Former Army nurse speaks at AAWC’s annual Prayer Breakfast

The annual Prayer Breakfast and service year kick-off meeting for Atlanta Area Women’s Club (AAWC) was held on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 8:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church - Fellowship Hall. Music was provided on the piano by Ted Brabham, proprietor of Camelot Manor. Opening remarks were presented by president of the Club, Sherry Griffin.

The AAWC is a non-profit civic organization dedicated to promoting volunteerism and care for the community through the service and leadership of its members. The AAWC consists of women from all walks of life who have a commitment to the betterment of family, community, state, country, and the world.

The Club is very active in various educational projects and community improvement efforts. Being a non-profit organization, they are funded through annual membership dues of $40 per year, an assessment fee to fund local high school scholarships, and occasional fundraisers.

Arlene Oliver was the speaker at the Prayer Breakfast on Saturday. Oliver is a retired nurse practitioner with over 37 years of experience in the medical field. She has worked in a variety of services such as dermatology and cardiac critical care, with extensive prison medicine and family practice experience.

She is a former active-duty Army nurse and spoke about her experience in the Army during operation Desert Storm. Desert Storm was a military operation led by the USA in response to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and lasted from Jan. 17, 1991 to Feb. 28, 1991.

“I started out going to basic training, which was a lot of fun […] I remember getting off the bus. I looked like a Texas girl because I had been living in Texas for a little while,” Oliver said. “I had on a pair of blue suede pants and cowboy boots that were blue suede. I had big, Texas hair and a fur coat. I got off that bus like Goldie Hawn.” Once Oliver completed her basic training, she went on to Advanced Individual Training (AIT) to become a Pharmacy Technician. At the completion of her advanced training, she was sent to Fort Lewis in Washington State, one of the largest military bases in the United States. She eventually decided to change jobs and became a nurse.

“Before I knew it, I was packed up and ready to go to Iraq. I didn’t know a soul in that unit because I was a borrowed support. So, I go with this unit to Iraq. We end up in Saudi Arabia, and if you have ever seen pictures of military in the desert, it is desolate. There is nothing,” Oliver said.

Oliver volunteered with the 47th Combat Support Hospital. A Combat Support Hospital is a type of modern United States Army field hospital, transportable by aircrafts and trucks. Oliver’s unit was accompanied by surgeons, respiratory, radiology, phlebotomists and everything one could imagine in a big hospital anywhere in the world. Prior to her time in the Army, Oliver had no idea what she wanted to do or where she was supposed to be. “My title for talking with you today is ‘Be where God puts you.’ Iraq is where He put me,” she said.

The AAWC meet from Sept. through May of each year, the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.