Meet Meghan Richards | U.S. Army Combat Veteran & Program Director at Packages From Home

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meghan Richards and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meghan, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
“Where are you from” is one of the hardest questions a military kid has to answer. Having grown up as an Air Force brat and calling lots of different places “home,” you start to understand that home is wherever you are with loved ones. As a child, we spent time crafting care packages for my Dad who was often away from home for pilot training or assignments like during the Gulf War or his one-year stint in Korea. When I grew up, I joined the U.S. Army as a combat medic and spent 2 years deployed to Iraq. Being a 20-year-old, away from home for the first time and making life and death decisions daily, you welcome the small things that bring you joy. Letters from home, small trinkets, and items you desperately need but can’t find overseas make a huge difference when you’ve spent a hard day out on combat missions. Being able to be part of that process from the other end now, being a part of an organization that sends care packages that I once received, it’s a great full circle moment and I couldn’t be more proud to support the hard-working men and women of the United States Military.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I joined the military at the age of 19, fresh out of High School. In 2006, I was deployed to Iraq and served as the sole medic for the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team and their Personal Security Detail. I’m most proud of my work in Iraq during that timeframe. We helped bring running water, electricity, media, schools, and hospital services back to the local people who had been shut inside their houses during the fighting and violence or had fled the region altogether. With our help, the city that began as a ghost town was left as a thriving and vibrant economy with people in the market again with kids playing futbol on the streets. When I deployed again in 2008, we guarded polling stations during Iraqi national elections and helped the locals repair infrastructure. Nothing about being deployed was easy. Counting the days until you’re with your family again is hard. I saw a lot of things that I don’t readily talk about. Especially as a combat medic in the most dangerous region at the time. We overcame the daily struggles by having each others backs. Having a battle buddy that knows what you’re going through helps a little bit. Ultimately, we banded together to make sure we brought as many people home as we could. We lost 118 young lives during our first deployment and it took a toll on a lot of us. Very few people understand what it’s like to go through war. I learned very early on that the people to your left and your right are the key to your success, if you’re not on the same page, that can create a dangerous situation. The military taught me that in order to succeed you need to train and train as realistically as possible. As the battalion training NCOIC (non commissioned officer in charge) on our rotation back in the states, I made sure there were portions of training where my guys and gals were stressed to the max, physically and mentally, and that conditions were as realistic as possible. I’ve taken that tenet into civilian life as well making sure that my staff and I are on the same page about every possible detail and executing our events with military precision. I’m also proud to say that we employ a large number of veterans at Packages From Home. Out of 7 employees, 5 of them are veterans themselves. I will never stop having my sisters and brothers in arms’ backs, even when they get out of the service, we’re still here for them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s say I’m picking them up around lunchtime at sky harbor. First thing we’re doing is hitting Via Della Slice Shop downtown for the best piece of pie you’ve ever had in your life. Then I’d be down to hike off those extra calories with a sunset hike at Skyline Regional Park on the west side. Next day we’re going to be spending a few hours volunteering with Packages From Home in downtown Glendale where we’ll pack a couple care packages for our troops overseas. Gonna end with a stop at Olive and Ivy in Scottsdale for Dinner and finish the night walking along the canal front and checking out the shops. Next morning we’ll start nice and early and launch our kayaks down the lower salt river with our water guns and marshmallows ready to launch! IYKYK. Next day we’re just relaxing and recovering from the river with a dip in our pool and some casual back yard grilling. If there’s time, we’d make a day trip to Sedona to check out the gorgeous red rock formations. Other must stop spots include: Ground Control and Ribbons Tea House in Litchfield Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Packages From Home wouldn’t be here today without all the amazing donors and sponsors we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with throughout the years. Some of our longstanding partners like Desert Financial, Discover Card, Diageo, Crown Royal, the Arizona Department of Corrections, USAA, American Express, APS, the Coyotes, the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks, and the Suns deserve shoutouts for supporting our military heroes overseas!

Website: www.packagesfromhome.org

Instagram: www.instagram.com/packagesfromhome

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-r-621268a9

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pkgsfromhome

Image Credits
All image credits are to Packages From Home.