CPT Alex Horton, USA Ret. Oral History

title:

CPT Alex Horton, USA Ret. Oral History

creator:

Horton, Danielle Alexandra "Alex" (1988 February 24 -

subject:

Army | Cultural Support Team (CST)

description:

Alex Horton was born on February 24, 1988 in Los Angeles, California and grew up mostly in Michigan, where she graduated high school and joined the military through the ROTC program at Western Michigan University. Her grandparents, dad, and brother all served in the military (mostly in the Navy) and her sister married a Marine. Alex remembers that three months after 9/11, her father took her and her siblings to New York City to see the site of the attacks when it was first opened for public viewing. She joined the Army in part because of her dad’s patriotism, but mostly because her family was low-income, and she knew joining would make college accessible. She was in eighth grade when the attacks on 9/11 happened, and although she didn't really know what was happening or why, what still stands out was the reactions from adults around her. Alex didn't understand the gravity at the time, but seeing her teacher cry while they were in lockdown with the news playing still stands out. She joined the Army in 2010, and early on in ROTC she didn't completely understand the gender dynamics of the military. She got through most of the ROTC program planning to serve in the same combat roles as men, only to find out in her senior year that she couldn’t. Instead, she chose what she considered the next best option: military intelligence. It was mostly sitting behind a desk doing data analysis, which she was not a fan of at all. She joined the Cultural Support Team (CST) because her first year in this position made clear that she'd rather work face to face with people in the field. For her, this program was a loophole that allowed her to serve in the combat role she always wanted. Her first deployment after CST training was in Afghanistan for nine months, starting in January 2012. This first deployment was incredibly hard, because she was serving with Rangers who had never served with women before and didn't initially understand what the women were there for or expect them to be able to keep up. She did her best to be understanding of the Rangers' position, as they were also thrown into it with little to no idea of what was going on. At the time, she and other Direct Action track women served alone, not with a partner in the field. She thinks this side of the CST program stuck around longer because there was such an immediate and easily measurable positive impact made by the Direct Action women collecting intel and easing tensions in ways men couldn't. Although she had a lot of positive experiences with men she served with, gender always played a role in how she was treated by servicemen, sometimes quite negatively. Her mentality shifted a lot from the time she started deploying until she left in 2020. Looking back on old journals, she can see how quickly she shifted from feeling like she was there to help people to having to disconnect from their personhood to do her job. She thinks their anger at her and her teams' presence was completely justified, but that she had a job to do and that's what happens in a war (on both sides). Another piece that played a role in the outcome of the war was what she sees as trying to force an Americanized culture and system on people who didn't know about or want it. Looking back on the perspective of the Afghan people they would question, she fully understood why they would see American forces as no different from any other terrorist group that might break into their house, tie them up, and question them. If the roles were reversed, there’s no doubt in her mind that Americans would react the same way. Alex was put in charge of the CST program in 2013. In her time there, they helped improve the program by shortening deployments for CST women (from 9-12 months to 4 months), getting them in contact with the units they served with further in advance, and several other process changes. She left the program and the military after, upon arriving on her last deployment, another Ranger who was 19 or 20 had just been killed. She was stuck questioning what the military was even doing there. She had been questioning that since her first deployment, but this death was the one that finally pushed her to leave. After a decade, she still didn't know why boys were being sent over and dying. The message she'd like to send to people is that history repeats itself, and if something feels wrong then it probably is. While she's proud to have served, she thinks that, like in Vietnam, they knew what they were doing was wrong. The difference, in her mind, is that Vietnam vets spoke against the war when they returned, but people are not taking responsibility or speaking out this time around. Alex sustained combat/service-related injury. For her service, Alex was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Action Badge, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, and Overseas Service Ribbon. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Gill, Dennis

date:

2022-10-07

type:

Moving Image

format:

Born Digital

identifier:

1363; 2022.1363

source:

CST - FTP

language:

English

relation:

768104

coverage:

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—2001-2014 | Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (Afghanistan)- 2015-2021 |2010-2020

rights:

Unrestricted