BRONZE STAR - Army 1st Sgt. Michelle Fournier holds the Bronze Star she was awarded April 10 at the Los Alamitos Armed Services Reserve Center. Fournier served with the 113th Medical Company, which specialized in controlling combat stress. GENE BRECKNER/Valley Press

Stress fighter earns Bronze Star

Crew helped soldiers keep mental health

By JESSICA LOGAN
Valley Press Staff Writer

The California Highway Patrol officer was on reserve when her unit was called to duty in Iraq a year ago.

Her duty was unusual. She and her co-workers were tasked with helping soldiers maintain mental health during their stay in Iraq, where danger runs high and macho attitudes sometimes preclude people from admitting they need help dealing with the pressure of combat.

"There is such a stigma to combat stress, but they can take care of it with simple techniques," Fournier said.

She and 1st Lt. Cheri Waide, and the rest of their crew, didn't just wait for those who needed help to seek service.

Instead, they launched a large program to get the word out about the service they offered and give the troops the support they needed.

The lesson they taught was the idea that the soldiers "are having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation."

That explanation helped to take some of the stigma off mental health services and made it a more appealing option for the top-flight enlisted personnel who might otherwise have shied away from getting help.

Fournier said by the end of her stay in Iraq almost all the soldiers knew about her services and were given lessons on fighting stress.

When Fournier returned home for duty, she received the Bronze Star from 13th Sgt. Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, the highest ranking enlisted soldier.

"We went over there and we kicked butt," Waide said. "We went above and beyond."

Fournier has been back home from Iraq with her husband Roy Smith for only a week and welcomed her co-workers from Iraq for a Sunday afternoon barbecue.

Fournier said she is glad to be home with her husband. The one comfort she missed the most wasn't sleeping in her own bed or taking a swim in the pool; it was driving.

She said that when she would drive her crew in Iraq, she was always on the alert for explosives disguised on the road. She said running over what looked like a piece of garbage could be dangerous.

"It'll be nice to drive without sandbags on the floor," Fournier said of the protective bags lining the bottoms of their vehicles.

During one of Fournier's particularly distressing drives, it wasn't the possibility of hidden explosives, but an attack from gunmen as she and her crew were stuck in traffic. A crew member had to return fire.

Fournier said she was able to deal with the stress in Iraq and easily make the transition to home life because she was able to keep in contact with her husband and with the people who served with her.

Smith, a site manager with Boeing, said he put the last year when his wife was away to good use. He taxied his son and daughter to sporting events and spent long weekends refurbishing the house.

He installed marble countertops, tiled the entryway and remodeled the bathroom.

"If you just sit around and think about it you'll go crazy," Smith said.

Even though he kept busy, he still missed his wife.

"It's no fun taking a (dip in the) Jacuzzi by yourself. I missed her quite a bit," Smith said.

The couple said they are planning a trip through New England to relax and have fun.

Smith said he became addicted to cable news when his wife was away. He would become concerned when he saw violent activity in her region, but was always relieved to get quick e-mails from his wife.

He said adjusting back to civilian life will be difficult for the couple, but he thought a present or two would help ease the transition.

He gave Fournier a retired CHP motorcycle, which he admits to testing out before she got her first ride.

Fournier said she has to wait to get her motorcycle driving license before she can take it on the road.

She said she is glad to be home, but she also felt satisfied with the work she accomplished in Iraq.

"I definitely don't do it for money. I do it for the other soldiers and for my country. Life's not about money," Fournier said.

jlogan@avpress.com