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Clint Rudd - Serving His Duty
By Carissa Hodson
Working full-time, attending school full-time, being a husband and father –
all in addition to being on-call for the Missouri National Guard - makes
Clint Rudd one very extraordinary “non-traditional” student.
Rudd
was born and raised in Paragould, Arkansas. After graduating high school he
studied orthopedic surgery at Southern Illinois University (SIUC). Three
years into the program, Rudd chose to switch gears, going into another field
of reconstruction – this time with buildings instead of people. Within a
year at A to Z Flood, Fire & Smoke Restoration (located in Branson,
Missouri), he went from being a carpet cleaner to Field Manager to General
Manager. Rudd was responsible for many aspects of the business including
payroll, coordinating schedules, job estimating and insured consultation.
Then,
in March 2003, life took another turn. As a specialist in the Alpha Company
of the 203rd Engineers in the Missouri National Guard, Rudd was
called up for active duty. For fourteen months, his battalion was to be one
of those involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Says the Missouri State student, “The only word I can think of to describe
that experience was ‘Hell.’ We landed in Kuwait to 138 degrees Fahrenheit.
We spent the first part of our tour rationed on water and food. There was
very little communication with our families back home. Mail was essentially
nonexistent. Anxieties were very high, not knowing who we could trust or who
wanted us there. We slept very little because of the uncertainty.”
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Rudd displays his tattoo acquired the day he returned from Iraq.
"We flew in to Bangor, Maine, then to St. Louis, where they bused us
the rest of the way back to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We arrived
at 4 am." By 2:30 that afternoon Rudd had inked on his arm a
symbol his teamleader in Iraq had drawn up for him. "Everytime I
see it, it reminds me of what I have been through and what my
family has been through." |
While
in Iraq, Rudd became a part of a three-member assessment team for his
battalion, consisting of a carpenter, an electrician and a plumber. Clearing
debris from buildings and evaluating the damage was their main
responsibility. He says, “While we were over there my company built four
base camps, did school assessments, and – believe it or not – our first job
was getting electricity and plumbing hooked up at the Baghdad Zoo.”
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"The only word I
can think of to describe [the war in Iraq] was 'Hell'."
Clint Rudd |
When Rudd’s company was released from active duty in August 2004, he decided
to return to college to finish his degree, this time in the field of
business. He chose Missouri State University based on its relative proximity
to his home (Ridgedale, Missouri, about 60 miles south of Springfield), the
curriculum, and the size of the University. “I enjoy being a student at
Missouri State University. At almost 30, I am a very non-traditional
student. School is more important to me now than it was seven years ago when
I left SIUC. I have a clearer goal and a shorter timeline.”
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(continued)
As
a student in Sherry Cook’s Principles of Marketing class, Rudd admits
to discovering there is more to Marketing than he assumed in the past.
“Before I entered this class, I thought of Marketing as strictly the ‘car
salesperson,’ similar to the sales at any cost approach in the 1930’s. I had
no idea how detailed and involved Marketing is to all aspects of
business.”
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Clint Rudd sits
atop a Hummer in Iraq doing air raid duty. |
Rudd
feels certain the education he is getting now will help him get the most out
of life in the future. “There are many goals I have for getting my college
degree this late in life. Some of them are a better life for my wife and
children, completion of something I started in Fall 1994, a hope of one day
working my mind and not my back, a chance to have a career with benefits for
the later years in life, insurance, vacation and retirement.”
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"It is what you
do with the time that you have that changes the world...I am proud of
being a soldier for my family and my country."
Clint Rudd |
The military still
plays a huge part in his life. Even in the middle of a semester, Rudd
remains on-call for duties with the Missouri National Guard. He was
recently on standby to replace another company from his battalion to
help with the relief work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The
preceding company was due to arrive back in Missouri the first week of
October, and Rudd’s company was under order to be prepared to leave when
they returned.
He and his family have
had to become accustomed to short-notice changes. “Once you’ve been
through a deployment like Iraq, you pretty well stay ready for getting
the call. I mean, honestly, a month down south in Louisiana is nothing
compared to 14 months in Iraq. My kids are very understanding. My wife
does a great job telling them where I am and what is going on. We keep
nothing from [our children]. It’s easier that way. There is nothing to
hide, and there is no worry that they will find out elsewhere.”
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Upon the day of his return after being in Iraq for fourteen
months, Rudd snaps this picture of his family. From left to
right: Harley (9), Hannah (9), Hayley (13), Hunter (5), and
wife, Tabitha. |
Rudd
offers final thoughts, “I learned in Iraq that it does not matter whether
you agree with the politics behind where you are at any given time. It is
what you do with the time that you have that changes the world. I have
served my country and protected my family. If needed, I will do it again. I
have done a lot of things in my life that I am not proud of, but I am a
proud of being a soldier for my family and my country.”
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