“It’s 9:19 [p.m.] here now,” Jennifer Kostic, Sinclair faculty member, Academic Staffing Coordinator and a Major in the US Army Reserve, said in a phone interview from Afghanistan. “We’re 9 and a half hours different. It makes communication with the states a little interesting.”
Kostic was deployed in November to Kabul, Afghanistan, where she is helping orchestrate the removal of troops and equipment from the area for the Defense Logistics Agency. Until she reported for duty at Fort Benning in Georgia in November, Kostic was expecting to be deployed to Kuwait.
“The day I got there, I was notified that my orders had been changed to Kabul,” she said. “I was not necessarily thrilled with that.”
But she said her work there was “more challenging, more rewarding and historic.” She has had the opportunity to help write a document that will be the foundation for how troops will be moved out of Afghanistan over the next several years, she said.
“The job is entirely different from what I first expected,” she said. “But because I’ve been in the military for a while, I knew what the new job entailed.”
Although recent attacks have made it unsafe for Kostic and her fellow soldiers to be transported outside the compound, she said she feels safe where she is.
“In the current state of affairs, this is probably one of the safer places to be,” she said.
Kostic said that before the recent lockdown, she was traveling regularly, visiting Kuwait, Qatar, Bagram and Marmal. But the recent lockdown has kept her in the compound for most of the last month.
“We are well secured, maybe a little too well,” said Kostic.
The compound that is Kostic’s new home is small and has few amenities. She is sharing a room with three women.
“You’re either at work, at home or at the gym,” she said. “It reminds me of what I think prison would be like. It’s not fun to be 38 and be on the top bunk.”
Kostic has also “discovered how small the army is,” as one of her best friends, a suitemate from Tulane University who she had not seen in 13 years, is also stationed at her location.
“We’ve had the opportunity to reconnect, and that’s been fantastic,” she said.
Kostic’s work for Sinclar has not stopped simply because she is on the other side of the world. She is still checking her Sinclair email daily and continues to lead several employees in the adjunct office and in human resources. She is helping to coordinate the adjunct faculty awards from afar, and is even involved in the faculty hiring process. Next quarter, she will be teaching Interpersonal Communication (COM 206) online.
Every week, she says she eats the snacks that have been mailed to her at a movie night with her coworkers. She throws parties in her office with the decorations that have been sent to her by Sinclair faculty and staff.
“You know, what I’d really like to say is thank you,” she said. “Every day I am touched by how much the people at Sinclair have shown that they care: packages, emails, cards, well wishes on Facebook, gifts and treats from family.”
“It makes me feel so good about where I work, and people here are like ‘wow, they really like you,’ and it really makes me feel good,” she said. “Hopefully at some point in time I can express to everybody there how much their support has meant.”
- Fri. Apr 19th, 2024
