MUNFORD — Monday morning, June 23, when people all across the country are getting ready to leave home going to work, Richard Embry will be leaving home for work too.Embry, a Talladega native and Munford resident, will be deploying to Iraq that Monday, first flying to Houston and then Kuwait for orientation and training before being sent to Iraq. There, he will serve as a combat firefighter and emergency medical technician, contracted through the U.S. Army.
“Basically, the combat part explains itself,” Embry said. “I’m trained to fight fires, whether electrical or caused by more attacks.”
He said he is also cross-trained in emergency medicine so he can be used in an emergency or operating room.
Embry said his cousin, Capt. Joe Davis who has served three tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, told him about the combat firefighters and the lack of medical personnel overseas.
“Basically, it goes back to the late 1980s and 1990s when I thought about going into the service,” Embry said. “I thought it would be the way to give back to my country because they’ve invested a lot of money into me.”
Embry has been a licensed EMT since 1990 and worked until he was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that attacks both the body’s muscles and immune system, in 1995. He said he knew he was sick and had to see several doctors before he was officially diagnosed.
“Naturally, it took me out of the fire and EMS service for a while,” Embry said.
Since certifications are only valid for one year after leaving the service, he lost all his firefighting and EMT credentials.
In 1999, Embry enrolled at E.H. Gentry to receive job training through the school’s vocational rehabilitation program. He worked as an assistant bus driver for the Talladega Board of Education and was named an employee of the year by the Talladega Area Governor Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities in 2001.
Since then, he has received his Firefighter I and II certification, as well as his certifications as a fire inspector, fire instructor and Hazmat technician through the Alabama Fire College and the National Fire Academy. He also became a nationally registered EMT in 2005.
Embry has been on trips across the country, taking classes sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, including courses about terrorist suicide bombings, toxic chemicals and the medical aspects of war.
“One of the biggest pluses is public safety personnel from all over the country are there. Learning their way of doing things and our way of doing things and communicating back and forth,” Embry said.
He said in exchange for being able to participate in these classes, the government asked him to take the acquired knowledge and teach at least two of the courses each year.
Embry said his family has been supportive of his decision to go to Iraq.
“They’ve been with me since I became disabled and they knew I had goals,” Embry said. “Every time I met one of my goals, my family was there for me.”
He and his wife Hilary have been married for seven years, and he has two sons, Stephen, 19, and Brett, 14.
Embry must be overseas for at least four months before he is eligible for rest and recuperation (R&R) travel. Since he is leaving in June, he said he may be able to be home for his oldest son’s birthday this year, but will miss his youngest son’s birthday this August.
“The biggest thing will be being on duty 24/7,” Embry said. “I won’t be able to come home for birthdays, holidays or anniversaries.”
Hilary, who served in the Army from 1998 until 2001, said she is both proud of and worried for Embry.
“It’s a mixture. I am worried, but I know he’ll be fine because he’ll be on a military base, and they’ll take care of him,” she said “I’m excited for him, because it’s what he wants to do, and he’s worked so hard for it.”
Embry said he still has preparations to take care of before he deploys in just a handful of days.
“I’ve got a lot of stops to make between now and then and visiting everyone before I get deployed,” Embry said.
