JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Iowa National Guardsmen Army Spc. Renata Hadzic, who is currently deployed to Iraq, already knows a great deal about war.
Images flirting across her mind’s eye tell part of the story; images of huddling in her home in war-torn Bosnia in the shadows of a single light, powered by a car battery; reflections of bellicose Serb soldiers walking through her town, and of course, there are the rumors of war; the knowledge that somewhere, every day, in her town people were killed by bombs, by an artillery round or by sniper.
Her family struggled as the bloody conflict in Bosnia in the 1990s continued.
“As the war went on, we had to sell things,” she said.
The deadly atmosphere became just another commonplace thing for Hadzic.
“Growing up, I was used to it,” Hadzic said.
She was lucky, she admits now. Her family found a way out. Her father moved the family to Twin Falls, Idaho, and there, as a fourth-grader, Hadzic faced another set of challenges.
“My whole third grade year I couldn’t speak English,” Hadzic said.
Her American story begins in southern Idaho and it is a familiar immigrant tale; a trip to the United States, a period of adjustment and assimilation. The story could end with her growing up in Idaho, finding success and then going to college. The war portion of her account should end with the departure from Bosnia.
But it doesn’t. Instead Hadzic is back in a war zone, by choice.
Hadzic, 24, is one of more than 1,500 Army National Guardsmen from Oregon, Idaho and Montana deployed to Iraq.
Hadzic did not try to avoid a second journey to a war torn nation. Instead, she said she welcomed the chance to donate something to the nation that offered her family sanctuary and a new home.
“I always wanted to join the military. I wanted to give back. I would not have the life I have now if I was in Bosnia,” she said.
Now deployed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, as part of the 116th Regiment’s 3rd Battalion, Hadzic’s unit operates Mine Resistant Ambush Protected combat vehicles. She said she is happy to be a driver.
Her responsibilities don’t end when she shuts down the MRAP. She must work to maintain the vehicle and ensure it is ready to go on the next mission.
Hadzic believes she has an advantage with her unit deployed to Iraq.
“I was a little more prepared coming from a war torn country,” she said.
Hadzic, who is studying law enforcement at Idaho State University, said she is pleased she is with her unit in Iraq.
As a member of the Guard’s “College First” program, Hadzic wasn’t required to deploy. She could have stayed in school when her unit left for the Middle East.
But that isn’t in her character, she said.
“I don’t like to sit back,” she said.