I have to admit it: though I like all of the soldiers who work in my clinic, Specialist Maria Cordero is probably my favorite. The reasons for this are multiple. First, she is originally from Stamford, Connecticut, just down the Merritt Parkway from my home town of Cheshire. Amazingly, of the 15 people in my clinic, three of us are originally from CT.

Additionally, SPC Cordero is only a few years older than Madeline (my oldest daughter), and she looks even younger than Maddy, so she has been sort of a surrogate kid for me.

But the best thing about Cordero is her very laid-back, self-deprecating sense of humor, which has served our whole clinic well when we needed to lighten up a bit. She has also been a consistently interesting medical case for me, as she has had four or five mysterious illnesses while I have been here, one of which landed her in the hospital for a couple of days before completely disappearing as fast as it came. This propensity to catch any virus, bacteria, or fungus brought in by our patients resulted in the medics referring to Cordero as the “outbreak monkey,” and that was eventually combined with her last name resulting in her current nickname, as per the title of this post.

Since I arrived here, SPC Cordero has been our front desk staff. Though she is a trained laboratory technician, we are currently without a lab, so SPC Cordero’s job description had to be modified a bit. Unfortunately, she will be leaving us in the not-too-distant future for another undisclosed location, which is a real bummer, as she has been an important part of our team, and an even more important part of our deployed family. Earlier today, I talked with SPC Cordero, and here are a few of the highlights:

You were raised in a rich community in Stamford, CT. Not too many kids from Stamford end up in the Army. When did you join the Army, and why?

I joined in November 2003. I honestly was too lazy to apply to college. I was offered scholarships, I had good grades, but I was so stressed-out with the idea of having to apply to colleges, that the Army just seemed like an easier thing to do. One day I saw the recruiter at lunch, and he told me to just take the ASVAB test, see what happens. I took it, and in my mind I decided that whoever calls me first, I’m gonna join. The Marines called me first, and I thought to myself “Hell, no! Whoever calls me second is who I’m gonna join.” And it was the Army.

Did you get to pick your MOS [military occupational specialty]?

Yeah, I wanted to be something in the medical field. Medic and x-ray didn’t sound very exciting, but when I heard about lab and all of the gross stuff that has to do with it, I though that was pretty cool. So I picked it.

Have any of your family members been in the Army?

My dad was in from ‘84 to ‘91. He got out right after desert shield, desert storm. He deployed a good three or four times. I remember my mom crying when he left.

You are part of a small group of soldiers in this war who ended up with a 15-month deployment. Did you know before you came out here that you’d be here for that long? What did you think about it?

I knew I’d be in Iraq for fifteen months. I thought “this sucks,” but I knew what I was getting myself into, and I was prepared for it.

Do you like being deployed?

Overall I like it. The only thing that sucks is being away from the family, missing out on everything that is going on with my daughter, Lola, who is two years old. My husband is in Afghanistan right now, and he’s a fifteen-monther too, and he left seven months after I did, so I won’t see him until seven months after I get back.

What experiences out here will you remember?

I haven’t been shot at or had to fear for my life at all, which is good. The only thing that really stands out is the people I have worked with. Even though I’ve reached the point in my deployment where I can’t stand most of them, I know I’ll never forget them. It’s one of those things that you’re gonna remember for the rest of your life.

So, you were trained in the lab, but the Army has made you our front desk staff for now. What do you think about your current job?

I love it. I wish I had known about this job before I picked lab. Being able to work with the medics, and bother the docs, and hear all of the funny things that the patients come in with…

Plus, you have your own office, which I don’t even have.

[Laughs] I know! And my own computer, my own desk. It’s nice.

What do you do to pass the boring time here?

I watch a lot of TV. If I’m not lazy, I go to the gym. I hate running so I do put it off as much as I can. I read a lot. I’ve been studying, taking online classes from George Washington University, trying to get my Associates in laboratory medicine. I’m six credits shy of that degree.

Are you considering a four year degree?

I’m definitely going to do a four year degree. My husband and I have been talking about me getting out, and now that the GI bill is such an awesome thing, the way they changed it around, we are definitely going to use it. I’m going to go to school first, get my four years, and then we’ll switch. Once I have a good steady job, then he’ll go to school for four years.

Will either of you stay in for twenty?

I’m still considering it, but my husband is pushing me to get out, and with the baby I’m really leaning towards that, too. I would love to put in the twenty years, maybe take a break, go to school, come back as an officer. That’s still an option.

Have you re-enlisted?

I re-enlisted last summer, and got a bonus of 8500 for an extra two years. It’s all in savings.

Who are you going to remember out here?

Bits and pieces of everybody. The two people that I’ve incredibly bonded with are Villa [SPC (p) Andres Villareal] and Vera [SPC (p) Castulo Vera]. Villa because he’s got kids and he understands what I’m going through, and Vera’s just a crazy awkward Mexican, and he’s like a brother to me.