Soldier-to-be reports for basic training on Thanksgiving Eve

Published 9:43 pm Wednesday, November 21, 2007

It was a long drive up the interstate to the Military Entrance and Processing Station in Knoxville on Tuesday, but Tarah Arnold never faltered in her mission to join the Army. Then Wednesday, after completing all her paperwork — on the day before Thanksgiving — Arnold boarded a bus bound for the Army Training Center at Fort Jackson, S.C., where she is to begin basic training.

For the 19-year-old Arnold, a 2006 honor graduate of Northwest Whitfield High School, completing the military entrance process was the fulfillment of a lifelong plan.

“I’ve always been interested in the military. I’ve played ‘Army’ ever since I was a little kid,” Arnold said Tuesday. “It fell on my heart that this is what I should be doing, so I decided to follow through with it. It’s also a good way for me to go to school and get the job I want.”

Sgt. First Class Kara Williams, an Oklahoma native and a local Army recruiter, said Arnold is the epitome of a soldier.

“She’s the most driven future soldier I’ve ever worked with. I hope I run across more people like her,” Williams said. “We really hit it off and began working out together every day this summer — running 2-4 miles to help get her in shape, which is typically the thing that bothers most new recruits at basic training. Tarah has been the ‘hardest shipper’ I’ve ever had leave. It’s been emotional.”

Arnold’s parents, David Arnold of Cohutta and Karen Arnold of Chatsworth, and other family members watched Tarah being sworn-in on Wednesday.

“Her whole family supports her 100 percent. She’s wanted to do this ever since she was a little girl,” Karen Arnold said. “Even when she was little, she would say, ‘I’m going in the Army.’ The older she got, and the closer she got to that day, I thought she might not (go). But I think I knew deep down in my heart, and I think she’s making a good choice for herself — one that will help her develop in her career.”

Tarah served as section leader for Northwest High’s ‘Blazing Blue’ marching band, but her other love was area drag-strip racing events. In 2005, she was named Rookie of the Year at Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip’s Saturday night bracket race, and she won her first race in 2006.

“My dad and I drag race on the weekends. It’s a big sport for us. I want to be a mechanic and go to Laramie County (Wyom.) Community College,” she said. “The NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) picks a lot of its pit crews from there.”

After completing basic training, the then Private Arnold will be transferred to Fort Eustis in Virginia to train as a future helicopter repair crew member.

“I’m definitely the tomboy of the family, even though I don’t think I look like a tomboy,” Arnold said. “I love tinkering with cars. I know how to do brakes, tune-ups and oil changes — nothing major … yet.”

Tarah said it’s always possible she could be shipped overseas; and though she allows she is nervous and scared, she said she is looking forward to serving her country while learning a useful trade. Sgt. Williams said recruiting new officers is always more challenging during a time of war, though the Dalton office at Walnut Square Mall remains ahead of its goal. Tarah’s mother, of course, has some reservations about her daughter serving in Iraq.

“Every time somebody mentions Iraq, it’s kind of scary. But with the job she’s training to do, we hope she won’t actually be kept on the front lines,” Karen Arnold said. “We’ll all be praying for her every day, hoping God will keep her safe so she can go serve her country and return home safely.”

Tarah’s friends and family had a chance to give their well-wishes at a reception held last weekend at the Dalton Recreation Center. Some of the 45 reception attendees included her father and mother; her sister and brother-in-law, Atlanta residents Jennifer and Ronnie Doss; and close friends of the family, Judy Ward of Dalton and Dave Wimpey of Chatsworth.

And though she will be far from home and hearth on Thanksgiving, Tarah will get a break from nine weeks of basic training to visit home over Christmas and the New Year’s celebration.

“Of course, we’re all going to miss her, but she will get to come home at Christmas. We’re thankful that the rest of the family can be with us,” Karen Arnold said. “As far as Tarah, this is something she’s always wanted to do. She’s a little scared of basic training, but I asked her if she is excited, and she gave me a real big smile. It’s in her heart — in her blood — to do this. I asked her, ‘If it weren’t for people like you, where would we be?’ She’s a tough girl. She can handle it.”