KING, N.C.—
After spending the last year getting shot at and ziplining out of helicopters to help her medical team in Afghanistan, naval nurse Renee Brown, of King, returned home Friday."We are making a difference. We are helping the country, helping the locals be able to walk down the street and not worry if they are going to walk home or not," she said Thursday in an interview with FOX8 News.
In December 2008, FOX8 met Naval Corpsman Third-Class Brown as she was leaving her family to head to Afghanistan. Now, nearly one year later, Brown is 20 pounds lighter and 20 times more confident the military is where she belongs.
She only has one regret.
"I regret I had to see the ones who aren't going to be coming home," she said.
Brown often worked 19-hour days as a nurse, transporting blood to medics in southern Afghanistan. For her efforts, she has medals of honor and memories of some tough conditions.
"You see what happens because of the explosions or because of the bombs or because of the gunshots," she said. "It's hard to wrap your mind around."
Now out of the 60-pound armor she was required to wear, Brown remains convinced American troops are needed in Afghanistan.
"You got these really mean, really bad crazy people running around killing people for no reason, and if somebody is not there saying, 'Hey, we are going to put you in check. This world is not going to let you run around and kill people,' I think it is important for us to be there," she said.
And that's why Brown says she'll go back if President Obama requests more troops.
"I feel like I can make a bigger difference there caring for my troops there than I can here," she said.
