Army veteran reflects on career

Wrapping up his 27-year career in the U.S. Army with one of the military’s highest honors, one native Montanan said this was the last place he would have seen himself as a young journalist nearly three decades ago.

From Korea to Iraq, Master Sgt. Gary Qualls has seen every aspect of war during his service, but, as an Army journalist, he did so through the lens of a camera.

For 27 years Qualls’ job was to capture war, from guts to glory, to keep America informed of the sacrifices, struggles and service of their troops overseas.

As an enlisted man, Qualls has jumped out of planes, flown in Harrier jets, taken part in aquatic landing and kicked in doors with troops in Iraq.

One large difference separated him from his fellow soldiers.

“Everybody had their M-4s and I had my Nikon,” Qualls said. “You kind of have to depend on your brothers and sisters and hope that they have your back.”

Qualls served in three combat deployments and volunteered for a fourth. He was deployed to Korea twice, once on a hardship tour, and twice to Iraq, where he was awarded a Bronze Star.

“They finally told me to shut up because I kept asking to go,” he said.

“The reason I wanted to go was because I was on they deployment that was toward the beginning of the [Iraq] war,” he added. “I wanted to say I was there at the beginning and the end.”

The army journalist was first responsible for complete coverage of war and relaying information as it happened across the sea to a country far removed.

His career stretched on, and, after many years, he found himself assuming the role of a public affairs officer for his entire regiment.

The Bronze Star, an honor bestowed for excellence in service during combat, came from a tragic circumstance, according to Qualls.

During his time in Iraq, 16 of his fellow servicemen were in a helicopter on their way home on leave when a member of the Taliban shot the aircraft down, killing all 16 soldiers on board.

In the aftermath of the disaster, Qualls alone assumed control and responsibility for initiating national media coverage of the incident.

His goal, he said, was to give the American people an appreciation of the sacrifice the troops were giving for their country.

“Any sacrifice I gave was small in comparison,” he said.

Tasked with the organization and coverage of the enormous memorial service held to honor those 16 soldiers, Qualls worked in the midst of combat with media entities across the globe, from the L.A. Times to the London Times.

“Wars begin and end with public opinion and public opinion is largely influenced by the media,” he said.

Because of his efforts, the entire world mourned with and honored the soldiers to “gave their all.”

DESPITE THE events Qualls witnessed in Iraq, it was his recognition and fight for kindness that primarily won him his career-capping honor, the Legion of Merit.

During his second tour, Qualls came into contact with a small burn unit set up to specifically treat Iraqi children ages 0 to 19, manned by army medics averaging at 19 years old.

“The victim screams as the medics pick away near the sensitive nerve endings between her fingers…The agonizing process makes even the strong-stomached cringe,” Qualls wrote in an article detailing the work of the clinic.

An epidemic of non-war related burns plagued local Iraqi hospitals, and many victims were being turned away because local medics believed they could not be saved.

At 19 years old, the men and women operating the army clinic were faced with grisly scenarios, such as Iraqi parents bringing their dead children forward, begging the teenage soldiers to resurrect them.

That kind of pressure, Qualls said, was unimaginable. Still, he said, the clinic was responsible for saving many children deemed beyond salvation.

“There were a lot of miracles that occurred with that clinic,” Qualls said.

That is, until supplies began to run out. It was at this critical point that Qualls encountered the young soldiers and decided to write about their struggle.

Mortars and grenades rained down on the clinic as Qualls interviewed the medics. Despite the almost constant fire, he said the young team was determined to stay and continue treating the wounded.

Born and raised in the Flathead Valley, Qualls first wrote home about the burn clinic, petitioning local medical facilities to send supplies.

Almost immediately, hospitals from Kalispell to Polson began shipping bandages, intravenous equipment and other needed supplies.

Through Qualls’ coverage, news of the clinic’s plight spread and soon became a national story. Supplies began flooding in and the clinic managed hold on, treating countless more victims as a result.

In addition to saving the lives of so many Iraqi children, Qualls said the burn clinic also played a role in improving relations between nations, winning favor with many high-ranking Iraqi officials.

“A lot of war is horrible and very destructive, but there is a humanitarian side of war that is very real that people don’t always realize and acknowledge,” Qualls said.

He recalled the power of a soccer ball in the streets.

“If you start kicking a soccer ball around in Iraq, pretty soon you’ll have a neighborhood of children all around you.”

Qualls said he saw real, positive change in the country and its people over the course of his deployment in Iraq.

“To me it was remarkable their despair at the beginning of my deployment and their hope and optimistic viewpoint toward the end of my deployment,” he said. “We were really succeeding while I was over there.”

SINCE HIS return home, however, Qualls’ outlook has changed and he expressed his disappointment and frustration at the negative turn Iraq has taken since the U.S. has begun to pull out.

“It makes me sad because I lost friends over there and we were really succeeding,” he said. Still, he said he does not blame any administration for the decisions that were made and he can look back on his career with pride and an appreciation for both his own country and the people of Iraq as the war nears its end.

As for his own ending, Qualls said he feels he has finished his career on a strong positive note, having earned the seventh highest honor the Army can bestow.

According to Qualls, the Legion of Merit medal normally goes to senior military leaders, not master sergeants like himself.

He said the feelings that came with such an honor were almost surreal, and he still has to pinch himself to believe it.

When his career began, Qualls was a civilian journalist working in Arizona when he was drawn by the “be all you can be” commercials he saw on TV.

“I guess it was good advertising,” he said.

Now, 27 years later, Qualls has returned home to his wife and children, whom he credits with far more hardship than himself.

According to him, when he was overseas, he knew what he was facing. He commended his and all military families for the bravery it takes to stand in the dark, unsure of what may happen to their loved ones thousands of miles away.

With the danger of combat and war behind him, Qualls said he now faces a new battle in retirement — boredom.

To fight it, he said he intends to work toward writing TV commercials, much like the one that launched his career.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.