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American Morning

Interview With James Gheen, Shari Wright

Aired January 01, 2004 - 09:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Two members of the National Guard are training now, getting ready to serve together in Iraq. The unusual thing about them is that they are father and daughter, and both belong to the same unit.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with Sergeant James Gheen and Sergeant Shari Wright.

And I started by asking Sergeant Wright if she decided to join the Guard because of her dad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. SHARI WRIGHT, WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD: Actually, it really didn't have, I don't know if it had to do with when I was little dressing up in Army clothes or what, but I was going to college and I needed some money and I really wanted to go to boot camp. So, you know, he was in it so I decided to go check it out.

O'BRIEN: And Sergeant Gheen, were you supportive of that decision or were you worried at that time, back in 2001, about your daughter? Did you ever think she'd see active duty?

SGT. JAMES GHEEN, WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD: I didn't think she would see active duty. I was supportive of the decision. It was her decision. She asked about it. I took her to the armory, let her see what went on. And the decision to join was totally hers. I supported the decision, but I didn't try to influence her decision one way or the other.

O'BRIEN: When did you find out -- and either of you can answer this for me -- when did you find out that you were going to be deployed in this new year?

GHEEN: You can answer that.

WRIGHT: I was at school, actually. I got a phone call from one of my, my sergeant, Sergeant Macey (ph), and he told me. I was at school walking around and he just said guess what? We got activated. I was like oh, OK, well, I guess I'm not going to school anymore.

O'BRIEN: So what happens then? You stop going to school. How do you feel? Are you -- obviously you've got to be anxious. I can't imagine -- it would be ridiculous to not be -- to be a little concerned. But give me a sense of what do you think about your deployment? WRIGHT: Well, actually with the whole school thing, I was pretty OK with that because I reached the cutoff, the deadline for being counted for the semester. But other than that, I guess, you know, it's always a possibility. So I'm ready.

O'BRIEN: Does it, Sergeant Gheen, make you feel better that the two of you will be deployed together or is that offset by worrying about your daughter, who will be near you and you'll know exactly what she's seeing at all times?

GHEEN: No, I like the fact that she is going with us. She's very capable of doing any of the jobs that she's asked to do.

O'BRIEN: What's it like to head into an active deployment with your dad? Do you feel encouraged knowing -- I mean you're a grown woman. It's not like, you know, you're going to cry on his shoulder or anything. But, you know, I sure look to my dad for encouragement and advice and things like that.

Is that how you feel like you're going to be going into it?

WRIGHT: Yes, it's just, I mean our unit is really, really nice. We're like a big family. And it's even cooler when you actually have immediate family there. So -- and if I did need to cry, he would be there. So it's really, really good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Sergeant Shari Wright and her dad, Sergeant James Gheen. And the dad and the daughter will be serving together in Iraq soon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 1, 2004 - 09:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Two members of the National Guard are training now, getting ready to serve together in Iraq. The unusual thing about them is that they are father and daughter, and both belong to the same unit.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with Sergeant James Gheen and Sergeant Shari Wright.

And I started by asking Sergeant Wright if she decided to join the Guard because of her dad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. SHARI WRIGHT, WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD: Actually, it really didn't have, I don't know if it had to do with when I was little dressing up in Army clothes or what, but I was going to college and I needed some money and I really wanted to go to boot camp. So, you know, he was in it so I decided to go check it out.

O'BRIEN: And Sergeant Gheen, were you supportive of that decision or were you worried at that time, back in 2001, about your daughter? Did you ever think she'd see active duty?

SGT. JAMES GHEEN, WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD: I didn't think she would see active duty. I was supportive of the decision. It was her decision. She asked about it. I took her to the armory, let her see what went on. And the decision to join was totally hers. I supported the decision, but I didn't try to influence her decision one way or the other.

O'BRIEN: When did you find out -- and either of you can answer this for me -- when did you find out that you were going to be deployed in this new year?

GHEEN: You can answer that.

WRIGHT: I was at school, actually. I got a phone call from one of my, my sergeant, Sergeant Macey (ph), and he told me. I was at school walking around and he just said guess what? We got activated. I was like oh, OK, well, I guess I'm not going to school anymore.

O'BRIEN: So what happens then? You stop going to school. How do you feel? Are you -- obviously you've got to be anxious. I can't imagine -- it would be ridiculous to not be -- to be a little concerned. But give me a sense of what do you think about your deployment? WRIGHT: Well, actually with the whole school thing, I was pretty OK with that because I reached the cutoff, the deadline for being counted for the semester. But other than that, I guess, you know, it's always a possibility. So I'm ready.

O'BRIEN: Does it, Sergeant Gheen, make you feel better that the two of you will be deployed together or is that offset by worrying about your daughter, who will be near you and you'll know exactly what she's seeing at all times?

GHEEN: No, I like the fact that she is going with us. She's very capable of doing any of the jobs that she's asked to do.

O'BRIEN: What's it like to head into an active deployment with your dad? Do you feel encouraged knowing -- I mean you're a grown woman. It's not like, you know, you're going to cry on his shoulder or anything. But, you know, I sure look to my dad for encouragement and advice and things like that.

Is that how you feel like you're going to be going into it?

WRIGHT: Yes, it's just, I mean our unit is really, really nice. We're like a big family. And it's even cooler when you actually have immediate family there. So -- and if I did need to cry, he would be there. So it's really, really good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Sergeant Shari Wright and her dad, Sergeant James Gheen. And the dad and the daughter will be serving together in Iraq soon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com