Emma Sprinkle is a world away from the life she knew growing up in Orangeburg. However, in some ways, the life she now leads serving her country in Iraq is not quite so different.

In the heat of Iraq, she has found an extended family in her coworkers and soldiers, just like the family she left behind when she volunteered to go overseas.

"The first adjustment was the heat and the climate. It's totally different from back home," Sprinkle said.

Sprinkle works with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, whose mission is to provide products and services to soldiers. The AAFES also generates earnings to fund the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program to entertain the troops. It also has restaurants in Iraq such as Subway and Pizza Hut to give soldiers a taste of home.

Sprinkle is an accounting technician with a PX/BX store in Iraq. She completed two weeks of basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. before traveling more than 6,000 miles away to support America's armed forces.

The PX/BX stores sell necessities to soldiers such as toothpaste and toilet paper, as well as entertainment items like DVDs.

Sprinkle first become involved with AAFES in 1967 when she came back home from Japan while her husband was serving in the Air Force.

Sprinkle's day starts bright and early at 5 a.m. Iraq local time. After getting ready for the long day, Sprinkle eats breakfast with her coworkers, where she often sees soldiers and military contractors.

"We talk to each other and tell each other to have a good day," Sprinkle said.

In the midst of sectarian violence, a good day is staying alive to talk with each other another day.

Sprinkle said the sounds of mortar blasts are a daily occurrence. Sometimes the attacks shake the trucks that deliver goods to Sprinkle's store, a sign that even the most good-willed gesture is not immune from the violence that is plaguing the nation.

"You think things are over, you think there may not be a mortar blast tonight, then there will be one. You just don't know how close it is until it goes off," Sprinkle said of the uncertainty of life in Iraq.

She believes the war in Iraq will end in victory.

"It is a winnable conflict. The military is doing everything they can to help the Iraqis," she said.

The more pleasant side of life in Iraq is when Sprinkle talks with the soldiers. She says she has become a mother figure to some of the younger soldiers, reminding them of their family members.

"I believe that helps them a lot when they have someone from back home to talk with," Sprinkle said.

When she is not comforting soldiers or working at the PX/BX store, she is attending church and going to MWR shows.

Sprinkle attended Claflin University for two years, and then transferred to Allen University to complete her degree in mathematics. Her stateside residence is in Columbia, but Sprinkle has not forgotten her Orangeburg roots. She still attends class reunions for Wilkinson High School every five years when she can. She also makes trips down from Columbia, to visit friends from high school.

She served 25 years in law enforcement and after retirement continued to work at the PX/BX store at Fort Jackson.

"I enjoy my work," she said.

Sprinkle then served in Kuwait for six months and enjoyed the tour, meeting many people who become her friends. That experience fueled her desire to serve in Iraq.

"I thought I could give service by supporting the troops in Iraq," Sprinkle said of the reason she has forsaken retirement to continue to serve the nation.

In a few short days, Sprinkle will have completed her tour of duty and return back to South Carolina. Next week, Sprinkle will get to see her grandchildren after months of being a world away.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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