49TH MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE
05.31.2010 CAMP TAJI, Iraq - It takes a driven attitude like Spc. Paul Gordon's to work a 12-hour shift up to seven days a week, study two hours a night and write homework assignments daily while deployed in support of detention operations in Iraq.
Gordon, a 24-year-old combat medic from Woburn, Mass., assigned to the 211th Military Police Battalion, a unit subordinate to the 49th MP Brigade Tactical Command Post, is studying online to receive his bachelor's degree from Salem State College while stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq.
"There were so many days when I'd just log onto the computer and my mind would go blank out of exhaustion."
"Retaining my studies became more difficult as
Gordon, a 24-year-old combat medic from Woburn, Mass., assigned to the 211th Military Police Battalion, a unit subordinate to the 49th MP Brigade Tactical Command Post, is studying online to receive his bachelor's degree from Salem State College while stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq.
"There were so many days when I'd just log onto the computer and my mind would go blank out of exhaustion."
"Retaining my studies became more difficult as
I battled stress, but somehow I did it," said Gordon.
Gordon did not have a lot of spare time after work to focus on his studies. An average day for Gordon consisted of 12 hours in triage, treating 30 to 40 patients a day, requiring treatment for minor afflictions such as toenail fungus, skin rashes and the common cold, all detained in Camp Taji's theater internment facility.
"He's a multi-tasking individual, very capable and dedicated. Spc. Gordon is a soldier in every sense and gives 110 percent always, going beyond my expectations while further advancing himself in school," said Sgt. David Bravo, Gordon's section leader and supervisor. "I'm proud to have a Soldier like him in my section," added Bravo.
The future is promising for Gordon, winner of two Army achievement medals, one for winning a contest named "hero in the battlefield" and the other for "outstanding performance" while working in the TIF.
Upon re-deploying, Gordon plans to continue serving in the Massachusetts National guard in combat medicine and is expected to graduate from Salem State near the end of 2011.
The 211th MP BN has gained recognition for playing a vital role in the turnover of the Camp Taji TIF, a former U.S. operated detention facility, to the Iraqi corrections services earlier this year.
"You can't choose the mission but you got to do it and do it well," says Gordon.
Gordon did not have a lot of spare time after work to focus on his studies. An average day for Gordon consisted of 12 hours in triage, treating 30 to 40 patients a day, requiring treatment for minor afflictions such as toenail fungus, skin rashes and the common cold, all detained in Camp Taji's theater internment facility.
"He's a multi-tasking individual, very capable and dedicated. Spc. Gordon is a soldier in every sense and gives 110 percent always, going beyond my expectations while further advancing himself in school," said Sgt. David Bravo, Gordon's section leader and supervisor. "I'm proud to have a Soldier like him in my section," added Bravo.
The future is promising for Gordon, winner of two Army achievement medals, one for winning a contest named "hero in the battlefield" and the other for "outstanding performance" while working in the TIF.
Upon re-deploying, Gordon plans to continue serving in the Massachusetts National guard in combat medicine and is expected to graduate from Salem State near the end of 2011.
The 211th MP BN has gained recognition for playing a vital role in the turnover of the Camp Taji TIF, a former U.S. operated detention facility, to the Iraqi corrections services earlier this year.
"You can't choose the mission but you got to do it and do it well," says Gordon.
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