CONTENT WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF SUICIDE AND MENTAL DISTRESS. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Kimberly Diane Agar was born 25-Nov 1985 in Dallas, Texas. Her parents are Margy Agar and Michael Agar (Her stepmother is Margaret Watson). She had two brothers Stephen and Christopher.
Kimberly grew up in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and attended Birdville High School graduating in 2004 where she received a letter jacket for community service. After graduating in 2004, Kim briefly attended community college. Kim had Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia, and her mother Margy said, “college didn’t work out for her.” She worked as a waitress and a lifeguard. When her older brother, Stephen, joined the Air Force, Kim was inspired. In October 2006, she surprised her family and friends and enlisted in the Army on 18-Oct 2006.
Kim’s Army MOS was “MIKE 88”. In her role, she operated heavy-duty tactical wheeled vehicles over rough terrain and highways. She was responsible for loading, unloading, and securing cargo such as equipment, supplies, and soldiers. She was responsible for executing convoy security, defense, vehicle recovery operations and performed routine preventative maintenance and reporting vehicle deficiencies. She was stationed with the 104th Transportation Co. at Fort Benning in Georgia.
Kim’s preparatory training included:
- 10 weeks of standard Basic Combat Training (BCT)
- Approximately 7 weeks of Advanced Individual Training (AIT).
- Approximately 200 hours of combined classroom, simulator, and hands-on field driving.
In the summer of 2007, Kim was deployed to Iraq. She drove equipment across the country. The U.S. Army’s 104th Transportation Company served an extended multi-month deployment in Iraq during 2007, operating during the height of the Iraq War troop surge. Insurgents frequently targeted logistics routes with roadside bombs and coordinated small-arms fire. U.S. Army non-combatant and logistical support personnel were uniquely vulnerable to ambushes in Iraq because asymmetric warfare erased traditional rear-echelon safety, supply routes became primary battlefields. Support units drove lighter vehicle. Many civilian and military logistics trucks initially had soft skins with no ballistic protection for the drivers. Heavy flatbeds and fuel tankers could not maneuver quickly or escape a “kill zone” once an attack began.
Women faced significant risks experiencing the dangers of an asymmetric war zone through roadside bombs, mortar attacks, and hostile fire despite official restrictions from direct ground combat roles. While women did not serve in combat, they were at considerable risk of ambush driving trucks from roadside IEDs, bombs, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), or small arms fire.
For more of her story, click on the pdf below.
