSTER: And I didn't make it the last couple of drills. And like I said, God bless him, they really could have.

FAUSTER: Kind of like phone the book at me for missing and not being there. Now I would call and I'm sure they could hear it in my.

FAUSTER: Voice, the state I was so I honestly.

FAUSTER: They.

FAUSTER: They allowed me an honorable discharge.

FAUSTER: They didn't actively seek out to retrain.

FAUSTER: Or to.

FAUSTER: Say, hey, you're so great, let's get you signed up for another enlistment.

FAUSTER: Had a term of enlistment added.

FAUSTER: And you know, it was what it.

FAUSTER: Was. Um, I had a lot of wonderful time when I served. I was very proud that I served regardless as to some of the background noise that was going on in my life, I. Now. And I was very I'm very grateful that I had the chance to be part of the National Guard.

ROWELL: Thank you for sharing your breath. So going kind of back to the beginning here about talking about the period in which you were your first enlisting. Yes. Of of your partner at that time.

FAUSTER: Right.

ROWELL: So why did you specifically. Why was the Army National Guard specifically the choice?

FAUSTER: Oh, well, you know, I really, really liked the idea that I could serve and then still have a wife and a home, especially several like a year after I enlisted.

FAUSTER: When I was getting ready to have a.

FAUSTER: Baby. I really appreciated.

FAUSTER: The fact that I could go home and work and have a life but still.

FAUSTER: Serve. And even though that was the case for.

FAUSTER: Me, with it being in the National Guard.

FAUSTER: I certainly was. If I were activated.

FAUSTER: For whatever reason, be it something.

FAUSTER: Here at home.

FAUSTER: Or Persian Gulf during the Gulf War one.

FAUSTER: I was ready to do that because I knew that was part of the deal. So I guess that's why.

FAUSTER: Why I appreciated the Guard and being a part of it. Yeah.

ROWELL: And can you state for me your your full maiden name?

FAUSTER: Sure. My maiden name is Lisa.

FAUSTER: Verena Foster. While I.

FAUSTER: Was in the guard, I was.

FAUSTER: Meyer, and then I was Hardy. And then I after we divorced me and the second husband, he was the guy that I was fraternizing.

FAUSTER: We ended up living together.

FAUSTER: And getting married. We were together for 16 years.

FAUSTER: But then it was Hardy.

FAUSTER: And then after he and I split up and divorced, Ivory read my maiden name.

ROWELL: Okay. And now it's.

FAUSTER: Faster. Yes.

FAUSTER: Okay. And I appreciate you saying it correctly. Most people.

FAUSTER: Say Foster.

ROWELL: We take notes on it, make sure that it's very important. Right? Sure. So, um, and then what do you remember about the day of your induction in 87?

FAUSTER: Oh, my gosh.

FAUSTER: Well, yeah. Being at maps.

FAUSTER: Having done well on my ASVAB and passing, I'll be doing the duck walk and everything.

FAUSTER: And being explained.

FAUSTER: What my what my contract was. Um, being able to raise my right hand and take the oath of enlistment. Oh, my gosh. My heart was swelling with pride and.

FAUSTER: Whereas. Yeah, I and the reason that.

FAUSTER: I originally joined was pretty messed up.

FAUSTER: By.

FAUSTER: That day. I'm like, This is amazing. Yeah.

ROWELL: And so can you state where you went to boot camp?

FAUSTER: Yeah, I went to Fort McCullough and Alabama. Like I said, I did my 13 weeks there.

FAUSTER: First with.

FAUSTER: The Fox Strike Company and then restarted.

FAUSTER: To a Charlie Company. And then I went to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for my 80. And yes, I was a.

FAUSTER: Distinguished honor guard there. So that was pretty exciting.

FAUSTER: I bet. Yeah. Yeah, I loved it.

ROWELL: And so did you and your husband at the time attend boot camp together? No. Okay.

FAUSTER: He went to Fort Jackson.

FAUSTER: Okay.

ROWELL: And how did you feel going into it? You were going into a period of time separate from each other.

FAUSTER: I was nervous, of course. A little scared. Basic training. Oh, me.

FAUSTER: My picture shows.

FAUSTER: Don't grab it. Sure.

FAUSTER: My picture.

FAUSTER: That's what we.

FAUSTER: We all kind of jokingly say. It's the What the hell it idea look of.

ROWELL: How old were you at that in that picture?

FAUSTER: 19. Although everybody likes you.

FAUSTER: All of my friends today like to joke. Oh, my gosh, you look like you're 12.

FAUSTER: Or did you have to have your mommy sign your permission slip? Stuff like that. Like I was 19.

FAUSTER: I just kind of had and thankfully, kind of still do.

FAUSTER: Have a youthful look.

FAUSTER: So definitely have it. Thanks. And yeah, I am.

FAUSTER: I am I am a female veteran of the skill part and then Kevlar generation.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: And so what do you first recall about arriving there?

FAUSTER: And basically out of basic, it was in the middle of the night. I'm like, okay, know where I am? Because I really.

FAUSTER: Didn't travel outside of Wisconsin at all.

ROWELL: Did you take a bus or train or.

FAUSTER: We flew I flew down and then bused from the airport to, um and of course, the.

FAUSTER: Army came and picked me up amongst.

FAUSTER: Many other new recruits and getting off that bus.

FAUSTER: And at that.

FAUSTER: Time, the drill sergeants, they were.

FAUSTER: They were pretty rough. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm here and you're starting to go into really serious career. And now I just the the.

FAUSTER: Yelling and the just the you better go where they say.

FAUSTER: It. It was kind of nerve wracking, but it was.

FAUSTER: Exciting, too, at the time. And of course getting your being in formation and Yeah, and all of that, that was something.

FAUSTER: But yeah, scared and.

FAUSTER: Excited about saying Hey.

ROWELL: And did you train in an all female group?

FAUSTER: Yes. There were no coed at the time. Um, so I was.

FAUSTER: With female company. That's from my first unit as well as.

FAUSTER: My second company, I should say. Um, once I got to it, of course that was coed, but it was just strictly female when I went to basic training. Yeah.

ROWELL: And what was your impression of the other women who were in the same.

FAUSTER: Wow. Like I said, I didn't really leave Westbend. Um.

FAUSTER: So it was quite the eye opener. You see so many different women.

FAUSTER: All different life experiences, some kind of somewhere.

FAUSTER: In the mind.

FAUSTER: Some not at all. Um, I westbend at the time.

FAUSTER: We had our.

FAUSTER: First black family when I was a senior in high school. So being in a company where we're a platoon at the time, a company that was so, um, so integrated.

FAUSTER: That was kind of exciting for me. Um, I never grew.

FAUSTER: Up with this sort of preconceived.

FAUSTER: Notion of people. People are people and they're good people.

FAUSTER: They're bad people in whatever walk of life. Um.

FAUSTER: And so in fact, some of the.

FAUSTER: Some of my really good friends I got, got my basic training nickname from Ruth Marie Brown, who lived in New York, she worked at the Empire State Building.

FAUSTER: And and she you know, it was just really great.

FAUSTER: Waking up at 4 a.m. or or with the.

FAUSTER: PTA wasn't so great. But eventually, you know, you just kind.

FAUSTER: Of like was what we got to do. You just kind of deal with it and just becomes just becomes normal while you're there. Yeah, my nickname was Lisa.

FAUSTER: Lisa because Lisa Lisa in the.

FAUSTER: Culture was very popular at the time and myself.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I was. Lisa.

FAUSTER: Lisa. Lisa. Yeah.

ROWELL: And so who are some of those people that you bonded with while you're basic?

FAUSTER: Oh, definitely. Ruth, My buddy.

FAUSTER: Terri Gallagher, I she was who she. She was really important to me.

FAUSTER: You know, I don't really.

FAUSTER: Remember a whole lot of the other names. I do remember faces. Um.

FAUSTER: My drill sergeant. Drill Sergeant Woods. He. He was something else. Of course. You know, the.

FAUSTER: Trips that we were allowed to take, like absorbing whatever. Of course, some of us were in candy bag, and we're really not supposed to have candy and basic training.

FAUSTER: But he and.

FAUSTER: Gosh, I can't remember after drill sergeant, both males.

FAUSTER: One would push the other.

FAUSTER: One and a rolling chair down the big aisle and and kind of halfheartedly yell at us about having candy.

FAUSTER: And our payment was.

FAUSTER: To allow him to grab as much of it as he wanted.

FAUSTER: Until, of course, we didn't really.

FAUSTER: End up with a whole lot afterwards, but.

FAUSTER: It was kind of a.

FAUSTER: Fun, funny experience. Yeah.

ROWELL: Definitely. Yeah. Mm hmm. Are there any other memories you'd like to share from boot camp?

FAUSTER: Oh.

FAUSTER: One of my proudest moments.

FAUSTER: Was near the end of my. My time at basic training.

FAUSTER: We did just about everybody.

FAUSTER: I don't know how it is now, but.

FAUSTER: Yeah. Yeah, I think they still do.

FAUSTER: A version of this. We did a 20 mile road march for Iraq with our M16s. I still got all of that and time and it's nighttime.

FAUSTER: And we were of fallen was kind of on the foothills.

FAUSTER: Of the lower. I don't remember what the mountains are down there.

ROWELL: Is it Appalachia?

FAUSTER: Yeah, I think so. But it being able to be I mean, I knew that was that was like a pinnacle.

FAUSTER: Of of everything that we had done and.

FAUSTER: Being able to, you know, you just sort of like get in the zone of at least I did.

FAUSTER: Being able to help some of my teammates and my sisters at the time of the Foot Hill.

FAUSTER: Because.

FAUSTER: Some.

FAUSTER: Of them were having trouble, I broke my toe.

FAUSTER: And it just sort of numbed out while I was going up the road, up the side of the the big hill. And some of the gal, the girls, they just kind of wanted to fall out like, you're not going to quit. Ivy And.

FAUSTER: I started like.

FAUSTER: Drill sergeant ing at them, but not like yelling or anything. And yeah, marching up backwards or going up the hill backwards, trying to encourage them up. And we all made it up and oh.

FAUSTER: This is amazing.

FAUSTER: Being able to be at the top. And our drill sergeants had had arranged it so that there was hard cider and, and hot cocoa up there and just how proud they were of all of us. And then they said, And now are you a soldier? Oh, I get goosebumps feeling it, thinking about it, and then asking us to look over to a different direction, overlooking some older looking barracks. And they explained to us that those were the barracks of the Wax Women's Army Corps back in World War Two. I really appreciated the history and being part of the military, and I was always such a patriot. But seeing that, I mean, I get emotional today thinking about it. Where are those women that came from and how they were the trailblazers so that I could break a toe and go up that that big hill and encourage others. And then to be a soldier, it was because it was women before us. So, yeah, that that's on my son. That will forever be my fondest memory of being in basic training.

ROWELL: Absolutely. Thank you for sharing.

FAUSTER: You're welcome. Yeah.

FAUSTER: I like to share that story.

ROWELL: It's a great one.

FAUSTER: Yeah, it really is.

ROWELL: Um, did you ever end up getting treatment for that, too?

FAUSTER: No.

FAUSTER: I had just, like, I had Band-Aids. I just kind of bandage them all together. Got they. It was the second toe to the big toe. It's kind of curved.

FAUSTER: Still today, but then whatever.

FAUSTER: I was so close to graduating, I wasn't going to do anything.

FAUSTER: To screw that up. But that after being in basic for 13 weeks.

ROWELL: Yeah. With, uh. With, uh, I should. Yeah. Yeah, That must be very frustrating.

FAUSTER: Oh, yeah, it was.

FAUSTER: Oh, yeah. But I'm just, like.

FAUSTER: A week and a half from graduation. What do you mean? I have to go back. To where? To a week to get it. You got to be able to shoot your rifle when you're in the in the military. And eventually I healed, and.

FAUSTER: And I ended up being one shot away from expert.

FAUSTER: So it was what it was.

ROWELL: It's impressive, though. Yeah, it's.

FAUSTER: It's kind of a.

FAUSTER: Funny story to tell people now.

ROWELL: Yeah. And you already had the P.T. down.

FAUSTER: Yeah. Yeah. Um.

ROWELL: And then, uh, what do you remember about your graduation? Mm.

FAUSTER: Just this sense of accomplishment, the sense of.

FAUSTER: Relief and.

FAUSTER: Pride. I didn't have anybody there.

FAUSTER: For my graduation, and that was okay.

FAUSTER: My parents are.

FAUSTER: Going through their own thing. My mom was in the process of divorcing my dad, and I.

FAUSTER: Understood. Now, I didn't know that they were.

FAUSTER: In that process because they kind of held that back for me. But yeah, I just knew that they weren't going to make me make it. But regardless, I.

FAUSTER: Still.

FAUSTER: Felt incredible being in formation and being able to work before I'd be a graduate from basic training.

FAUSTER: Like, Wow, I've arrived. At least that's.

FAUSTER: How I felt at the time.

ROWELL: And the accomplishment was your own? Yeah. Yeah. Um, so moving on to it. Yeah. Where did you go?

FAUSTER: Right. I went to Fort McClellan. Ah, no. Four.

FAUSTER: Gordon, Georgia. Yeah. And, uh. Wow.

FAUSTER: Talk about something to do is the same, but different because the discipline wasn't.

FAUSTER: I mean, of course, we had petty and things like that, but not having the drills, like, in your face all the time is like.

FAUSTER: Oh, we're kinda grown.

FAUSTER: Up now.

FAUSTER: And my company, we had ten women was it was strictly.

FAUSTER: A company of people who were going into karma like I was.

FAUSTER: My M.S. three when.

FAUSTER: Charley.

FAUSTER: Wasn't.

FAUSTER: Really very much.

FAUSTER: Not very many women.

FAUSTER: Went into it.

FAUSTER: Because, of course, they had to be.

FAUSTER: Out in the field, although I was worked at headquarters eventually too. Um.

FAUSTER: But we had ten women and they and five of.

FAUSTER: Us graduated with our company of like 200 plus. Um, so yeah, I had a, I had an incredible time in, in 80.

FAUSTER: Really. I didn't really bond a lot with the women, which was a little strange. Um, I don't know what that was. I don't know if we all had come, if some of them had.

FAUSTER: The mentality of.

FAUSTER: I'm here to do the job and go home.

FAUSTER: Or go to my next unit. Most of them were were in regular and and I knew I was going back home.

FAUSTER: So there was a little bit of a little bit of tension there. But you know what?

FAUSTER: That was great with my brothers. Um.

FAUSTER: My husband at the time.

FAUSTER: He also went to Fort Gordon because he was in the same class.

FAUSTER: He was in a different company, a.

FAUSTER: Different company altogether. Um.

FAUSTER: And so he was several weeks ahead of me because, well.

FAUSTER: He did the eight weeks I did the longer. So I mean, that just, it, that's just makes sense. Um.

FAUSTER: And so I had hung out.

FAUSTER: A bunch with him. Um, of course. Um, but yeah, I had a great deal. Sergeant ended up pregnant. I cause, you know, we love each other.

FAUSTER: And we're gonna help strengthen our relationship by having a kid.

FAUSTER: Ah, well, he heard my story earlier. Some not so. Not so much, but it. It didn't. Excuse me. Um.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I, uh, being in all the different classes and, uh, Cadence. Oh, I love Cadence. I still love.

FAUSTER: Cadence. It's, um, so cool. And. And just, um.

FAUSTER: And being moving on in each of my classes or units.

FAUSTER: I graduated at the top.

FAUSTER: Eventually, I started to study group.

FAUSTER: The during our free time off of our off of our schooling and after bit after a because our was in the morning anymore it was after in the afternoons.

FAUSTER: Um and I started to study.

FAUSTER: Group and trying to help some of the other two who were having a difficult time with figuring out learning encryption or whatever it might be. Um, yeah, and.

FAUSTER: That was that. That was something.

FAUSTER: Else. I loved it being pregnant. I had the option to, um, to either, uh, get a, an honorable discharge. I had the option to go.

FAUSTER: Home.

FAUSTER: Have the kid, and then start over.

FAUSTER: Or just stay. And I stayed. I mean, it was early in my.

FAUSTER: Early in my pregnancy. I was sick all the time. I lost £3 in my first trimester.

FAUSTER: Most of which I spent.

FAUSTER: Day riding. Um, but I had modified and that still worked out okay, and it didn't work against my standing with my class. Um, I got jumped ahead in each unit.

FAUSTER: Because if you finished.

FAUSTER: One, uh, they moved. They just moved you forward. And, um. Graduating with as distinguished undergrad, that was pretty amazing. And I had a great time in 80. It didn't injure myself or anything, so I had to restart.

ROWELL: So how far into it did you learn that you were pregnant? Uh.

FAUSTER: About a month or month and a half.

FAUSTER: I suspected it because I was not feeling well.

FAUSTER: I wasn't doing well. I was already having morning sickness pretty early on, so.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: How did leadership react when you informed them?

FAUSTER: Oh, I got. Oh, man, they really gave me.

FAUSTER: A ribbing for it.

FAUSTER: As Mario.

FAUSTER: Uh, the leader or captain of our company, the, the officers. And they weren't.

FAUSTER: So happy about that, but they were happy with.

FAUSTER: My how I was doing in class, in my classes, um, and the varied units. Um.

FAUSTER: So for them I got a really stern talking to, um, and, you know, like, it's okay, I get it.

FAUSTER: Um, but my drill sergeants at the time, I mean, they poke fun, but they were just.

FAUSTER: They were just.

FAUSTER: Wanted to be there to help encourage me and help keep me going and to keep doing well.

ROWELL: Um, how did that start in talking to go? What did they say to you?

FAUSTER: Oh, Lord. You should know better. Is you the two responsible? Your. You're here for four eight. You're not here to fraternize with your husband. Even if it was my husband, it's still.

FAUSTER: You know, us messing around on base when it wasn't a hotel room.

FAUSTER: Even the generally frowned upon me.

FAUSTER: They all know what happens.

FAUSTER: Um, but.

FAUSTER: Yeah, they weren't exactly.

FAUSTER: Pleased with me.

FAUSTER: And, you know, it was what it was.

FAUSTER: After I left that meeting, I didn't feel any way.

FAUSTER: How dare they or anything? I'm like, Well, I'm in the army.

ROWELL: Do you have any sense for whether your husband received a similar talking to.

FAUSTER: I have no idea. Hmm.

ROWELL: Okay. Um, and how did your, um, the people in your cohort kind of react to your class?

FAUSTER: They gave me grief.

FAUSTER: Oh, yeah? How did that? Oh, man. It's like.

FAUSTER: My. Ah. What did you do? And there it is. Yeah. Loose woman. It is. You know, just. It just were buddies.

FAUSTER: Drew back and forth with each other, Just goofing.

FAUSTER: Around.

FAUSTER: Goofing around.

ROWELL: And did you have, um. Did they supply you with specific, like, uniforms for your pregnancy?

FAUSTER: That was available to me. But because I was.

FAUSTER: Had such bad morning sickness and losing all that weight, um, they weren't necessary in my case.

ROWELL: For your whole time. Right. Wow.

FAUSTER: Well, actually, you know, once I got into.

FAUSTER: Got back to Wisconsin to serve at my unit, um.

FAUSTER: They did give me.

FAUSTER: Uh, pants.

FAUSTER: And a larger size top. They didn't have pregnancy tops necessarily.

FAUSTER: Uh, not at that. At my unit. Yeah. But it all worked out okay. Yeah.

ROWELL: Did you know any other women who also had that experience of, um.

FAUSTER: At the time? No.

ROWELL: Okay. How did the other women react to the. It was it kind of the same as some of the men or.

FAUSTER: You know, actually a couple of the women in my in my in my barracks. We had separate rooms.

FAUSTER: At one time, and then we all kind of once there were.

FAUSTER: A few more.

FAUSTER: Of us, we ended up in a bay, uh, with. Bunk beds on each side. Um.

FAUSTER: You know, a couple of the women, they do, they were very kind to me because they knew.

FAUSTER: How sick I was. And, um.

FAUSTER: After that, the day was done, and I knew the.

FAUSTER: School, and I swam for two months and found out I was pregnant. Once I was back from front of the pool.

FAUSTER: Most often times I would try to eat and I.

FAUSTER: Wouldn't hang around all that long. So I would go way down and they would bring me crackers.

FAUSTER: Well, I heard that laying on your left hand side is is a little bit healthier. Might help you. Yeah, they were pretty nice to me.

FAUSTER: I think they're their own sort of, I don't know, mother mothering instincts.

FAUSTER: Because in some way or shape or form, even if you don't have, like, a kid, a child yourself. Well.

FAUSTER: I think as women, we all mother in all sorts of different ways, either her nieces and nephews, our neighborhood kids, our pets, uh, when we see another veteran in trouble, um, our neighbors, you know, I think we all do that in one way, shape or form. But yeah, they.

FAUSTER: Were never.

FAUSTER: Very kind.

FAUSTER: And then I, you know, when it went over, it was kind of like it opened up.

FAUSTER: Um, more of a uh.

FAUSTER: Uh, I, and I don't know about a friendship, but definitely a.

FAUSTER: A friend kind of a more friendly relationship in a way.

FAUSTER: So, yeah, they, they were sweet.

ROWELL: Yeah. Uh, and you mentioned a little bit of a dynamic between those who are going into Army full time and yourself. You're going into the National Guard. Can you say a little more about that?

FAUSTER: Yes.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: Eventually, you know, during that time, I t people pretty much knew.

FAUSTER: Whether you were regular or whether you're going to be in the guard there in no good no go. No, no, you know, and g National Guard no go. And.

FAUSTER: And so there was some of that. It most often just sort of like.

FAUSTER: Kind of giving each other some some stuff back and forth and it really meant nothing, nothing mean or or anything but.

FAUSTER: Some of the others like.

FAUSTER: You weren't good enough to sit there and go active duty like whatever it was. Yeah. And you know what?

FAUSTER: I had so many.

FAUSTER: Male friends when I was in 80.

FAUSTER: Who really did have my back.

FAUSTER: Who didn't allow that sort of talk all that much. So.

FAUSTER: Yeah, there was a little bit of difference there.

FAUSTER: Whether it was, Oh, you're not good enough or maybe even then, I wish I were going back, but.

ROWELL: Um, and this is a funny question. Yeah. And now you've got short hair. Yes. I can't tell from the photo. Did you also have short hair? I did. And did you keep that all throughout the time you served or.

FAUSTER: Yes. Okay. I grew a little bit.

FAUSTER: Longer, but I usually kept it pretty short. Was just easier to deal with.

ROWELL: Convenience. Yeah. Huh. Did that start when you joined or was up before?

FAUSTER: That was before. Okay. Yeah. I had to do a little more wave and per me. And it was the eighties. And I actually before I joined, I had I had no hair on one side.

FAUSTER: And all of.

FAUSTER: This on this line kind of like and I tried to style it after one of the checks and in the prints in the revolution who I loved. But, um, you know, eventually before I joined, I mean that had grown out and trimmed that off.

FAUSTER: So it was similar.

FAUSTER: To what it is today.

FAUSTER: But not exactly.

FAUSTER: Okay.

ROWELL: All right. So is there anything that you want to tell me maybe about your radio courses and some of the things you learned? You remember learning. You mentioned cadences. Do you remember any like, you know, anything you said a while marching, things like that?

FAUSTER: Yeah. Yeah. Yellow Bird is.

FAUSTER: Always a good one. Yeah.

FAUSTER: Yellow bird with the yellow little bell standing on my windowsill.

FAUSTER: And, well, it keeps going on. And I've got as.

FAUSTER: Some of that, you know, it's interesting. I'm like.

FAUSTER: Well, I don't want to be airborne, but then this sounds really cool.

FAUSTER: And it's funny. I've got two of my best.

FAUSTER: Girlfriends in the world, Um, and they served.

FAUSTER: Uh, different time.

FAUSTER: Frames, Uh, both Army. Uh, one was Army and Army Reserves. Um, we all met on Facebook.

FAUSTER: We actually.

FAUSTER: Vacationed together several years ago.

FAUSTER: And we went up to, we.

FAUSTER: Will walk to dinner and, um, we walked back and on the way back.

FAUSTER: We did the.

FAUSTER: All bird cadence all the way from the restaurant to like the half a mile or so down to the hotel. It was.

FAUSTER: Funnier.

FAUSTER: Than how like we had some people I mean, we are calling out really loud, Order was calling it out, and we were an angel and they were responding back. It was fun. That's great.

FAUSTER: But I'm sorry, I totally lost your question.

ROWELL: Oh, no, I just asked you know, you mentioned really loving cadence. Yeah. So. And which ones you remember maybe.

FAUSTER: Oh, favorites. Yeah.

FAUSTER: Yellow Bird, for sure. Yeah. Um.

FAUSTER: Yellow Ribbon.

ROWELL: Um, what's that one?

FAUSTER: Oh, gosh, I can hear it in my head.

FAUSTER: But I just can't remember the words.

ROWELL: Oh, that's okay.

FAUSTER: I can hear lots.

FAUSTER: Of in my head. Yeah. Oh, but. I'd have to YouTube or look up lyrics real quick.

FAUSTER: I'm like, Oh yeah, that's what it's.

ROWELL: But I never really left. Yeah, Yeah. Okay. And then yeah. So what are some of the things that you remember learning in 83 or. Miller Oh.

FAUSTER: Typing. Well, of course we all needed to, to be able to be proficient at typing. I still type.

FAUSTER: With my hands on the home key. Um, you know, a lot of people do the hunt and packer the two fingered and are really great at it or um but yeah I, I still type like this and you had to become proficient and um, I, i, I ended up by moving ahead like two weeks before everybody else.

FAUSTER: When we were.

FAUSTER: Speaking of cadence, when we were walking it, when we were being marched to, um, to typing class.

FAUSTER: There was the, we are.

FAUSTER: Typing, we typing and it was like a cadence like that that was really silly. And of course everybody knew that we were the newbies there.

FAUSTER: And then some of the other stuff just being.

FAUSTER: Hands on, learning all the different equipment. Radio, teletype.

FAUSTER: Uh, we worked in the field, we.

FAUSTER: Worked out of, out of what we called rat race. Rat race. Usually when 40 to GRC vehicles, we learn how to set up double it and tenants and the.

FAUSTER: I just saw the.

FAUSTER: Equipment that went to it and remember as we moved along, you know, the.

FAUSTER: Lifespan at one time for.

FAUSTER: For.

FAUSTER: That amount of surgery was 9 seconds because the enemy could.

FAUSTER: Triangulate on your radio signal are like, oh well isn't that nice? I guess the big thing was, um, shoot, communicate, move on out. So now that was another little tiny piece of the cadence that we don't. And it's still.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I talked to a vets.

FAUSTER: Who were in camo, um, way back when, even today. And we all still know that. It's funny. I love the hands on stuff. I loved being able to actually work the equipment and see how that, how that all worked between each year cause we would communicate with each other. Um, I thought being learning the encryption things was.

FAUSTER: Just really fascinating. Turns out that.

FAUSTER: Once we graduated, we had a secret clearance. Um.

FAUSTER: A so some kind of part of that to like. Rob Initially.

FAUSTER: I didn't know that, but. But yeah, I really love the Hanson stuff and being out in the field and being in it.

FAUSTER: Of course we have.

FAUSTER: Porta potties that we could go use if we needed to have to go ways to get to it. But that's okay.

FAUSTER: Now, when I was at my National Guard unit.

FAUSTER: I was the only female in my platoon. I still need porta potties. Right? And so we would we would set up our home, our like base on the field. I'm like, see that person? That's my boss so I could hide behind and do my thing. And they all respected that.

ROWELL: Well, I had to pick one that was yours. Yeah. Yeah. And then what do you remember about the encryption? How it seems like you took some of these things really well. Yeah. How is that for you?

FAUSTER: Oh, it's just. Oh, my. Just the importance of that. Um, how learning about how, um.

FAUSTER: Passwords and, and, um, how that changed at least once daily, um, learning about, um, and the different methods. Uh, it's a. Book that we were never to lose, ever. Because while I had all the keys in it, I had and.

FAUSTER: Yeah that that was that was that challenged my.

FAUSTER: Brain quite a lot.

FAUSTER: Of course so did everything else.

FAUSTER: But for that it was just kind of what drove home, just how important my MLS was at the time. I mean, every MLS is important. Um, but yeah, that, that just kind of like, yeah.

FAUSTER: Don't, don't mess that up because you're, it's, it's between you and headquarters or you in another vehicle.

FAUSTER: Or what have you.

FAUSTER: So yeah, I, I really thought it was kind of neat.

ROWELL: Yeah. You mentioned the comments about how about the life span of, of a car, you know, people. Was that maybe a relic of some, some of the training instructors where they maybe involved in Vietnam. Is that was that. Yes. Okay. Yeah.

FAUSTER: Most of ours were okay. And so they they understood that probably more fully.

FAUSTER: I mean, when you were in.

FAUSTER: Theater and, um, in situations like that, I know from, from the very beginning of, of war and definitely in Vietnam, um, was that, was.

FAUSTER: That was something that.

FAUSTER: That they knew intimately, I think.

ROWELL: Do you feel that influenced your training much?

FAUSTER: Yeah.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: Because I highly respected Vietnam vets.

FAUSTER: I always have. Um. I always thought it was pretty crappy the way that they were treated. Um, how some people in the media treated them. And knowing this, so many Vietnam vets now, as I do today, I still feel that way, if not a little bit more, because I've heard personal stories from these from my brothers who came home and our sisters who came home from Vietnam.

FAUSTER: They have different.

FAUSTER: Stories and and some of them are pretty traumatic. So.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I've always had a great.

FAUSTER: Respect for for our Vietnam vets.

ROWELL: Um, before we move on from here. Is there anything else you want to tell me about it?

FAUSTER: Just a quick, quick, fun.

FAUSTER: Story about me and this gal who were going to our graduation. Um, that then I knew my parents were splitting and so that they weren't there for that. Um.

FAUSTER: And that was okay, too.

FAUSTER: Didn't bother me one way or the other. I think for myself, it was like.

FAUSTER: It was okay with me because this was something that even though I joined.

FAUSTER: For some kind of my really messed up reasons.

FAUSTER: Um, midway through basic training.

FAUSTER: And then, um.

FAUSTER: I just really.

FAUSTER: Had to hold on to it. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the discipline and I enjoyed the camaraderie That was, that was the biggest piece there I had.

FAUSTER: Of course, one of the things that I learned was important too, but.

FAUSTER: Being a part of something greater was really cool.

FAUSTER: But anyway, I mean.

FAUSTER: This gal, we were we were going to do your graduation for you and some of the guys who had arrived later and they were still in school and she and I were just walking a lot and going along next to each other, kind of chit chatting. And the guys, their eyes. Right. And they all like, looked at us and saluted and, you know, that that was one great story.

ROWELL: Yeah. All right. So when did you finish and what year do you remember the month?

FAUSTER: Yeah, it was May.

FAUSTER: Of 88 or not. May March. Sorry.

ROWELL: Okay. Um, and so from there, uh, did you take a period of leave at all, or did you go right into your next duty station.

FAUSTER: As a member.

FAUSTER: Of the guard? Yeah, I went right to, um, to my unit. I didn't have to report for several weeks. I didn't have to go there just before to be issued my gear and to sign off on a little bit of paperwork there. And my dog tags, uh.

ROWELL: Revamped for your change of name or for me?

FAUSTER: Actually, no. They just gave me new dog tags. I don't quite know why.

ROWELL: Yeah.

FAUSTER: But whatever.

ROWELL: Wouldn't I end up with your name? Change it, right?

FAUSTER: No. Um.

FAUSTER: But. And then what?

FAUSTER: Actually, my. My husband and I, our reporting date was the same because he asked if he could hold off until I arrived, and they allowed that. Um, and so we went to, went to the 64th Rear Rafik Hariri Operation Center in Hartford, Wisconsin. And I think that was. In May that we may have 88.

ROWELL: Mm hmm. And when did you have your, uh, your trial?

FAUSTER: In September.

FAUSTER: Oh, no, wait a minute.

FAUSTER: Yeah, September. Okay. Of 88. Yeah.

ROWELL: Um, so, according to that, we talked a little bit about the 64th real pressure. So what were your key responsibilities while you were there?

FAUSTER: Well, I was part of the.

FAUSTER: Ah, Carmel platoon.

FAUSTER: There was.

FAUSTER: Um, motor pool, there was admin and there was maintenance. And then there was col. And so there there were several companies or platoons that helped make up the 64th being our rear area. Um, we did, we did whatever was needed, like on, on the, in the back lines if, let's say, if we were called up. Um.

FAUSTER: Yeah, it was kind of a smallish building and I could still to this day recollect.

FAUSTER: The smell of it, just like motor oil and gun oil on and just army smells.

ROWELL: Canvas maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And so what kind of communications were you kind of working with, if that makes sense. What sort of transmissions were you working with?

FAUSTER: A truth be told, we did a lot of maintenance of our equipment while we were at.

FAUSTER: At the unit. We did have opportunities.

FAUSTER: To take our rigs out into like, farm fields that as some of the, I guess the farmers knew had an agreement with our unit to do stuff in land that they weren't using. So we'd set up and, uh, track and triangulate signals and, and go back and forth and radios or through our teletype and that matter.

FAUSTER: Which, which.

FAUSTER: Was fine. I really enjoyed being able to actually like, do my job.

FAUSTER: I mean, yeah, doing.

FAUSTER: Our job is making sure our equipment is working.

FAUSTER: First thing and kind of like, Oh goody, we get to work. How do I make sure our field phones are working again? So they were always in very good maintenance.

FAUSTER: Very, very good working order, I should say.

FAUSTER: So there was a.

FAUSTER: Lot of that.

FAUSTER: But there were.

FAUSTER: Also like a little mini classes that we would do each person was assigned to.

FAUSTER: Hey, Foster, I want you to do a class on camouflage. Yeah. So we. We did things.

FAUSTER: Like that to cheer to the platoon. So we would do that. Yeah.

FAUSTER: That was kind of. I mean, some of it was very.

FAUSTER: Mundane in a way.

FAUSTER: All important.

FAUSTER: Stuff.

FAUSTER: But it's like, okay, here we go again.

FAUSTER: But I really loved when we were able to go out in the field and do things like that.

ROWELL: Yeah. Did you end up working with your husband often at all?

FAUSTER: No. He was in a different place here. Okay. Or no, he was in the same platoon. He was just in.

FAUSTER: A different squad than me. It turned out that, um. I mean, eventually it was my squad leader who I started fraternizing with and people not. But yeah, he was in a different platoon. And you know.

FAUSTER: What? I don't know if he is.

FAUSTER: I want to go home.

FAUSTER: Sort of attitude during basic training. Kind of carried on. I think.

FAUSTER: Some of the guys could do that and.

FAUSTER: He tried to participate, but, um, in other ways, it was kind.

FAUSTER: Of like he would disappear quite a lot. And eventually I just kind of had to learn to, um, because they would come to me say, Hey, Maya, where is your husband? And eventually I just sort of had to brush it off and just like.

FAUSTER: You know, he is going to do what he is going to do, but I'm here to do this.

FAUSTER: And that feeling is great and try to do the best that I could.

ROWELL: And you were the only woman. Yeah. So you had barracks to yourself?

FAUSTER: Well, because it was well, definitely during our annual trainings.

FAUSTER: I had barracks to myself.

FAUSTER: At the unit itself. We didn't have to stay.

FAUSTER: Overnight.

FAUSTER: Right at the unit.

FAUSTER: We could go back home if that was feasible for, for us. I only lived at the time.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: I was like less than half an hour away for go back home. And it's. Then show up and hold out for information. Uh huh.

ROWELL: Where were you living.

FAUSTER: At the time? I lived in.

FAUSTER: And West Bend. I still. We went back to West find it was there. And then eventually I was in Hartford, and then I was in Milwaukee when I realized that word squad leader. And I realized that we wanted to continue on with our relationship.

ROWELL: Mhm. Um, so how long did you stay with that group. Uh, with, uh, you know, to the 64.

FAUSTER: I was with the 64th.

FAUSTER: For just about five years of my enlistment. Then the, uh, I kind of the restructuring of the guard happened in like 92, and then I went to the 1158, which was out of Milwaukee.

ROWELL: Um, and so. So were you still, you were still with the 64th in 91 then?

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: Okay. So that was when the Gulf War happened. What are your feelings about that?

FAUSTER: And that was, um. Oh, man, I wanted to go.

FAUSTER: Mhm. Um, I wanted to. I wanted to do my part on that scale. Um.

FAUSTER: When, when all of that.

FAUSTER: Started to go down and we started getting rumblings of that was like, oh, wonderful. We called off or called up or we'd be activated. And um.

FAUSTER: Yeah, there was, there was quite.

FAUSTER: The energy and, uh. Kind of some tension.

FAUSTER: But, you know. I was kind of like, Oh, wonderful. Because of that, that I mean, it would be so cool. I mean, that's kind of a dumb, dumb word for it, but it was, um.

FAUSTER: It would be really great to be able to go there and do my part on that in that way. Um, are you in.

FAUSTER: The 64th.

FAUSTER: Itself was, um, called up.

FAUSTER: So we stayed home.

FAUSTER: Um, our entire battalion section, our unit went.

FAUSTER: Army said, you know what? We we've got the stuff covered. We got all the admin stuff.

FAUSTER: We got our own car covered, we've got all this, so we just don't need you.

FAUSTER: Thank you very much.

FAUSTER: We did some much more full time stuff back at our base. I helped some with some of the admin work because.

FAUSTER: Since the 64th.

FAUSTER: Iraq was the headquarters for the 64th Troop Command, which is my battalion, and so.

FAUSTER: There was plenty of work to.

FAUSTER: Be done for our other varied units who did get deployed.

FAUSTER: And so that's how.

FAUSTER: How I served for the Gulf War.

ROWELL: Were you active Guard was like active Guard, Reserve, ADR at any point? No. Okay. Uh, and, uh, just to check, so. But you were full time at one point.

FAUSTER: Well, you know what?

FAUSTER: Only for a few weeks.

ROWELL: Okay. Yeah. Other than that, you were part time. Correct? Correct. And so what did you do during that period with the 64th as a civilian for work?

FAUSTER: I mean, during the Gulf War.

ROWELL: Uh, during the Gulf War or just when you were with the 64th in Hartford, in West Bend, did you take on civilians as well or no?

FAUSTER: Oh, yeah, Yeah. I worked.

FAUSTER: At a local restaurant as a waitress and a cook, and.

FAUSTER: It was a small mom and.

FAUSTER: Pop place. So I worked during the evenings. Uh. They're eventually taking care of me, our baby girl. So I took up a lot of time.

ROWELL: And the people in the community know that you were in the guard?

FAUSTER: No. Okay.

ROWELL: Was that an intentional choice or It just happened to be just.

FAUSTER: It just happened to me.

FAUSTER: I mean, our family knew, but. And a few friends. But outside of that, it wasn't like.

FAUSTER: I mean, I knew that.

FAUSTER: There was a guard unit in West Bend. They. To helicopter maintenance over there. But outside of that, I was a known that.

FAUSTER: Oh, that girl who lives over in that street, she.

FAUSTER: She's in the guard. Yeah.

ROWELL: Um, and so how did leadership or your colleagues, uh, treat you, I guess, as a new parent? Are you or your husband?

FAUSTER: Oh, they were great. Um, I was.

FAUSTER: I breastfed my daughter for about seven months until my body just said, no, it.

FAUSTER: Can't handle.

FAUSTER: That anymore. But they they were very, very understanding. If I had to excuse myself so I could pump. They were very. They gave me the time that I needed to be with her full time without having to worry about drill. Uh, they gave me two two months of drill time. Wow. Well, two weekends. Uh, though.

FAUSTER: She was born on.

FAUSTER: September 17th, so they gave me, uh. October and November. And then I was to report again in December. Our drill was usually the first weekend of the month.

FAUSTER: So is so, you know, they were.

FAUSTER: Very accommodating and they were very excited. And they gave me a little.

FAUSTER: Bit who went when they knew that I was going to start my maternity leave? They gave.

FAUSTER: Me a little shower again and.

FAUSTER: They were all very cool.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I loved I love the guys that I worked with.

ROWELL: Absolutely.

FAUSTER: And leadership was great.

ROWELL: So you had mentioned you developed a relationship with your squad leader. Mm hmm. Um, so how did it go when that was eventually, um, eventually maybe discovered or divulged, I guess. How did that go?

FAUSTER: Um, it was where.

FAUSTER: My husband.

FAUSTER: At the time, he wasn't very well liked.

FAUSTER: And he really didn't.

FAUSTER: Do anything to be well-liked. He didn't really try to fit in or to get along. Um, even when he and I were still married and committed to the relationship and, uh, freshly with a little girl, uh. I was. I was all in to make that work until it was very obvious that that it wasn't going to.

FAUSTER: But the in my platoon.

FAUSTER: They were kind of like.

FAUSTER: Fine, like, what were you ever doing with him?

FAUSTER: And they would call him some names I want to repeat here on camera. Yeah, but, you know.

FAUSTER: It wasn't that big of a.

FAUSTER: Surprise, I guess, because it was very obvious that that I just kind of.

FAUSTER: Meshed well with with.

FAUSTER: My platoon, with my squad, with with my my brothers. And we would go out and have a little bit of fun. Pardon me. And Mike just never fit in.

FAUSTER: So, yeah.

FAUSTER: They were kind of happy. No. My platoon.

FAUSTER: Sergeant, he he was kind of happy. But of course, there was that.

FAUSTER: He's the platoon sergeant, and we got a stern talking to which we deserved. There's no way I should have been in a relationship like that, as well as Steve should have never been in a relationship with somebody who was under him.

FAUSTER: And as long as.

FAUSTER: We didn't let that interfere with any aspect of our training, they really didn't say much.

ROWELL: Did they change any of the leadership structures at all?

FAUSTER: No. Okay. Right.

FAUSTER: They didn't see that that there was any.

FAUSTER: Sort of favoritism.

FAUSTER: Going on. Now, they did talk to some of.

FAUSTER: The other guys in our squad, as well as some of the other guys within our our platoon.

FAUSTER: To see if there was.

FAUSTER: Any of them, thought there was any favoritism or any sort of letting me kind of slide back in my duties.

FAUSTER: Because I was in a relationship with Steve.

FAUSTER: Um, I guess that must have gone on for a while because they didn't restructure anything.

ROWELL: It seems that they're very supportive.

FAUSTER: Yeah. In some ways, yeah. As long as I didn't mess up. As long as they didn't mess up.

ROWELL: And so how long? You mentioned that your husband left the guard or was asked to leave the guard? I guess.

FAUSTER: He was.

ROWELL: Kicked out of the guard. And so when did that happen? What year?

FAUSTER: That makes me sick. That was in 89.

ROWELL: Okay, so you're still with the 64.

FAUSTER: Oh. And you.

ROWELL: Remained with them for a couple of years.

FAUSTER: After that? Several years after.

ROWELL: Afterwards. Before you moved to another unit.

FAUSTER: Correct. Um.

ROWELL: And then so is there, uh, is did your divorce also take place within that period while you were with the 64? Yes. Okay. And so did you have a name? You have a name change while you were in service?

FAUSTER: Truthfully, I did not. Okay. I. I mean, I.

FAUSTER: Steve and I, we didn't get married until well after our time with the National Guard.

FAUSTER: So I was still Mya. I did not return to my maiden name at that time because of the way that I grew up.

FAUSTER: I didn't. I didn't want anything to do with that last name because it was his. His last name.

FAUSTER: Wasn't.

FAUSTER: And my mom was abusive in the fact that she was unavailable and wasn't there with my dad being the primary. Um, no, I didn't want that name back.

ROWELL: But we decided to keep that distance for yourself.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

FAUSTER: Yeah. At that time, Yes.

ROWELL: So, uh, is there anything else that you want to talk about? Uh, being, uh, with, uh, 64th Rock before you move to discuss your next assignment?

FAUSTER: Oh, I just really enjoyed my time there. I made a lot of, uh, good friendships.

FAUSTER: I Some of the.

FAUSTER: Main mundane nature of our training.

FAUSTER: Kind of blew up, but it.

FAUSTER: Was all.

FAUSTER: Necessary. Yeah.

FAUSTER: Just smoking and joking, so to speak.

FAUSTER: One of the times that we were on annual training, our platoon, we were.

FAUSTER: We were on a field exercise. We came across.

FAUSTER: A small brush fire and because it was extremely dry, we're at Fort McCoy.

FAUSTER: So we came across this.

FAUSTER: Brush fire and, uh. Well.

FAUSTER: Time to empty is some of us emptied our canteens.

FAUSTER: Most of us are just, like, summed it up.

FAUSTER: And one of the guys, he.

FAUSTER: Went to smoke cigars.

FAUSTER: So has he always had some.

FAUSTER: Cigars in his rack?

FAUSTER: So after the fire was out, we all sat around and we took five or took and took a knee or whatever.

FAUSTER: And like you have to admire. You don't smoke cigars. You're a woman. So give me a cigar. I want to smoke with my brother. And so afterwards, isn't that ironic? We just put out a fire, but we're going to light up. The cigar still hurts. But yeah, that that's that's a fun and fun story from from being it for acquiring it, for sure. But yeah, I enjoyed my time there quite a lot. I was very sad and when I had to leave.

FAUSTER: Because that was that was hard.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: Uh, did you often or always go to Fort McCoy for your initial training or went.

FAUSTER: Oh, my God.

FAUSTER: My, my, my very. I don't know how I could forget. That's what the racket. Um, this happened during Gulf War, and the Gulf War was just about, uh, finishing up.

FAUSTER: And most of the time I went to Fort McCoy. There was one year someone supposed to.

FAUSTER: Go to Germany, but I was very pregnant. They don't want you to have a baby. I don't know why when you're deployed overseas where the chance of. So they kept me home. I get paperwork, but what?

FAUSTER: One of our annual.

FAUSTER: Trainings was to San Luis Obispo, California, and we had to convoy our equipment over some. Most everybody flew, but there was some of us who were part of this convoy from Hartford all the way over. And I got to be a part of that. And this with this.

FAUSTER: Trip to.

FAUSTER: And then from was during.

FAUSTER: The end we had just day we were in Kuwait safe.

FAUSTER: And.

FAUSTER: We all had.

FAUSTER: TVs in our vehicles. We had our back and forth as we needed to.

FAUSTER: And of course, that.

FAUSTER: Meant we got to talk with the truck drivers and things like that. And a lot of people, uh, were just so excited that we had had one in such a short time that people in vehicles there opened up their windows up. It was so fun. A lot of partying, but, you know, got on the road.

FAUSTER: Just exactly.

FAUSTER: When we needed to. But, um, talking back and forth with some of the truck drivers, of course, the the guys that I'll be talking to, there were 20 of us and, um, I was driving with our motor surfing. He was great. Guy made me drive more.

FAUSTER: So that's what happens when you're in the A6 and you're an A3 spec. But anyway, a lot of our our.

FAUSTER: Our teammates would sit there re talking to the truck drivers and all of a sudden my voice would pop on it. I was laughing and so I already read it and I would just talk and talk brief like the rest of the guys. And that was a lot of fun. I thought that was a great trip back and forth, being able to be in California. And so that advice for McCoy was was huge.

ROWELL: Yeah. Had you ever been before?

FAUSTER: No.

ROWELL: How long did it take to drive there?

FAUSTER: Convoy there We were given. It took us four days.

FAUSTER: Now we would stop at varied Guard reserve bases along the way and sleep and then get back on the road. My is our platoon sergeant at the time was in charge of the convoy.

FAUSTER: He worked it out.

FAUSTER: So that we could spend a little extra time. I as one of my other stops, the as we were going over into San Francisco. And so he wanted to give us time to stop and say, forget the name of a park that's so dang fearsome overlooks the bay. But we were able to do that. Um, the earthquake that happened over there, um, a couple of years beforehand, and, uh, we were able to, one of the bridges was still there to allow for that. I had a really big fear of heights at the time, like I had of.

FAUSTER: Fear of heights, fear. Very deep.

FAUSTER: Water. Well then, so it's like, ah, you're going to overcome that fear today. And I did.

FAUSTER: But that was.

FAUSTER: Great. He also worked in extra time. I was sort of we could stop in Reno and do a lot of gambling. So it it took us a little bit longer to get there than it probably should have. But he had it all worked out with the higher ups. So so that was fun. And then we had or two weeks. Um, so being on the convoy for him, being part of the C an L training.

FAUSTER: For the for the two weeks.

FAUSTER: I was on.

ROWELL: Uh, just over three weeks. Um, and, uh, was your daughter with you at that time?

FAUSTER: She was staying.

FAUSTER: At my parents. Okay.

ROWELL: And was that typical, or was it for that trip?

FAUSTER: It was typical for for us. If, um.

FAUSTER: Like for annual trainings, uh, she either stayed with our.

FAUSTER: Parents or his.

FAUSTER: Mostly.

FAUSTER: Mind, but sometimes his parents as well. And they both lived in restaurants, so that worked out well for us. Hmm. Um.

ROWELL: And so what do you remember about the exercises that you did while you were in California?

FAUSTER: Oh, we were out in the field quite a lot.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: Some classes.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: It was kind of like refreshers.

FAUSTER: Um, and encryption and things like that that we were going to be working with and that environment.

FAUSTER: Because, of course.

FAUSTER: Every, every place it's the.

FAUSTER: Same, but different.

FAUSTER: Because it needs to be. Um.

FAUSTER: And uh, some of us would.

FAUSTER: Spend some time at that headquarters. I remember being really hot.

FAUSTER: But I was pregnant at the time. Okay, that's right.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I was pregnant at the time with Steve's kid. By then, Steve and I were together, um, in. No, I was pregnant at the time when I was. I was. I was a nurse then. Have the morning sickness around like I did with, uh, with Kelly. Um.

FAUSTER: But, uh, we did classes, worked and worked out in the field quite a lot.

FAUSTER: Um, and then sometimes I. That people were chosen to go work at the headquarters station and really come off from the field to headquarters and to whomever it needed to go to.

FAUSTER: So yeah, it was really it was really good training. I enjoyed it a lot.

ROWELL: Um, so, um, not to go too much into the person. Yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm kind of curious if you want to talk about it, whether, um, what the dynamic was like once your your ex husband had left the guard, but you were still in, and how that kind of affected your life, maybe.

FAUSTER: Oh, you know what?

FAUSTER: I felt freer. Um.

FAUSTER: There were some. I know that the the mental.

FAUSTER: And emotional sort of abuse and really happened between Steve and me until later.

FAUSTER: But I felt so much more free.

FAUSTER: I felt more.

FAUSTER: Like I was an individual.

FAUSTER: As a part of the whole.

FAUSTER: It was like I could.

FAUSTER: I didn't have to deal with all the background noise, uh, near as much as I did before. And so I was able to, I think, do a better job for the guard.

ROWELL: And so you then were pregnant with your second child while you're in the guard? Yeah. Um, and what you're kind of was.

FAUSTER: That I was a.

FAUSTER: 91.

ROWELL: Okay, so 91. So during the Gulf War kind of period.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: Yeah. You were saying this right after. Okay, that makes sense. And then, uh. And what year did you were you moved to a different unit?

FAUSTER: That was, uh, b c uh. Very angry, very beginning with.

FAUSTER: 92. Okay.

ROWELL: And you mentioned that there was, I.

FAUSTER: Think, at the beginning of 92. Okay.

ROWELL: Yeah. You mentioned that there was restructuring going on. Yeah. And did those two things coincide? Were they parallel you two different unit and then versus being or you? Yeah. Personnel being restructured.

FAUSTER: Yes. So it was very confusing. Time for me. Yeah. I don't have my.

FAUSTER: MLS anymore and I don't have my home unit anymore.

FAUSTER: So I ended up actually.

FAUSTER: Working in the motor pool and dispatch, I guess. So Cosmo and.

FAUSTER: I, between dispatch.

FAUSTER: And.

FAUSTER: I was kind of like the.

FAUSTER: Is our our platoon's radar in a way.

FAUSTER: People needed parts or whatever. Grow faster so getting it ordered for you.

FAUSTER: And so that's what I did.

ROWELL: Um, and so can you state again from you what unit, what your next unit was what?

FAUSTER: 1/50 maintenance company.

ROWELL: And based out of where?

FAUSTER: In Milwaukee. Okay.

ROWELL: Did you commute from us? From New York.

FAUSTER: Well, by then I lived in Milwaukee.

FAUSTER: Okay. Um.

FAUSTER: Is Steve the second? He lives.

FAUSTER: In Waukee, and I moved down to be there with him. Um, eventually, during the earliest part of our relationship. Okay. So, yeah, it was just the drive across town. Really? Yeah.

ROWELL: And it was he also in that in that second unit.

FAUSTER: You know, um.

FAUSTER: He, with his, it, his second term had ended.

FAUSTER: And, um, he decided that he'd no longer wanted to be a part of, so. So he discharged.

FAUSTER: Out the way you would normally.

FAUSTER: Discharge up with an honor roll. And I was still in.

ROWELL: How are those dynamics for you at that time?

FAUSTER: Oh, that was fine. Okay. That was really.

FAUSTER: No big deal.

ROWELL: More independence? Yeah. Um.

FAUSTER: Yeah, it was good. Um, outside of the fact when.

FAUSTER: Uh, my alcoholism was really taking off. Mhm.

ROWELL: Another really.

FAUSTER: Good time. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Um.

ROWELL: Talking about that. That period of transition in my life. Yeah. You know, you were. You no longer had. No. Mostly you were moved to different units. Right. Did your. Can you clarify for me, Did your former unit was it, um.

FAUSTER: Well, it wasn't.

ROWELL: Activated or it.

FAUSTER: Wasn't. I should rephrase that or restate.

FAUSTER: That it or no phrase.

FAUSTER: It wasn't disbanded. It was moved. Okay. Um, and they no.

FAUSTER: Longer have the staffing needs. They have, as they once did.

FAUSTER: Because when they were moved. So they strictly went.

FAUSTER: Into more of the admin support to the, to the 64 troop command big headquarters. And so quite a few of us actually ended up at different units.

FAUSTER: With a handful or.

FAUSTER: Two remaining with the 64th.

ROWELL: Um, did you know that was coming?

FAUSTER: Uh, there were.

FAUSTER: Rumblings of that, but I.

FAUSTER: Wasn't 100% sure until it happened.

ROWELL: Mhm. And how did that go for you and your, your brothers in the unit. How did you kind of deal with that at the time.

FAUSTER: That's up. Have this really horror. I mean, we were given a little bit of a heads up.

FAUSTER: Um.

FAUSTER: And it was hard and it sucked and it was cold because it was like a one day.

FAUSTER: We went to drill and we knew that was going to be the last one there.

FAUSTER: And there was I mean, there were like a book to use and there wasn't any sort of we're going to I mean, yeah, we're going to miss you. But it was like we were in a.

FAUSTER: Drill and some real guy. And. Yeah. That was really, really strange.

ROWELL: It's very abrupt.

FAUSTER: Yeah, abrupt. That's a good word for it.

FAUSTER: Even though we knew what.

FAUSTER: Was coming, it was just. Just like.

FAUSTER: Okay. Hi, everybody. And I know that happens in the military. Happens all the time.

FAUSTER: It just felt really strange, especially since we were losing our allies at the time, too.

ROWELL: Yeah. So was that a common experience for most of the common people that you're working with as well?

FAUSTER: I probably so, because at that time they were.

FAUSTER: Starting to move into a satellite. Communications technology was a was growing.

FAUSTER: And they didn't notice that. I mean, our equipment was basically Korean War equipment, which wasn't going to be really needed anymore because they were there were growing.

FAUSTER: And technology was getting better.

FAUSTER: And so I'm sure that.

FAUSTER: Happened to a lot of us, whether we were active duty or in the Guard or in the Reserves or so.

FAUSTER: I know it was a common occurrence.

FAUSTER: For them for at least my my platoon.

ROWELL: Mm hmm. Um, and so you also talked about kind of restructuring the guard, like a larger restructuring of the Guard.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: In your based on your impression, were those two things like related? Do they coincide? What was that? What did that kind of consist of?

FAUSTER: Well.

FAUSTER: What I.

FAUSTER: Understand today and actually.

FAUSTER: The kind of.

FAUSTER: The explanation we were given is that the.

FAUSTER: Restructuring was going it was happening because the.

FAUSTER: Needs were a little bit less now that we're pulled out of the Gulf. Um.

FAUSTER: And I noticed that happens after.

FAUSTER: After each big war happens. It's like, okay, now that we've done that, we can kind of come down off of out of recruitment and things like that. Um, so we were told that because the needs weren't as great, that's why it was happening. Mhm. It just is kind of um. Coincidence. Strange, strange sort of parallel thing that was going on with the MLS and the restructuring. I mean, the MLS thing, me, I that's one way of restructuring, but it's only because technology was getting better.

ROWELL: So happened that they were happening at the same time there and they were drawing down the Gulf War. Okay. Yeah. Um, so now being at your new unit. Yeah. What how is the working culture? How did, how was it maybe different from your previous unit?

FAUSTER: Well, I have.

FAUSTER: Most of my brothers there anymore.

FAUSTER: Uh, the platoon sergeant that I wrote essentially best for with. He ended up being the platoon sergeant.

FAUSTER: Here or the motor sergeant here.

FAUSTER: Which was frickin awesome. I didn't.

FAUSTER: Know that. But when I got in there, um. Wow.

FAUSTER: It was so good to see. Um.

FAUSTER: Um. No way. I didn't feel like a complete fish out of water. Oh, I know what?

FAUSTER: I know a couple of people here already.

FAUSTER: Because a.

FAUSTER: Few.

FAUSTER: Of our. Our guys from the motor pool had moved to that motor pool as well.

FAUSTER: So it was kind of neat. I guess it never really. I mean, some of the guys. I didn't really.

FAUSTER: Know a heck of a lot of people there. Outside of.

FAUSTER: The few.

FAUSTER: That I knew in the motor, in the motor pool.

FAUSTER: And I don't know if that's because.

FAUSTER: Of me or if it was because.

FAUSTER: You're all these new people coming in.

FAUSTER: And so it was just as weird for them having new people join a unit that was probably a pretty cohesive I would figure.

FAUSTER: There was never any sort of animosity.

FAUSTER: Or.

FAUSTER: Weird dynamics going on. It's just kind of what I felt.

ROWELL: And, uh, were you, were there other women who you were serving with in this new unit?

FAUSTER: There were other women, but I didn't necessarily.

FAUSTER: Talk to them. Hmm.

ROWELL: Uh, did you feel like there were any different or similar gender dynamics in your in your new situation? Um.

FAUSTER: There were a few more women. I mean, in my unit.

FAUSTER: At at the RAC.

FAUSTER: There were quite a few women.

FAUSTER: Okay. Um.

FAUSTER: They were just.

FAUSTER: In other companies or other platoons.

ROWELL: So you didn't interact with them?

FAUSTER: Not really. Basis. Right.

ROWELL: Yeah. Does that remain kind of the same, or were there other other women who were you were working with on a daily basis?

FAUSTER: No.

FAUSTER: That really pretty much the same. Okay. Um, there weren't I think there was one other female in the motor pool at the time, but she and I got along fine.

ROWELL: So how long were, you know, in this unit?

FAUSTER: I was there.

FAUSTER: For approximately a year. Okay. A little over a year.

ROWELL: And you mentioned, um, kind of a drinking culture.

FAUSTER: Yeah. Well, yeah, that happens. Uh.

FAUSTER: And every branch reserves, high guards. Um. Just like you work hard, you party hard, and it's kind of.

FAUSTER: Kind of the way.

FAUSTER: The.

FAUSTER: Way it goes. I don't know that that's necessarily.

FAUSTER: I mean, I do know that it happens, but I think there's a little more awareness of policing yourself. Um, and not, um. I don't know.

FAUSTER: I know I'm.

FAUSTER: Kind of like an adoptive son that I have that Andy my my first relationship and I have. I he, he was served in the Army at Fort Campbell, and he was a grunt infantry. So there is a lot of partying, but there was a lot of hard work, too.

FAUSTER: And I think some of the things that he.

FAUSTER: Told me is that, you know, partying happens, but that he doesn't think it's on such a scale as it once was like when I served. Mhm.

ROWELL: And so was that the case when you were with the real.

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: Okay. So.

FAUSTER: Oh shoot.

FAUSTER: We had a bar in the unit.

ROWELL: Oh. Okay.

FAUSTER: Yeah. I mean it was just a little fade.

FAUSTER: But after Drill was over with. Yeah. We'd go there.

ROWELL: Okay.

FAUSTER: And there was the initiation of the new people.

FAUSTER: He had to drink from the boot. Big glass boot. And if he got it and he had to drink it a.

FAUSTER: Certain way and it's flashed all over your face, we couldn't control.

FAUSTER: The flow of of the beer coming out. Then you had to be around for everybody. So, yeah.

FAUSTER: There was that.

FAUSTER: Culture there that wasn't released as such a thing when I was at the, um, with the 1150.

ROWELL: Okay, So it's more cultural from where you came from. Yeah, I started and then last. So yeah, but, um, from your description, it seems like for you that that picked up your, your relationship with alcohol changed as you, as you moved away actually from 60 to 64. Father, do you want to talk a little more about that at all? Sure.

FAUSTER: I come from a long line of alcoholics. There are alcoholics, um, in recovery in my I'm sorry, in my family. Yet today, thankfully, we fall found a program that works for us and within our family. Um, I was an active alcoholic. I part of why I lost custody of my daughter was because of that. And the nervous breakdown. Um. I did not. We adopted the. My second is Steven, your second husband. We did not keep our son. We gave him up for adoption right away.

FAUSTER: I honestly just.

FAUSTER: There was no way that we could take care of him financially. But, yeah.

FAUSTER: It really took off.

FAUSTER: I actively drank for, um. I was an active alcoholic for 17 years. I eventually found recovery. I lost my. I left of my second ex-husband to go into recovery. I he was.

FAUSTER: He drank not quite as hard as I did. Uh, he sure did love his marijuana, though.

FAUSTER: Let me take or leave it.

FAUSTER: It wasn't. It was kind of like a.

FAUSTER: I didn't mind having that or any other extracurricular drugs.

FAUSTER: Take my bottle. I'm going to fight you for it. It's kind of a way I felt at the time.

FAUSTER: Why I left him. I went into residential treatment facility that was all women was blessed to be able to be there for eight and a half months. I have been sober since April 21st of 2005. And one of my main drivers to be sober was knowing that my daughter wanted a better relationship with her, even though I didn't physically raise her. We soldiers do quite a lot, but our relationship obviously deteriorated as I went further on into my despair. And we rebuilt and forgave. And. Well, she and I had. I'm so blessed to have her in my life, and I'm extremely grateful that my grandkids have never seen me drunk the way that she did.

FAUSTER: She was pregnant.

FAUSTER: She was 16 and pregnant. She was partying hard. And I got pregnant. I got into my residential treatment facility. I guess. I was estranged from my dad. I had a much closer relationship with my mom.

FAUSTER: A lot of relationships were rebuilt.

FAUSTER: Boundaries remained with others.

FAUSTER: And yeah, we are so grateful.

FAUSTER: To be sober has brought me so many blessings. And to be able to be there for another person who's struggling. Is such an honor. And through sobriety, I re reintroduced myself with being a veteran and to.

ROWELL: So on that topic. Yeah, not no. Um, so that was something that you struggled with when you were me when you left the guard?

FAUSTER: Yeah.

ROWELL: And then following?

FAUSTER: Yes. Um, did you.

ROWELL: Become kind of detached from the military community.

FAUSTER: And.

ROWELL: Veterans during that period?

FAUSTER: Well, you know what? I felt very ashamed. Uh, the last several, um. Months of.

FAUSTER: Me drilling. I know I drilled under the influence. I know that, um, that I was not all that I could be. I did not. Didn't make my last two drills until they graciously. I gave me my honorable. My exit from my service was filled of sadness and shame.

FAUSTER: And so I fell away from.

FAUSTER: That community quite a lot. I didn't feel like I belonged in that community the way that I had served out the rest of my time.

FAUSTER: And truth be told, I didn't.

FAUSTER: Feel like I belonged anywhere while I was. While I was drinking, I had a lot of chatter in the back of my head. Um, and certainly being a vet wasn't part of that part of it. And part of that was just feeding on the shame. So yeah, I feel I walked away quite a lot until I rejoined it. And that was in sobriety.

ROWELL: Yeah. Was, um. If you want to say. Sure. If you feel like you can answer. So we establish that there was a very heavy culture of drinking among other military members when you were in the guard. Mm hmm. Um, and that, in fact, your. Your second spouse, you know, he was involved with that, too. And that was something you experienced together simultaneously. Um, in terms of your perspective on your own relationship with alcohol. Did you feel that there were likely other people experiencing similar things who were also, you.

FAUSTER: Know, maybe.

ROWELL: You know. Yeah.

FAUSTER: Um, but truthfully, when you're into alcoholism, you feel like you've got it worse than anybody else. And you don't look at other people who, Oh, jeez, who are going through the same experience as I am. I know I didn't. And if I saw somebody struggling.

FAUSTER: Well, I was going to tell them how they could fix it, even though I had no way, shape or form was fixing my own life.

FAUSTER: You know, there may have been people within the units that I was at who were going through.

FAUSTER: The same things.

FAUSTER: And and if they were, I wasn't aware. And if they were, I hope they.

FAUSTER: Found a better way of living, a healthy way of living.

FAUSTER: Because that's much.

FAUSTER: More better than being stuck in a bottle someplace.

ROWELL: So the drinking was kind of where the partying was done, but the maybe the. The addiction aspect wasn't talked about, really, in your opinion.

FAUSTER: In the military? No. Okay. It was kind of a partying was kind of accepted as.

FAUSTER: Long as you did your job.

ROWELL: And kind of built in. In some cases, it seems was there.

FAUSTER: Well, at the 64.

FAUSTER: I was at the time. Yeah.

ROWELL: So. And so when you went into your recovery, was that in Milwaukee?

FAUSTER: Yes.

ROWELL: Okay. Did you at any point, as a veteran, either before or after your recovery, uh, interact with the V.A. or seek out veteran care?

FAUSTER: After my after I got sober, I did reach out to see if I would qualify.

FAUSTER: For any sort of.

FAUSTER: Benefits. Being in the.

FAUSTER: Guard and not being activated or deployed to for Desert Storm.

FAUSTER: I did not have enough.

FAUSTER: Active duty time at the time, and so I didn't qualify.

FAUSTER: Which, you know, at the time when I was seeking services. It wasn't because I was in any sort of crisis or that I.

FAUSTER: Was concerned about some aspect of my health.

FAUSTER: It was just a policy. But when I was denied, then I figured, you know what? That's okay, because there are so many other vets who.

FAUSTER: Truly need the services.

FAUSTER: But at the.

FAUSTER: Time that I sunk.

FAUSTER: That I.

FAUSTER: That I went and I.

FAUSTER: Looked towards the VA for potential resources.

FAUSTER: I was in a new relationship because obviously I left the second to get sober. I was single for, uh, for probably a year. And then I got into another relationship, and I guess Andy is my fourth. He was in recovery. He relapsed. Um, that was very ugly. I told them to get out.

FAUSTER: I gave them a few chances.

FAUSTER: Um, and I told them to get out. And then I was homeless for a little while and landed in a safe place and a friend's house. He was in recovery of.

FAUSTER: That eventually.

FAUSTER: Ending, I got together.

FAUSTER: Well, Andy and I, we have.

FAUSTER: A very healthy relationship. Um, and did so when I was looking into it, the resources from the VA.

FAUSTER: And so for me, I had no sort of like anger or.

FAUSTER: Well, rancor or.

FAUSTER: Anything like that. I was like, wow, you know, we know far too many.

FAUSTER: Who come back with TBI or with PTSD.

FAUSTER: Although.

FAUSTER: PTSD goes back many years prior. Uh, they decided to add a code to it. And but anyway, there are so many people who who are coming back from military sexual trauma who need those resources. Um, there are people who are physically not who really, physically need that. And I'm pretty healthy, so it's okay.

FAUSTER: I never felt slighted or indignant or anything.

FAUSTER: Of that nature.

FAUSTER: Um, and I still.

FAUSTER: Feel that way today.

ROWELL: Yeah. So thinking about the period, your period in your recovery, where you started to regain a bit of contact with other veterans and establish that you should get involved. Can you tell me a bit about how that happened?

FAUSTER: Through Facebook with my recovery often jerk. I'm like, Thank God there were I didn't know about social media. There wasn't any sort of social media back when I was drinking cause all boy and burn all sorts of new and other bridges anyway.

FAUSTER: But yes, through Facebook, I was I was online and.

FAUSTER: I started to get to know other people who who were vets and.

FAUSTER: Little people. And I sort of opened up that that I served. And I said.

FAUSTER: Oh, but but I was in the National Guard. Not enough.

FAUSTER: You're served. You're willing you you signed that data that you signed that you signed that check, like, oh, wait a moment. I guess I did. But you know what? I was in a much I was.

FAUSTER: On my own healthier living journey at the time.

FAUSTER: And I guess I was at that place where I could accept that maybe, maybe I am old. But then that interesting, I really.

FAUSTER: Didn't feel like I deserved that sort of.

FAUSTER: But then there was like a kind of like kind of fell into that. And there was people online that helped.

FAUSTER: Me with that.

FAUSTER: And then I was.

FAUSTER: Invited to a Facebook group and I was so excited about that. They told me, I'm.

FAUSTER: Like, Oh, I'd be so excited that I'd be honored and and just just it was like online smoking and joking and sharing stories like vets do. And that's what helped.

FAUSTER: Me reignite that pride again, because obviously while I was drinking with that patriot, patriot inside of me.

FAUSTER: I mean, I was so patriotic.

FAUSTER: But it was tamped down and a lot of that was reignited once I gotten sober. But yeah, online of all things. That's what opened me up again to being a vet. Hmm.

ROWELL: And how are you received by people as a female vet also at that time?

FAUSTER: At that time. Oh, funny. A lot of support. Sometimes I felt a little intimidated by the other women just because they seemed stronger than me. And looking back, that's only because I felt that way.

FAUSTER: Because I was still getting used to having. Taking that that status that.

FAUSTER: Back to myself.

FAUSTER: With some pride.

FAUSTER: Again. And I think that kind of.

FAUSTER: There was some of that judgment there. I'm still feeling a little weakened that so. So that. Oh my God, this seem so.

FAUSTER: Strong and and now I. I mean.

FAUSTER: Truly, there are a lot of wonderfully strong women in the military or who are vets. I mean, you just look at I'm not visible always.

FAUSTER: Smocks.

FAUSTER: But.

FAUSTER: And now, you know.

FAUSTER: I'm I'm I'm well received with my online friends as well as, um, the vast majority of my friends outside of online like an American Legion. Mhm.

ROWELL: So yeah. So on that topic. Yeah. How did you get involved with the American Legion.

FAUSTER: Oh yeah. Now there came a point in time, I mean I was doing things like online.

FAUSTER: And I actually was able to meet some of some of my online friends in person and go to lunch and, and forming relationships that way. Telephone calls and stuff I just wanted to do more online is great and forming new relationships through phone calls or wine messages back and forth. Texting. That's great. But I wanted to I wanted to serve again, and that's why I joined Legion. Is that I wanted to give back, pay it forward to as a community of veterans around me as they do for me. I wanted to be of service to the community at how I'm involved with them. My home post is here in Mukwonago. I want to go past 375 an East Veterans Way, but I've been active with them since September of 2016, and I've found I'm grateful that I have served on quite a few committees, and I still do. I am currently.

FAUSTER: Besides my post.

FAUSTER: Activities, I'm currently the first vice commander of fashion of Waukesha County. My good friend Michelle, she is our our commander. And so I'm very proud of that. I'm very proud of being on district committee as well. There's big rumblings going on that they're going to put me on the district board in May as their achievement, and that's a huge honor.

FAUSTER: But I also.

FAUSTER: At the state level, I serve on the the Department of Wisconsin Children and Youth Committee as their chairman. And so.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I've got all sorts of things in the answer to that.

FAUSTER: And children and Americanism and some VA and our and and some national security force. The four pillars are in my collective service, fire service.

FAUSTER: But you know what.

FAUSTER: A lot of us Legionnaires do. So I'm just really grateful to be able to serve that way. But tonight is our is our county, our county board meeting. So that'll be good.

ROWELL: Yeah, we'll get more into that. Yeah. Would you like to maybe kind of turn to each side so we can see what's on your count?

FAUSTER: Oh, certainly. Yeah.

ROWELL: So then just go ahead.

FAUSTER: This is where we're from? Mm hmm.

FAUSTER: And this site is always left.

FAUSTER: There without any sort of medals or pins. That's by the national bylaws and the our rules and regs for our covers. Mm hmm. And so we keep that kind of. I guess that's kind of sacred and sort of people know where we're coming from.

FAUSTER: All right. And on this side, it's all my charges.

FAUSTER: All of which I'm really excited. And probably on right here.

FAUSTER: Is the Wisconsin with the keys to.

FAUSTER: Come down. I am a Wisconsin Legion College graduate and I Wisconsin American Legion College graduate. And those courses help anyone prepare for leadership or if anybody wants to just gain a better understanding of the Legion, take those courses. They're important.

FAUSTER: But just pins of support, pins of things that I've done. And with each level, second, I'm okay. With each level of service, you gain a new cover.

FAUSTER: So I'm part it's often said no matter the color of your cover, we all wear blue underneath maybe, and the blue is our post home cover. And like the piping changes when you're at the county level and a little whites added when you're on the district level and.

FAUSTER: Then you're all white at the state. And but we're always.

FAUSTER: We're always blue hat. We're always busy serving our community. We're always busy serving their home post, always serving veterans.

ROWELL: Yeah. So would you like to tell me a bit about the Legion Wisconsin Children Youth Committee and what your involvement has been with that?

FAUSTER: Oh my. Thank you. I'd like to we have we started. I'm thankful that.

FAUSTER: I was part of starting a new world award to recognize posts.

FAUSTER: Instead of you must.

FAUSTER: Report. I want our posts across the state to brag about what they're doing for our children in youth activities. Tell me all about it, because there are a lot of exciting things going on all across the state for children and youth.

FAUSTER: Even more so than I mean, sure, the fundraising is great.

FAUSTER: Like for a troop families support or child welfare fund or temporary financial assistance.

FAUSTER: All of those things are wonderful.

FAUSTER: Very important.

FAUSTER: And they affect our communities. But oftentimes we might not know those people unless of course, I mean a few of those.

FAUSTER: They do start at the policy level, especially like temporary financial assistance grants that we give to families with children who might need a hand up, especially during COVID. That was an important resource.

FAUSTER: But there's so many posts around it.

FAUSTER: As the entire state. We're doing really cool things for the kids in their community.

FAUSTER: So please write about them and you just might win an award.

FAUSTER: That they are at our state convention and also gained national recognition for doing so. So I was pretty excited to do that. We are in the process of working towards endorsement for a program that one of our community committee members started. It's called Be the One for Our Youth, and it's a hard subject to talk about, but youth suicide is number two. I heard as as to the reasons why kids die in this day and age. First is overdose. But I have to wonder just how many of those kids who overdose were because they were committing suicide. Oftentimes they go hand in hand.

FAUSTER: Unless they're just partying.

FAUSTER: And unfortunately, in today's day and age, it seems like anything or we're about be.

FAUSTER: The one for.

FAUSTER: For our Youth is a band program.

FAUSTER: In fact, I'm wearing it.

ROWELL: I didn't know this idea. I show to the camera. Sure. All right. Be the one.

FAUSTER: And on the other side.

FAUSTER: Nine, eight, eight, the National Lifeline number.

FAUSTER: There used to be the VA used to.

FAUSTER: Have a very long ten digit number and then press one for vets to remember if they were in a crisis and needed to call somebody.

FAUSTER: Well.

FAUSTER: They changed that to three simple numbers, nine, eight, eight.

FAUSTER: But a her program reaches.

FAUSTER: Out for.

FAUSTER: Mental.

FAUSTER: Health wellness for our kids, for children and youth. I don't know. It seems kind of weird to say about to maybe.

FAUSTER: I just.

FAUSTER: Say kids, but.

FAUSTER: And we give them bands to hand them out.

FAUSTER: The Legion does churches, does other veterans service organizations, other branches of the Legion family schools.

FAUSTER: I you name it.

FAUSTER: You got it in 19 approximately 19,000 bands have gone on hands. I know my post level we're going to be handing them out at the big Maxwell Street days flea market where we get lots of families out of there and lots of kids that we can talk to and ask them to be kind. And I help look out for each other.

FAUSTER: And if you see somebody.

FAUSTER: That's being bullied, go find a trusted adult and let them know if you're an older maybe and you're in high school and you know this friend that's struggling or, you know, you go to parties, hinders your partying a little bit.

FAUSTER: Everything okay, Just be there.

FAUSTER: For for another kid.

FAUSTER: And you know what?

FAUSTER: And turn those kids who are there for one. They get the back door effect of remembering those things. Oh, I can reach out to I can call nine, eight, eight because that number.

FAUSTER: Is just not for vets, it's.

FAUSTER: For everybody.

FAUSTER: And it's been we're working.

FAUSTER: Towards endorsement with on the state level of this program. And that's very exciting. We're involved with this coming up. And at the very end of April, we're going to be working the interactive craft table. I get to I'm very excited at the. A and a. All the way.

FAUSTER: Purple up.

FAUSTER: For military kids.

FAUSTER: Date youth camp at Lambeau Field. Oh, yes. Yeah. And oh, that. And Aaron and Alvin Jones. Of course.

FAUSTER: Aaron. I think it's Eric. I don't even watch football. I'm sorry.

FAUSTER: But a Packer and his twin.

FAUSTER: Brother, Saskatchewan Roughriders, I think, is the team. I'm sorry, guys, If it's not. If you ever listen to my interview.

FAUSTER: But they hold.

FAUSTER: A day camp. They're both military kids. Their mom and dad served. And so they're very much into that. And so they're hosting a day camp where kids and their families of.

FAUSTER: Currently or veterans.

FAUSTER: Who have served get to go in and get tours of Lambeau, go through the clubhouse, get pictures with the with cool football players. We're going to have a table there for be one for our youth and the interactive craft table. So children youth is doing that. We're also doing.

FAUSTER: We've got all sorts of.

FAUSTER: Things that we're doing our.

FAUSTER: Committee and used to really be.

FAUSTER: Very engaged and we're working really hard to make the fourth pillar.

FAUSTER: And then the American Legion.

FAUSTER: Has four pillars. We have a vendor. We have national security. We have Americanism, and we have children and youth. Often times, children and youth.

FAUSTER: Gets lumped into.

FAUSTER: Americanism.

FAUSTER: And it's and they they're very related, but they're different. And so we're working really.

FAUSTER: Hard at making ourselves known that the fourth pillar is doing is loud and proud. And we're we're doing everything we can do to be more active with our kids.

FAUSTER: And it's it's exciting. I'm it's kind of been some.

FAUSTER: Transition and certainly a learning curve because I was part of the committee just as a committee member when we were doing anything to now I'm the chair and I've got committee members who are really on fire for our for our kids. And yeah, we're we're, we're making ourselves known for the good of our kids and that's exciting.

ROWELL: Yeah. How did you how do you think that change kind of initiated among the committee?

FAUSTER: I just, you know.

FAUSTER: I think our leadership had something to do with that.

FAUSTER: Our our past commander, um, great guy. And I have nothing but good things to say. But that was during COVID. Really weird time. Well, actually, Commander Gregg, he started.

FAUSTER: Just after COVID. I guess it was transitioning out.

FAUSTER: But things were different with.

FAUSTER: The Legion back then. There were different focuses, especially during COVID.

FAUSTER: Back then it was just.

FAUSTER: Making sure that pass could still meet or can we still.

FAUSTER: Do this thing virtually? And so there was a lot of transition going through that. So of course, it's difficult to get out in your communities and some communities aren't really fully back yet.

FAUSTER: And.

FAUSTER: You know, the Legion is not going to go.

FAUSTER: Anywhere and just step on toes. We are going to force our programs.

FAUSTER: On to you. But, you know, I think with.

FAUSTER: Things a lot more open now. Our current commander.

FAUSTER: Commander Julie Julia millie, she's part of the I'm not invisible 4.0 Come campaign.

FAUSTER: Oh, I'm so excited for her. And I know other Legionnaires who are also part of her campaign of their campaign campaign prior into the new one. That's that's going now. Um.

FAUSTER: So yeah. And she, she just.

FAUSTER: Wanted to get back to basics and children youth is part of that.

FAUSTER: So yeah, leadership.

FAUSTER: The thirst and desire to do something different instead of doing nothing. And so we're working on it. Definitely, yeah.

ROWELL: Um, and so you're also involved with the First Districts Oratorical Contest? Yeah.

FAUSTER: The Oratorical contest is a constitutional.

FAUSTER: Speech contest for high schoolers, and they have to memorize five speeches.

FAUSTER: The first one is an 8.

FAUSTER: To 10 minute speech.

FAUSTER: On anything they want in.

FAUSTER: The Constitution regarding their duties and obligations as a citizen. The other four they need to prepare on for some.

FAUSTER: Topics picked at the national level.

FAUSTER: And they need to have a 3 to 5 minute speech memorized. And each of those and then during the contest.

FAUSTER: An envelope is picked and surprise, you're speaking on the First Amendment today or surprise you're speaking on the 14th or whatever.

FAUSTER: And that changes year to year. And sometimes it's just you and a part of an article of.

FAUSTER: So yeah it's it's a really and there.

FAUSTER: I don't think I could do it but we've got some really really smart kids out there so we're we're fortunate that we can do it. I run the oratorical.

FAUSTER: Well currently at the post.

FAUSTER: Level. I've turned that over. But I also do the county as well as the district. Natale and I have posts that I have either assigned or picked who want to. I've started and now that they host the contest and the chair, I my behind the scenes, if I need help finding.

FAUSTER: Judges or volunteers, please ask us.

FAUSTER: Where we really want a successful contest. And yeah, I really enjoy being part of that. And I serve her on the chair for the Children Youth Committee or Children and Youth I chair as well as just recently the Badger Boys State chair.

ROWELL: So what is that.

FAUSTER: All Patrick Boys veteran boys State happens all over the country in Wisconsin it's hosted.

FAUSTER: At UW Square. It's just in the past couple of years, then hosted there.

FAUSTER: And high school junior.

FAUSTER: Males. Obviously they they go to the college for a week and they form mock parties.

FAUSTER: And it's not Democrat.

FAUSTER: And it's not Republican.

FAUSTER: Because. There's messed up on both sides of the aisle, so to speak. But we want the kids to give.

FAUSTER: The kids that opportunity. They they form a party and they're separated into those parties and they're the government. They have to work on legislation and they have to work on finding solutions to solving problems. And it's really fascinating.

FAUSTER: It gives them a really.

FAUSTER: Really wonderful in-depth opportunity to take a look at civics and and how the government works. Frankly, I.

FAUSTER: Yeah, there's also a program.

FAUSTER: The that the American Legion auxiliary events Badger boys girls um I'm sorry Badger girls state.

FAUSTER: Anyway and it runs the same.

FAUSTER: Way so and.

FAUSTER: Is the.

FAUSTER: Legion is working on becoming more inclusive so everybody can.

FAUSTER: Participate.

FAUSTER: Um but that's how it's classified and it's a great opportunity for, for these juniors to, to really get a grip and a handle on.

FAUSTER: Hey, what's government doing? They work for us. So it's important for.

FAUSTER: For our kids to know, uh, to know what, what that's all about.

ROWELL: A lot of civic oriented topics. Yeah. Yeah, A lot of sex education.

FAUSTER: Oh, yeah? Yeah.

ROWELL: Why do you think that's so important, personally?

FAUSTER: Oh, gosh, I'm political. I'm very politically engaged. Um.

FAUSTER: And I'm one of those. Those people really feel like.

FAUSTER: Um. It's government. They're the ones who make the wives. They're the ones who rule on cases. They're the ones who are in the leadership roles. Granted.

FAUSTER: They.

FAUSTER: If they work in those capacities. But I think and I think it's very important for for today's youth to remember that they work for us, that they have a voice. That a very important voice. If anything, in the last couple of elections, with.

FAUSTER: Certain last.

FAUSTER: Few elections, be it on the state level or national level, our votes have been very important. Sometimes it's come down very slim. Margins get out the vote. It's a privilege to go do that. A lot of countries don't have that. Don't take our freedoms for granted. Remember how our our rights are given to us naturally through our Creator. They're ours. And we should fight for those rights. And I don't mean everybody should go join the military.

FAUSTER: Because I know it's not for everybody.

FAUSTER: Frankly, I think it would be really.

FAUSTER: Good to have.

FAUSTER: Everybody enjoying either two years in.

FAUSTER: The in the branch of their choice.

FAUSTER: Or join in a an intensive volunteer project.

FAUSTER: Get your skin in the game, I think. Well, of course. I mean, back.

FAUSTER: In the day, there was the draft and there's.

FAUSTER: Selective.

FAUSTER: Service now. Oh, one thing the Legion is working on doing legislatively because we answer to, um, to those in DC. We're nationally chartered, so we're working on opening up the Selective Service for Islanders and not just males.

FAUSTER: Because so many, so many of our girls want to go with their thinking about surfing. Many of them want to go into.

FAUSTER: Combat roles and such. And if our per boys or our youngest young male men, adult young men have to sign up, we feel women should to.

FAUSTER: Put.

FAUSTER: Your skin in the game. Um, but anyway, I really do feel it's just important to get involved. Work. Work. The polls.

FAUSTER: Go out and canvass, find out what it's about. Um, it's easy. It's easy. Easy to complain about what's.

FAUSTER: Going on in the world. We all do it. But find out what if I know what you're complaining about? Uh.

FAUSTER: Have a voice.

FAUSTER: Find it. Find out more. Yeah, And I think it's very important things change.

ROWELL: Sure. Yeah. Um, so you've served as a first vice commander, um, of for your post 375.

FAUSTER: Well, for the current.

ROWELL: Okay. All right. So I've Waukesha County.

FAUSTER: Yes. Okay.

ROWELL: Can you tell me a bit about that role, what it's like, what you've done and what you've done?

FAUSTER: Well, I've been in the role for less than a year. Coming up on.

FAUSTER: A year and a few months. Wow.

FAUSTER: But in that.

FAUSTER: In that role, I help support our other board members, especially my commander. Um, where is she? Needs me. Um, currently I serve. I'm also the chair of three committees. The ones that I named for the district are also my county county chair positions. I've also been there in I'm more of a leadership role for for our county. That's for Legionnaires.

FAUSTER: But you know, also sometimes.

FAUSTER: When I'm out in the command in the communities and maybe trying to get funds donated for wristbands or, um, to give to any of our foundations or to Badger Youth Camp or anything like that. Um.

FAUSTER: We're going into.

FAUSTER: Schools and talking to counselors.

FAUSTER: We'd like your students.

FAUSTER: To participate and blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it's really, I appreciate the fact that, um, that I have that title.

FAUSTER: Because it does carry.

FAUSTER: Some weight. Um, but.

FAUSTER: Um, yeah, it's more of a supportive role really, more than anything.

FAUSTER: Supportive leadership and helping where I can. But I'm very, I was very, um, honored that, that I was considered and nominated and ah, elected. Yeah.

ROWELL: Um, and you have a trustee position, correct? Yeah. Secondary trustee. Is that correct?

FAUSTER: Correct.

ROWELL: Okay. Uh, you want to say a little bit about.

FAUSTER: Yeah, that's a the level that's kind of a liaison person between the membership.

FAUSTER: And our and our executive board. And I'm a board.

FAUSTER: Member, but I'm not.

FAUSTER: Like in a more, more robust leadership role, like our vice commanders or finance officer. Definitely the commander. I but I appreciate being a, being a voice like that. Um, it's kind of a person who try to helps keep everything.

FAUSTER: Hey, we have a question about what.

FAUSTER: Happened at this meeting. Can you help help me understand this?

FAUSTER: Sure. But, yeah.

FAUSTER: It's kind of like a.

FAUSTER: I was a three or I'm.

FAUSTER: Currently the two here. Now, this upcoming year I'll be the one year and then.

FAUSTER: It's nice that it works that way because we.

FAUSTER: Have fresh, fresh eyes, fresh opinions, fresh people to continue looking out for both sides of the equation. Mm hmm.

ROWELL: Um, and so is there anything else you like to talk about in terms of your involved with the American Legion for ask other questions?

FAUSTER: Um. That. In fact, today, by the way, it is the American.

FAUSTER: Legion's 103rd birthday.

FAUSTER: First met at the Paris.

FAUSTER: Accords and at the very end of World War One in 1919.

FAUSTER: But I'm so honored to be.

FAUSTER: Part of part of the Legion.

FAUSTER: I was nervous about whether they'd accept me in the beginning because I was in the guard. I didn't wasn't deployed.

FAUSTER: But I had the membership here at the time, talked to the talk to the state level, and the state level kind of.

FAUSTER: Made a quick call, the national. And they all said I could join.

FAUSTER: So I was playing. I was very excited. But I love being a part of part of the Legion. I love being part of the Legion family, having the auxiliary and the size of the American Legion and our Legion riders all working together for us, for our vets, for our community. I love it. And it's an honor and it's a privilege to be able to do so.

ROWELL: So is there in your experience, is there less membership among Guard or Reserve veterans?

FAUSTER: I think that's changed. Okay. I've come.

FAUSTER: I've come.

FAUSTER: Across quite a few.

FAUSTER: In the Legion.

FAUSTER: I didn't in the beginning only because I was new and I hadn't really.

FAUSTER: Done a whole lot of networking at that time.

FAUSTER: But since then, in fact, quite a few people who were active duty, eventually they wanted to continue to serve.

FAUSTER: So after deployment or what have you, or after their time was done with active duty, then they joined the Guard or the Reserves. And that's pretty cool. I hear about that a lot. So I think I think there are quite a few more who are there. And now that the standards for joining have changed.

FAUSTER: It used to be that you could.

FAUSTER: Only join if you were in certain time periods. Now it's from anywhere from. Well, unfortunately, we don't have any World War One vets anymore. But anybody serving during any time from 1919, hypothetically, all the way to that current to today can join. If you served you can join. And it's that I think that's really great and I think that's going to open up a lot of opportunities.

FAUSTER: For other.

FAUSTER: Veterans that could join. The largest veterans service organization.

FAUSTER: Please come. We need you. We want you.

ROWELL: Did that change happened before or after you joined?

FAUSTER: Oh, they happened afterwards.

FAUSTER: You know, last couple of years, the Legion Act was passed in Congress and became part of our national constitution, bylaws and constitution. So.

ROWELL: Yeah. How did you feel about that?

FAUSTER: I was really glad that.

FAUSTER: It's great to be able to be open to everybody who served.

ROWELL: And can you remind me what year you joined.

FAUSTER: In in the.

ROWELL: Legion? Yes. Only American Legion.

FAUSTER: Yeah, I joined the Legion.

FAUSTER: In September of 2016. Okay. And that very day, a clipboard. What was being sent around?

FAUSTER: You need volunteers for the oratorical contest. I thought to myself, Well, geez, I.

FAUSTER: Don't know anybody but to speak. Great opportunity trying to serve. So I signed the clipboard and the rest is.

FAUSTER: Here I.

FAUSTER: Am.

ROWELL: Um, so are there other veterans organizations that you are involved with right now?

FAUSTER: I'm not really donating to Hub, but and now my focus.

FAUSTER: Really is on the Legion at this point. Um, I don't qualify for the VFW. Um, um, but, you know.

FAUSTER: I just am pretty busy with the Legion.

FAUSTER: Right.

ROWELL: So, big.

FAUSTER: Commitment. Yeah.

ROWELL: Uh, and so just personally. Yeah. Why do you think it can be important to have veterans involved in that community? Not necessarily just the American Legion, but as a whole?

FAUSTER: Oh, my gosh. Um.

FAUSTER: It's so many little kids. I mean, you are so. Wow. And and it's not because of the wow factor. It's it's because I think part of being a vet is to go in to help where it's needed, continue with the mission. The mission doesn't stop.

FAUSTER: After we get our discharge or 8214 in our hand or in my case, duty to 14 and.

FAUSTER: My National Guard separation papers. But anyway, our mission doesn't end. It doesn't have to end. We have so much to.

FAUSTER: Give to our communities. I mean, vets on the whole are pretty driven, protective of they want to serve and there's so many ways that you can. You can. How many vets end up once they're finished with their service, end up going into law enforcement or in some first responder role, or that's working? Working within their churches. I mean, so many events. I mean, they may be parents. They get to work within the churches, within their schools.

FAUSTER: Adding just a little bit of a.

FAUSTER: Different flavor and a little bit of a different strength or to add to the strengths that that whatever the community is may already have. Um. Yeah. Um.

FAUSTER: Continue. Michel. It's not over.

FAUSTER: I'm very active.

FAUSTER: At least online and somewhat.

FAUSTER: Through my recovery circle, so I'm very active and creative with online or in person crisis calls for. That's who are thinking. Became the half of a statistic, which frankly I think is of underreported. How many people end up arguing with the purpose of. I just don't want to be here anymore. But that's my opinion, and that's can be imposed in that way.

FAUSTER: They don't want to be involved in that way. There's so many different ways.

FAUSTER: That they can be in real time. And so I think it's really important to us.

FAUSTER: Charlie, Mike, continue mission.

ROWELL: And how do you feel also that developing camaraderie with other veterans is important for veterans?

FAUSTER: Oh, my gosh. Because we've we've all I might have not walked in the same combat boots they did or whoever it is, but we have some shared experiences. I am kind of an older generation. I still call it a brotherhood or.

FAUSTER: A family or whatever.

FAUSTER: Now, these are my.

FAUSTER: Brothers and my sisters.

FAUSTER: Of all of the same uncle. And so much of what one.

FAUSTER: Went through, another went there.

FAUSTER: And so oftentimes it's easy.

FAUSTER: For somebody, especially.

FAUSTER: Who was in theater.

FAUSTER: Who and now they're back home. Where do they fit in?

FAUSTER: How? What do I do now?

FAUSTER: And just having that family again might help them either. I. Reach out for services if they haven't already. If that's something that they need. But that that that camaraderie, it's priceless really is. And I'm so grateful that I worked on my whole career, got my own healthier within myself to allow that to be a part of my life, too. Yeah.

ROWELL: Do you feel for yourself? It's been supportive of other elements like your recovery and.

FAUSTER: Oh, for sure. Yeah.

FAUSTER: But, you know, and when you. For me, it's helped in accountability.

FAUSTER: It's helped with. And it kind of like dear procrastination if I see in need something that needs to be done. Well, I guess I just need to do that. Or if I can't find somebody to do it, let's find.

FAUSTER: Somebody who can.

FAUSTER: Help me. Um.

FAUSTER: You know, back to asking for help. Asking for help is hard.

FAUSTER: Especially for necessarily a vet or in recovery. Um, and when you form that form, that, that bond with each other, um. You don't feel alone again. As far all alone. And you're able to help ask for help.

FAUSTER: You got it. Maybe I can, too. Maybe I can ask him. But, yeah, I think it's helping in.

FAUSTER: The different areas of my life.

ROWELL: Hm. Um.

FAUSTER: So certainly helps with my self-esteem. Yeah, definitely.