Khalida's Page
So this is where I talk about me....
I am a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army. I joined the Army right out of high school thinking it would be one enlistment and then off to college, but I keep getting offered really cool jobs that keep me in. So now I have 11 years under my belt! I spent 1 1/2 years learning Arabic at the Army language school in Monterrey, CA. My first assignment was with 101st MI Bn, 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) in Wuerzburg, Germany. I was stationed in Germany for just over two years with a seven month deployment to Kosovo. My next assignment was a one yeat tour in 102nd MI Bn, 2nd Infantry Division (Indianhead) in Uijeongbu, Korea (north of Seoul). After that I as selected for a "special" assignment to US Army Special Operations Command at Ft. Bragg, NC. I did five deployments to Iraq but Special Operations does much shorter tours. My trips ranged from only two weeks to three months. I went to Baghdad, Mosul, Kurdistan, and other places. I spent just under four years with USASOC.
During my ten years in the Army I have travelled officially or unofficially to over thirty foreign countries and five continents.
In October 2006 I tried out for the U.S. Army Parachute Team, better known as the Golden Knights.
http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/goldenknights/Webpage2005_content.html
Click on Demonstration Teams, then Gold Team, and there I am in the bottom left hand corner. Click on the thumbnail and you can read all about me, sort of.
So what's with the name? John, Margaret, Dianne, James, Lisa...Khalida? One of these things is not like the other....What's the deal? Alright. I was born Suzanne Hendricks. I didn't like my middle name. So I always knew I wanted to change it. But I didn't have another name in mind that I really liked until I got to Arabic school. There they gave each student an Arabic name to use. They gave me the name Khalida. I loved it. I used it for four years to make sure I really liked it. Then I changed my name to Khalida Suzanne Hendricks. Not because I dislike Suzanne, but because Suzanne Khalida sounds funny. I changed my name on August 17th, 2001. Less than a month later a bunch of Arabs blew up the WTC, including one named Khalid, and having an Arabic name became sort of a liability. Wonderful. But darn it, I still love the name Khalida, and I am going to keep it. So there, stupid terrorists. So that is why some of my family and friends call me Suzie or Suzanne, and some call me Khalida or Khal/Hal. I really have no preference which one you use, I do still like and answer to Suzanne/Suzie. If you want to call me Khalida, the "Kh" part is an Arabic sound we don't have in English. So I prefer if you just ignore the K and say "Hal-ih-duh". Long a. Short i. And most people these days call me "Hal" for short.
The Golden Knights
Undoubtedly the biggest thing about me is being a Golden Knight. We travel 240-280 days out of the year, so there is not a whole lot of time for anything else.
I am the 20th female to become a Golden Knight. There are 5 female Golden Knights on the team right now: 4 on the competition team, and me. I am the only female demonstrator.
In my former job I couldn't take a lot of pictures. So it is a drastic change to be in a job where I seem to be followed by cameras everywhere I go. But it's alright. I now have tons of cool pictures of Yours Truly. If ya want to see some more just click on one of the below pictures. The top is my favorite Golden Knight Photo (so far!). I am landing at a local rodeo in Yuma, Arizona. Click on this one if you want to see more Golden Knight-type pictures. The bottom one is me scuba diving in Puerto Rico in April '07. Click on this one if you want to see me when I am not working.
Where in the World is Khalida Hendricks?
There is supposed to be a schedule here but I haven't kept up with it.
What's going on with Hal...
Right now I am mostly trying to catch up on things. I had a pretty hectic past few months. I came home from Iraq, went straight to tryouts, had to sign out of the old unit, sign into the Golden Knights, then away to Yuma for two months, and then several trips right after the other. I've managed to get some semblance of order in my life, fixed some things around my house, and at least thought about what kinds of things I would like to do when I find my new groove. But for now I am just trying not to fall behind on maintenance stuff again.
Here's what I would like to be doing:
Run and work out and otherwise get back in good shape
Write a book
Study Albanian, Arabic, French, and Spanish
Dance (tango, salsa, belly, and maybe ballroom and swing)
Read
Shoot (pistol, Glock 19 to be specific)
Chat online with my gorgeous step mother, or talk to her on the phone. I especially love conversations about quilting.
I am going to try to put a link here but it won't work right now.
Ah, yes. The Cats....
Bonzai is fat and happy and affectionate. Maggie is thin and athletic and affectionate, and of course, she is the most beautiful cat on the planet, much like her grandmother and namesake...except Margaret is not a cat. Click on Bonzai's glamour shot below if you want to see more (I know you do, right?)
While Bonzai is a total ham, Maggie dodges the camera and I have a rough time getting a decent picture of her. How ironic that the most beautiful cat in the world runs away from strangers and cameras, so the only human who can fully appreciate her beauty is me....
