MSG. Jennifer Ballou
US Army (Ret.) – Dental Specialist
US, Europe, Afghanistan
1994-2015
US Army (Ret.) – Dental Specialist
US, Europe, Afghanistan
1994-2015
Jennifer was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 9, 1976. Jennifer is the oldest of 6. While there is no history of military service in Jen’s family, she believes her parents set her up for success. Being the oldest of six, she was the de facto family squad leader growing up. To get seconds at the dinner table you needed to eat fast and that skill would prove handy in basic training.
In 1993 Jen was in her junior year at Lake Catholic High School when one of her friends enlisted in the Army. Jen never considered the military and thought she would go to college after graduation. When her friend told her she was going to jump out of airplanes and be stationed in Hawaii after her “training”, Jen was intrigued, and she decided to speak with the Army recruiter. Jen was considering nursing as a career, and she thought the Army could be a step in that direction and after her four year commitment she would head to college. Jen liked what the recruiter had to say, but she could not be a nurse without a college degree in nursing. She opted to enlisted as a dental assistant which she rationalized was ‘in the medical field’. “I was clueless as how this military thing worked.”
Three weeks after graduation in 1994 Jen headed to basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. “I had no clue what I was getting into. I had never seen a gun in my life. From the very second I got there I loved it. I loved the discipline and the camaraderie and the teamwork.” Jen recalled having left Ohio on family vacations twice while she was growing up. Once to Disneyworld and once to Niagara Falls. At basic training “I was surrounded by people from all over the country and all walks of life.” Being around different types of people with different backgrounds and different life experiences really appealed to her. “There was just so much to learn.” During the eight weeks of basic training Jen was made the Platoon Guide. This was her first taste of leadership and it really appealed to her. At the end of basic training, she received a leadership award, and she knew leading people was something that really interested her.
Jen was assigned to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for her Advanced Individual Training (AIT) where she learned to be a dental assistant. This lasted several months and then Jen received orders to her first duty station, Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. Fort Bragg is the largest Army Base in the World by troop count.
Certain aspects of military life, including marriage, can be difficult, and Jen found herself a single mother. Jen recalled her childhood and while part of a loving family, she had not been able to connect with her biological father for “a huge chunk” of her life. It was very important to Jen she do whatever it took for her daughter to have a relationship with her dad.
Jen and her daughter spent time at Fort Bragg and Germany. Jen’s responsibilities grew and eventually she become a Non-Commissioned Officer which moved her from the role of dental assistant to managing dental clinics and all related personnel. The leadership opportunities really appealed to her and this was all a big adventure for her four year old daughter. The next stop was Italy in 2004.
Jen recalls her focus at this time was on being a great mom and being a good solider. During the day she was rising through the ranks in the Army. Hard work wasn’t going to be enough to continue to excel. Jen talked about the need to have a college degree to continue to move ahead in the medical field within the Army. Jen was driven and focused, and her evenings were spent taking college classes to earn her degree in business. Jen made the point that enlisted soldiers in todays Army are very well educated. Many come to the Army with college degrees, many earn their degrees during their time in service and others receive highly specialized training.
Jen was really focused and locked on achieving her goals. Dating was not on her list of priorities. However, through the steady persistence of a friend, Jen met Eddie Lorado, an Airborne Infantryman. The two began up a romantic relationship but early in their relationship Eddie was deployed to Afghanistan. When Eddie returned a year later the couple resumed their relationship, were married and began the life of a military family at Fort Bragg. Jen learned she was pregnant and early in the pregnancy Eddie was deployed to Iraq. Jen was at home being a mother, a solider and a student. Eddie received R&R and was headed home when Jen’s water broke. She didn’t know where Eddie was, but she was sure he was going to make it. As if scripted for a movie, Eddie’s plane touched down, a friend picked him up at the airport, drove him to the hospital and he arrived, still in his dirty fatigues worn on his last patrol in time to see Eddie junior born. Eddie was home for two weeks and then headed back to Iraq for nine more months.
While Eddie was Iraq, Jen was promoted to First Sergeant and slated to head up the only airborne dental company in the Army. Their mission was to be able to deploy anywhere in the world and set up dental clinics to support US troops. Jen was juggling a lot of balls on her own. Until this time Jen had been in units that did not deploy. That was about to change.
Eddie came home from his deployment and tried to re-integrate with his family. Jen talked about Eddies positive attitude but also mentioned, “It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for sure. We had our fair share of challenges. Especially when he had just gotten home.” Eddie would deploy again less than a year later. This tour would be in Afghanistan. Jen’s unit was also going to deploy to Afghanistan. There would be a two month period when they were both in Afghanistan, then Eddie would come home, and he would take care of the family.
In late April of 2010 Jen left for the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. I asked Jen what she thought when she first walked off the plane. “I thought it was game time. I’m ready. We’ve been preparing for this, and it was an honor for me.” Jen said it felt like a switch flipped and she turned from a mom to a soldier in a combat zone. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by the concerns and worries back home. Jen and her commander visited the different clinics that were being established and checked on their progress. “I never experienced any direct attacks, but meanwhile, Eddie was in southern Afghanistan and that was a really tough deployment.”
Eddie was was scheduled to return from his fourth combat deployment in June. It was an active deployment and Eddie lost his platoon sergeant and several more soldiers from his unit. Jen received a call from Eddie to let her know one of his soldiers was injured and headed to Bagram. He asked if she would stop by to see him. “So, I did, and it just really made things feel that much more real.”
They rarely talked on the phone because of the mission tempo for Eddie’s unit. Their last conversation was on Father’s Day. On June 24th, 2010 Jen received word that her boss wanted her to come back to work. She assumed there was an operational or personnel issue that she needed to address, but when she walked into Colonel Barnes office, she said, “right away I knew, whatever he had to say wasn’t going to be good.” The Colonel told her that Eddie was on a patrol and when he exited his vehicle, he stepped on an IED. Eddie was alive but he had lost his left leg. She was told she would be flown to a hospital in Kandahar to see Eddie and to pack a bag immediately.
Jen recalls how long the flight was and how much time she had to think. She thought about how their lives were going to be changed forever now that Eddie had lost his leg. She also thought that wouldn’t be a big deal, people go through it all the time. She was greeted by two servicemen when she walked off the plane and on to the tarmac. They ran from the plane to Eddie’s room. When Jen walked in Eddie was lying very peacefully in his bed. “I thought he would have machines” hooked up to him. She learned that Eddie had passed away. His unit came under heavy attack after the IED exploded, and they couldn’t immediately medevac Eddie. As a result, he died from blood loss at the age of 34.
Jen accompanied Eddie back to the United States. It was Jen, Eddie’s flag-draped casket and the flight crew on a very long flight home. I asked what went through her mind for all those hours. “There were a lot of tears but at some point, you can’t cry anymore.” When Jen arrived home, she had to explain Eddie’s death to her daughter who was 12 years old and her son who was 2 ½ and did not understand what had happened.
In the days and weeks that followed shock turned to reality and eventually the people who came to give emotional support departed and everyday life returned. Jen recalled this as a long and difficult period trying to raise two children, be a good soldier and a good leader. The road looked long and difficult. There were 11 months remaining on her deployment, but Jen did not return to Afghanistan. It was one of her hardest decisions. While she felt this was the right decision, this was another level of grief she had to contend with. Jen was their leader and they had invested some much time in preparing for the mission. She felt she was letting her unit down.
At this time the Army had begun a Resilience Program. The need was high because the military had been at war for so long. Families were apart for very long periods of time and that created family problems and marital problems. In addition, suicides among military members were increasing at an alarming rate. Jen was asked to start this program at Fort Bragg. Later she was asked to work on the Resilience Program at the Pentagon. In 2012 Jen and the kids packed up and moved from North Carolina to Northern Virginia.
In 2015 Jen met Command Sergeant Omari Balllou who was also working at the Pentagon. It wasn’t until several years later that they became romantically involved. Jen decided it was time for her to retire from the Army after 21 years. One year prior to her retirement she created a transition plan and landed a job. She retired in May of 2015 and started a position as a Director of Government Projects, acting as the interface between her company and the US Government for government contracts.
As time went on Jen and Omari friendship grew to a romantic relationship. Omari provided a level of support she never had before. He encouraged her at the times she needed it most. The couple was married in 2018 and they had a daughter in 2019.
Jen found she didn’t have a passion for the corporate world and decided to take some time off to focus on her next steps. Jen went on to receive several certifications including a certification as a Yoga teacher, a CrossFit trainer and a Life Coach. Jennifer started down the entrepreneurial path running a business to help woman veterans live a more balanced life. Jen knew the struggles of juggling the roles of military spouse, mother and soldier and she knew these women were not focusing on themselves. I asked what it felt like to be the mother of three and starting a business. “It was pretty scary. I just tried to put one foot in front of the other. I would try something and if it didn’t work out, I would adapt.”
Jen’s family was still living in the Cleveland area, and she decided she wanted to be closer to them. Jen and Omari moved the family to the Columbus, Ohio area. She started volunteering at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and when the position of Deputy Chief of Staff opened, she applied and got the position. While working in this position she also taught yoga for veterans at the museum.
I asked Jen what she thought about her military service. She talked about learning the value and power of discipline and learning how to be on a team and teamwork. She said “I wouldn’t do it differently. There is nothing else I would have rather done with my life.” Jen said it hasn’t always been a smooth ride but the relationships she developed in the military were key in helping her through the tough times.
“That’s just one of the many things to this day when I reflect on the relationships I had in the Army…that was the most special thing.”
Jennifer, you have had a life full of challenges which have required a great deal of fortitude. You are a true example of resilience, perseverance, and personal sacrifice. The United States is grateful to you for your service and how you have shown us to navigate personal loss.
To Sergeant Edwardo Loredo we can only say Until Valhalla.