Called to serve: Lubbock woman recalls unusual journey to military
Kimberly Billingsley’s path to the military was quite different from the millions of young men and women who have donned a uniform for our nation. In 2001, the year she joined the Army, about 95% of inductees were under 40 years old, with the majority being under 30 years old. Kim was certainly in the minority when she was commissioned into the Army at age 41.
Although her service officially began in 2001 - the year terrorists killed more than 3,000 Americans in the Sept. 11 attacks - her inspiration to serve her country came long before that.
This is her unusual journey of service to both her country and community.
A life before the military
A Lubbock native, Kimberly Ann (Kim) was born on Sept. 27, 1960, to Bennie and Joyce Ussery. Her dad was a police officer in Lubbock for 35 years. Her mother taught at a private school and later was an office manager for Dr. Patrick Pappas. She has a sister, Rebecca, who is 9 years younger than her.
About her early education, Kim said, “I didn’t play sports in school - I wasn’t coordinated enough (laughs at herself). I wanted to play in the band, but I loved to sing, so I was in the choir during my high school years at Monterey.”
She met and married Tom Jones in 1980 and they had two sons, Gilbert and Thad. Shortly after Gilbert was born, she went to work with her mother at Dr. Pappas' office where she realized that nursing was her calling. She attended South Plains College from 1992 through 1995, graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing.
'Desire to join'
Kim’s family was very patriotic, and she had always wanted to join the service. Her first attempt to join did not go smoothly.
“I stopped by to see an Army recruiter set up at South Plains College. He looked at me and said, ‘Lose some weight first and try again.’ I told my husband I wanted to join the Army and he responded with ‘When you return from basic training, I won’t be here, and I will take the boys with me,'" she recalled. "That put my desire to join on hold. About a year after starting to work as an RN, I filed for divorce, had custody of the boys and lost some weight. I worked in the ER at (University Medical Center) and moved into Trauma Services a few years later. In 1999, there was a recruiter at UMC, where I was working, and I started the process of joining.”
Little did she know at the time that her training as a trauma coordinator would benefit her later during her Army career. She started working on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Lubbock Christian University in 2000, graduating in 2003. She went directly on to West Texas A&M University in Canyon and received her Master’s Degree in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner in May of 2005. Meanwhile, in July of 2001 she received the official letter from the Army awarding her a commission as a 1st Lieutenant with her swearing in scheduled for Oct. 5, 2001.
“I had just turned 41 a few days before," she said. "I was assigned to the 4005th U.S. Army Hospital Detachment 22 here in Lubbock.
"My officer basic training (OBC) was at Ft. Hood for two weeks. This was right after (the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks). As part of our training, we were sent to Camp Bullis for three nights for field training. For our chemical warfare, we had to do the gas mask thing where you have to put on your gas mask and go into the gas chamber. I was terrified. Once inside, the tear gas was introduced, and I didn’t have my mask on properly. I panicked and ran out the back door. I threw my mask on the ground at the sergeant’s feet. He picked it up and I threw it back down. I told him I had successfully passed every other requirement and didn’t need to do this for points. He ignored me and said, ‘You have to do this’. He helped me fit my mask properly and made me go back through. I was able to stay and learned that the gas mask really does work. I was able to complete the training successfully.
“We were sitting in the barracks after returning from Bullis watching the news conference by President Bush when he declared war. The next day during class, people were pulled out of class one by one and received orders to go on active duty after completing OBC. There were only three of us that didn’t have orders by the end of the day.”
This was during the Afghanistan War known as Operation Enduring Freedom or OEF. In 2003 the military action was launched on Iraq, known as Operation Iraqi Freedom or OIF.
She was to report to Germany on Jan. 5, 2006.
"I was assigned to the Regional Medical Army Hospital located at Landstuhl Air Base," Billingsley said. "I had never been out of the United States before.”
This site was once earmarked to be a Nazi youth camp in 1938 but was never completed. The site was used during WWII to manufacture aluminum parts for V-2 rockets. American troops liberated the city of Landstuhl on March 19, 1945.
“I was assigned to the section of the hospital called the Deployed Warrior Medical Management Center or DWMMC," she said. "I was the only lieutenant assigned there because of my previous work as a nurse in a level 1 trauma center and as a trauma coordinator. Everyone else was of a higher rank. We would meet the bus, check in the patients, and send them to the ward assigned or to an outpatient facility. Our job/mission was to triage and assign rooms to the service members coming from Afghanistan and Iraq. We would follow them throughout their time in Germany and get them on to the next level of care or back to the area they came from.”
Kim began to tear up as she recalled the one wounded soldier that she can never forget.
“One day I went into one of the wards," she said. "There was a young soldier sitting in the medical recliner. Both legs had been amputated. He was on the phone, and I heard him keep saying ‘Mama, please don’t cry. I’m lucky, I still have my knees.’ I still dream about that young man. The Taliban were the worst. They learned where to shoot a soldier. Their Kevlar vest only protected a portion of the upper torso, so the Taliban would shoot them in the exposed areas, like the armpit, rear-end or other exposed areas. I stayed at Landstuhl for a little over 10 months. I was supposed to stay for 18 months but the Navy came in early.”
She received her promotion to Captain in June 2006 while in Germany. Her unit returned to Ft. Bliss in December of 2006, and she was released from Active Duty there. She remained in the Army Reserves and did temporary duty in California, Mississippi, Minnesota and other locations.
“I resigned my commission in January 2011," she said. "I was in for 10 good years. I like to think I made a difference.”
While Kim’s time in the service was over, she came back to the Lubbock area and continued to work as a Nurse Practitioner. Kim met Sam Billingsley in 2008 and they married in 2011. He was also divorced and had three children. They currently have two grandchildren. Kim has worked with the Texas South Plains Honor Flight Committee since 2013. She has gone on three flights. Kim and Sam call Littlefield home but, Kim keeps a home in Tahoka where she is on call at the ER for Lynn County Hospital 48 hours a week.
Ever the servant, Kim said “I loved my military service. I want to show others that I appreciate them as we interact. I’d like to be remembered for my efforts to emulate the Lord in my interactions with people.”
Larry A. Williams is the veterans liaison co-chair for the Texas South Plains Honor Flight and co-author of "Texas South Plains War Stories.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Called to serve: Lubbock woman recalls unusual journey to military
