SGT Keri-Lynn Pajer Oral History Part 2

title:

SGT Keri-Lynn Pajer Oral History Part 2

creator:

Pajer, Kerri-Lynn (Liberty) (1981 February 23 - )

subject:

Army National Guard

description:

Part 2 of 2. Keri-Lynn Pajer (formerly Liberty) was born in Meriden, Connecticut on February 23, 1981. She grew up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts as the middle of five children. Both of her grandfathers were in the service (Air Force, Coast Guard), and her older sister also joined the military. She graduated from Chelmsford High School in 1999, but she didn’t feel ready for college and wanted to do something that mattered. As a result, she joined the Army National Guard in December 1999. She was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (also referred to as Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery) for 3 months of basic training. She was scared to death, and remembers the physical requirements and the camaraderie of trying to figure it out with everyone else. She chose Military Police as her MOS and was assigned to 95B Military Police as her advanced individual training, specializing in Field MP. She chose it because it was the closest she could get to the front lines. When she got back from training, she attended Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts to study psychology, while also having a full-time job at Staples and serving as a guardsman. She remembers being uncomfortable around the men of her unit and unimpressed by the women of her unit. After September 11, 2001, she spent a month in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to protect the bridges at the Cape, and was then deployed to Italy to relieve the active units there so that they could do their tour. She eventually arrived in Bagram, Afghanistan in January 2003. While there she worked security in Kabul, helped trained the Afghan National Army, and provided security for special forces. There were multiple occasions where she was asked to participate in interrogations and demean Afghani prisoners. She refused as it compromised her integrity. She served until December 2006, and when she was discharged she had reached the rank of sergeant. For her service, Pajer was awarded an Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, and Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Fee, Robbie

date:

2014-10-18

type:

Moving Image

format:

Mini-DV

identifier:

1247.02; 2014.1247

source:

VHP | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

647588

coverage:

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—2001-2014 | 1999-2006

rights:

Unrestricted