Mrs. Quayle knew she wanted to be in the military since 4th grade. She received a picture in the mail of Desert Storm and instantly knew that she wanted to join the military. She went up to her teacher at that time, showed her the picture, and said, “I am going to be there”. DC also had an influence on her decision to join the military; she enjoyed walking around the capitol, seeing dressed military, and she specifically recalls that she enjoyed watching …show more content…
Quayle did deploy, she was in Iraq for 13.5 months and worked with joint staff (Australians, British and Tanga) out of Taji Base (about 12 clicks northwest of Bagdad). She enjoyed it because she was able to apply her training and she lived with the local community instead of on base. When she first arrived, the local Iraqi troops were receiving $3 a day with a hearty meal of broth, bread and water. The children were also running around and jumping in what they thought were water puddles, but were actually sewage puddles. She commented on the extreme divide in the poor and the rich and how humbling the experience was for her. While she lived in the towns and camps, her unit trained the local forces and raised the wage to $3.33 a day. They also brought chai tea and used it as an award since they loved it. She said that the highlight of the experience was learning the culture in her day-to-day experience. Her highlight however, was also a downside. She found that the men took her kindness the wrong way, after awhile they started approaching her inappropriately, and she was forced to respond by making herself less