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By DAWN SLADE - Mille Lacs County Times
SSGT Jenny Wunderlich put away her dusty camo fatigues and gun and found her way back to the Mille Lacs County Attorney’s Office to resume her role as the victim assistance coordinator.
“We’re happy she’s back safely,” county attorney Jan Jude said.
Wunderlich left Iraq on New Year’s Eve, but it was January 10th by the time she reached Minnesota. A week later, after throwing away every dust-embedded item she had from Iraq, Wunderlich was back in the attorney’s office, still adjusting to sleep and the frigid temperatures.
Wearing a winter coat throughout the interview, Wunderlich said of her time in Iraq, “It was 130 degrees in the summer and when it got below 110, I started getting cold.”
A member of the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division, also known as the Red Bulls, Wunderlich was able to earn 11 credits at William Mitchell College while working with the JAG unit in Basra.
Her schooling was considered an externship in advanced evidence with the military justice system. Wunderlich said she appreciated help from Colonel Karasov, a Hennepin County Judge, who was the Chief Military Justice in Basra the first half of her deployment.
A non-commissioned officer in charge, Wunderlich worked on two general court martials during her year in Iraq.
The first dealt with two soldiers who were charged with larceny.
The second dealt with four soldiers charged with hazing. (None of those charged were members of the 34th.)
She was deployed under Title 10 status (under the President of the United States).
“It’s completely different,” Wunderlich said comparing it to Title 32 status (under the governor).
Under Title 10, the government is in charge of everything - scheduling, getting witnesses to court, being an overseas liaison, etc.
“It was interesting. It was really frustrating, but I learned a lot,” the soldier said. “It’s hard to get people into Iraq now.”
Wunderlich had to travel to Bagdad for two of the court martials and to Arifjan, Kuwait for the other two cases.
The logistics of scheduling court cases, such as keeping defendants separated from the victims and witnesses for the prosecution, is difficult at best.
Ten panel members were hand-selected by General Nash to serve as the jury.
Compiling a list of those panel members and alternates was a task in itself as panel members had to meet certain criteria, such as years in service, military record and judicial temperament. If one of those persons was excused, a replacement had to be found that equaled that original person in those same areas.
“If you have the wrong person on the panel, the decision could be reversed,” Wunderlich pointed out.
Those panel members have to be scheduled into the court marshall time table and getting around in Iraq and Kuwait is not easy.
“It really makes you appreciate the conveniences of home.”
She also appreciated getting to know people in the JAG unit, who have a variety of backgrounds.
“You don’t really get to know people on drill weekends,” she pointed out.
A criminal justice and psychology major, Wunderlich is no stranger to deployment. From 2004 to 2005, she was deployed to Kosovo as a truck driver.
Yet Wunderlich compared most of her time in Iraq to the movie Groundhog Day due to the routine of military life.
“I have no concept of time anymore,” she said of the routine. “It was always hot. There’s no color there.”
Then added, “Bagdad was gorgeous. Saddam called it his oasis.”
Current role
Wunderlich believes her time in Iraq will help in her role as the victim assistance coordinator.
She has developed contacts throughout the United States, thanks to her deployment, which she believes will help her cases in Mille Lacs County.
The staff sergeant also put together a victim witness program for the military, while serving in Iraq. She started the training for victim liaisons, including sex assault advocates.
“There were times I felt like I was doing my job here, just in a different country,” Wunderlich noted.
Wunderlich plans on taking the bar exam in July.
“If I’m deployed again, hopefully I’ll go as an attorney,” she said of obtaining her JAG packet.
For now, she appreciates being home and being with her family. She also appreciates long showers, wearing civilian clothes and being able to walk and talk on her cell phone (walking and talking on a cell phone is not allowed in Ft. Lewis where Wunderlich was based out of).
“It’s hard being over there and after a while you lose yourself,” Wunderlich said. “You lose your femininity. I just wanted to come back and feel like a girl again.”
While her transition back home is still in progress, she said the easiest so far is her transition at work as the victim assistance coordinator.
“It’s been a seamless transition from Jenny to Maria [Meirink] and back to Jenny,” Jude commented.
Seamless or not, one thing’s for sure, “It’s so good to be home.”
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