For Rosh Hashanah: The Personal Story of a Jewish Woman in the U.S. Army Reserves

Here is an article from Lt. Colonel Elaine Berkowitz, a dentist currently deployed in Kosovo. She talks about her military career as well as being an observant Jew.

The photo above is of LTC Berkowitz receiving an award from the University of Prishtina and the people of Kosovo for the work she has done there.

I joined the army reserves in 1974. I was a high school teacher, and one of the other teachers everyone called COLONEL. (I thought he liked Kentucky Fried Chicken; I didn’t have a clue that he was in the army.)

One day he comes into my classroom and says, “Why don’t you join the army?” And I said, “Are you nuts?”

To make a long story short, I joined and here I am today some 37 years later still loving it. I joined at age 30 so you do the math.

I joined at the time there was a CASP program — Civilian Acquired Skills. I already had a skill, dental assisting, and all the army had to do was teach me to salute, march, be able to identify the ranks, etc.

It was for only two weeks at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, and that was long enough for this woman who hated summer camp as a kid.

I got credit for my skills as well as only having to go a short time to basic and came out an E-4, 91 E, dental assistant.

I was an enlisted reservist for 13 great years. I took many courses such as audio-visual specialist, went to summer camps at Ft. Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania and Ft, Dix in New Jersey, to name a few.

In 1975 I attended NCO Academy (names have changed since then numerous times). The following year I was asked to leave the 339th General Hospital to join the 99th Army Reserve Command and be the female supervisor for the Non-Commissioned Officers program.

Shortly after that I was asked to change my MOS to 71L Administrative Specialist, and I worked in the Training Division. I was a WAC, wore my uniform proudly and loved it.

Read the rest of this amazing woman’s story now, including her plans for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year.