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From Iowa to Germany

Hines served as an MP during time in military

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Iowa National Guard veteran Jim Hines, at left, listens as fellow veteran Fred Larson, shares some of his own stories. Hines works at Friendship Haven, Larson is a resident. Hines was an MP, Larson a Drill Instructor.

Iowa Army National Guard veteran Jim Hines, of Fort Dodge, served his country from 1987 until 2001 — a 14-year stint that took him to Germany as well as duty stations in Iowa.

“I joined in 1987 at 17,” he said. “I was going to drills, and after I turned 18 I could go to basic training. I went to Fort Sill in Oklahoma.”

Hines had initially joined the 194th Field Artillery in Fort Dodge but later switched over to the 186th Military Police Unit in Johnston.

“I had wanted to be a state trooper or a correctional worker,” he said.

He enjoyed the work greatly.

“I loved what I did as an MP,” he said. “I had my own fire team. It was me, a driver, a gunner and a co-gunner.”

In 1997, he was deployed overseas.

“We were in Georgia at Fort Benning,” he said. “We went to the air base at Wiesbaden. It’s about 12 kilometers east of Frankfurt International. We replaced the full-time military police at the base while they went to Bosnia. When we were done with our 180 days, the commander said, ‘We’re heading home.’ “

He had a lot of fun experiences during his time there.

“I was trained on all the German weapons, and I took second in a shooting competition,” he said. “I was also trained on how to fire a Stinger missile.”

The latter took place at a location that Hines said is classified.

His unit’s duties included doing security checks at those secret locations. They also did security on the base.

He said it was a very nice place to be stationed.

“We pretty much lived on the base. It was a nice post,” he said. “There was a little German restaurant outside. We had a horse stable, a tiny PX and a movie theater. There was a big area for physical training and another building was a bar. Bands would come in and play at the time. It was an open post; the local Germans could come in and visit.”

Police work also had a few scary moments.

He stopped a vehicle one night that had been stolen by the son of someone serving on the base.

“I had no backup,” he said. “I had to subdue the people in the vehicle.”

Once the German police arrived with an investigator and a translator, Hines got a surprise.

“One of the German investigators showed me a Bowie knife,” he said. “The female in the car had it between the seat and the door.”

The young couple in the car?

“They were flown back to the States,” he said.

Once, Hines was hurt when he fell on wet concrete.

“The concrete over there gets slippery in the rain,” he said. “I slipped on some steps. My pistol broke three of my ribs.”

It was on a weekend and the base clinic wasn’t open. Hines went back to his barracks to rest.

“The next day I couldn’t move,” he said. “They had to call 911. I took a little trip to a German hospital.”

When the staff tried to get him to raise his arms for an X-ray, he almost passed out from the pain.

“I was screaming like a banshee,” he said.

He also got a trip to Panama for training.

It was a rough place– both on and off the base.

“They took us to this bar,” he said. “When we got there, you couldn’t even take a pocket knife in. The picture window had been blown out and replaced with metal mesh. There were tarps for a ceiling.”

“The Panamanian rebels had thrown a hand grenade through the window,” he said.

Hines left the service in 2001 and returned to civilian life. He’s worked in several places since his return, including some time in Florida where he worked security.

He prefers it here in Iowa.

“I don’t have to wear body armor and worry about getting shot at,” he said.

He most recently began working at Friendship Haven in transportation services.

“Friendship Haven is a comfortable place,” he said. “The people always have a smile on their face. It makes you feel like you’re actually at home. It’s one big family here.”

Hines is also a cancer survivor with nine years in remission.

He looks back on his military service with mostly fond memories.

“I loved what I did,” he said.

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