Nurses usually wear white, but sometimes they wear combat boots and a green uniform.
Jo Nielson, director of nursing at Mountain View Hospital in Payson, is in the U.S. Army Reserve.Nielson was 38 when she enlisted two years ago. "When my youngest son turned 15, I decided I needed to do something to make my life fun and stimulating when my children were away," she said.
Another plus was that the Army offered tuition benefits to help further her education. She is enrolled at Weber State College and is pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Nielson said she has always been interested in the Army and that it has proved to be more fun and challenging than she expected. "I've done things physically that I didn't think my body would ever be capable of doing."
She attended basic training at San Antonio, Texas. "I think the real goal of basic was sleep deprivation and stress," she said. The daily schedule began at 5 a.m. Classes were usually held 10 hours a day. The evenings were used for physical training or study time and bedtime was around 12 a.m., Nielson said.
Nielson has been a nurse for 20 years. She said her first day at basic training changed her thinking from "I'm just a nurse," to "I'm no longer just a nurse - I'm a soldier, too."
The Army has provided several opportunities for Nielson to better her skills. In September she attended a military emergency medical training course at Camp Williams in Lehi.
During the training she participated in an obstacle course. She was part of a four-member team that had to carry a 175-pound man through trenches, under barbed wire, over a low wall and over a 6-foot high wall.
Also during the training she learned to give emergency treatment for severe injuries. Six people role-played as victims of an enemy attack. The injuries were simulated but looked very real, Nielson said.
One of the victims had an arterial bleed. "They actually had a system where they squeezed a bulb with red liquid being pumped out. It was pretty stressful," Nielson said.
Once a month, on drill weekends, Nielson works in Veterans Administration Hospital at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City. She said this experience has given her the opportunity to update her skills.
Nielson said that one of the nicest things about being in the Army is the caliber of people she works with.
"I don't know that I've ever been in a program where the networking has been so valuable. The caliber of people is extraordinary. They have the ability to work together, corroborate and come up with better methods of care."
Nielson said her family thought she was crazy when she joined the Army until they saw the satisfaction she gained from it.
She said her youngest son likes to have fun with it and tells his friends, "Don't mess with me! My mom wears combat boots."