A Secret Community
"Combat is a rite of passage that can only be completely understood by others who have been there. Once you have successfully been engaged in a combat environment, you seem to join a secret community of all that have served in wartime." (C.B.)
With Hell Raining Down, Religion Gave Me Stability
"When I was going to Baghdad for my first deployment to Iraq, we stayed in Kuwait for a short period of time to do a final train-up. During this time, the insurgency was at the height of successful attacks against coalition forces, and I was a young Private who had left Airborne school the month before. As a young man, I was confused and scared, and knew I would soon see war. I was baptized in a small outdoor tub the day before I flew into Iraq. It was at this moment the fear subsided and I knew I would be okay.
"A couple of months later I was knocked unconscious by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). When I awoke, I knew something had been there to protect me. Eleven IEDs later I believed, without hesitation, that God had protected me. A few years later, I was on a patrol in the hills of Afghanistan. Now I was a senior Soldier, a combat veteran. I prayed before, during, and after every patrol. I found myself constantly rubbing the talisman, a Saint Christopher medal from my Father, on a daily basis. It provided me comfort when I needed it. My Sniper buddy and I received a Hard Compromise (our position was discovered and assaulted by Taliban fighters). We were in a bad situation and it quickly looked like our position would be overrun. However, I no longer felt the fear I had on that first deployment. Instead, I felt a sort of comfort come over me; I knew regardless of the outcome I was just following the plan set before me.
"When all seemed lost with hell raining down upon us, my religion gave me stability and strength. Soon, two A-10 aircraft came in and gave close air-support, which enabled us to leave.
"It wasn’t training that abated our fear, or super human resolve; instead, it was the religion we clung to." (Paul M.)
With Hell Raining Down, Religion Gave Me Stability
"When I was going to Baghdad for my first deployment to Iraq, we stayed in Kuwait for a short period of time to do a final train-up. During this time, the insurgency was at the height of successful attacks against coalition forces, and I was a young Private who had left Airborne school the month before. As a young man, I was confused and scared, and knew I would soon see war. I was baptized in a small outdoor tub the day before I flew into Iraq. It was at this moment the fear subsided and I knew I would be okay.
"A couple of months later I was knocked unconscious by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). When I awoke, I knew something had been there to protect me. Eleven IEDs later I believed, without hesitation, that God had protected me. A few years later, I was on a patrol in the hills of Afghanistan. Now I was a senior Soldier, a combat veteran. I prayed before, during, and after every patrol. I found myself constantly rubbing the talisman, a Saint Christopher medal from my Father, on a daily basis. It provided me comfort when I needed it. My Sniper buddy and I received a Hard Compromise (our position was discovered and assaulted by Taliban fighters). We were in a bad situation and it quickly looked like our position would be overrun. However, I no longer felt the fear I had on that first deployment. Instead, I felt a sort of comfort come over me; I knew regardless of the outcome I was just following the plan set before me.
"When all seemed lost with hell raining down upon us, my religion gave me stability and strength. Soon, two A-10 aircraft came in and gave close air-support, which enabled us to leave.
"It wasn’t training that abated our fear, or super human resolve; instead, it was the religion we clung to." (Paul M.)
Two Angels
“I was running a checkpoint outside of Baghdad.
A car bomb went off 300 meters away.
I was on the waterside of my checkpoint doing checks.
After the bomb, insurgents started firing around me.
Everything was in slow motion.
Then I seen 2 big white figures grab me
and I was being whisped behind the barriers,
running triple my speed.
When it was over, the Iraqi soldiers in the towers
and my interpreter
asked if I seen the two angels
guiding me to safety.
I thought nothing of it
till those soldiers approached me.
I assumed it was adrenaline and all the stress.
But having three others see it
really had me thinking and thanking
God
for saving my life.
That to me was more than
just a vision.”
Baptism of Fire
"Two rites of passage stand out in my life: Combat and Baptism. Without the one, I don’t know if I would have the other. While deployed to Iraq during the initial occupation, I was convoying on 8 August 2003 when my vehicle was struck by a RPG (rocket propelled grenade), fired by an Iraqi insurgent. The blast was significant and basically threw my upper body away from the vehicle while the lower portion of my body was still strapped in by the seat belt. Once the vehicle drug me about 30 feet across the hot pavement, it came to a stop. My femur was broken and I sustained numerous burns on my hands. I now have a titanium rod and eight screws in my leg as a result of that attack. Once I returned from combat, I realized how fortunate I was to be alive. What happened in combat caused me to return to my Christian beliefs and practices. I became saved and subsequently baptized. Combat proved to be my trial and baptism symbolized that my old life was over: I now had a new lease on life."
The Reality of War
"I am going to discuss the day I became fully aware of the reality of war, fully aware that any moment could be my last. It was the day I truly matured. Before it happened, I was thinking about how hungry I was, hoping they would have something good for dinner. After the explosion, all I could think about was my buddies. I believe God intended me to witness this, to prepare me for something in my future.
"I was only nineteen years old and had been deployed for 11 months. We were on a routine route-recon and clearance mission when the lead vehicle of our convoy was struck and completely destroyed by an improvised explosive device. I had a front row seat to the carnage that ensued, being the driver of a much larger vehicle directly behind the hunk of twisted metal that used to be my squad leader's vehicle.
"I watched helplessly as my squad leader was carried to the casualty evacuation point with a hole the size of a soft ball in his head. I knew for certain he was not alive. Tears started to well up in my eyes. I shook off the overwhelming urge to cry and told myself that those men evacuating my buddies needed me to be vigilant or more lives may be lost. I started to scan the terrain in my sector when I heard something that I will never forget. It was a man that not twelve hours prior was playing cards and telling jokes across the cot that we used as a card table. He was moaning and asking for water. A soldier was telling him that it wasn’t that bad, but I could see otherwise. His legs were a mess of mangled bone and flesh and blood. He was the gunner and he was going to survive, or so I thought.
"He was stabilized. The corpsman had started an IV in each arm. He knew what day it was, and his childrens' names, but then he went into shock. I heard him scream. I turned to look. He had pulled the IVs out and was flailing his arms frantically. I can not watch. I must continue to scan my sector. Later, I am told that he died before the medical evacuation helicopter landed. There is so much more to tell. This was the day I became a man."
It Was Here that My World Changed
"Rites of Passage are rituals carried out at key transitional points in an individual’s life. My personal rite of passage is an extremely unconventional one. I was still a kid, merely 19 years of age, and fresh from the nest, as my dad once referred to our home. It was a day during my first deployment to Iraq that marked my transition from adolescence to adulthood. It happened during a cordon and search mission in Iraq. Prior to this event I was going about my time in Iraq with a nonchalant attitude. It was there that I was enlightened to the harsh realities of this world.
My squad kicked in a door during the search of a target house in an Iraqi village. The lead man got shot in the chest. An onslaught of shots followed. “Doc, Doc! he needs your help!” I heard one of the guys scream. I reacted without thinking twice and got him to safety before I started to treat him. The bullet that entered his chest had nicked his lung, causing fluid and air to build up in his chest cavity, and preventing him from breathing properly. I neutralized the bleeding, inserted a tube into his mouth, and a 14 gauge needle in his chest which would help let out some of the pressure, therefore, stabilizing his breathing. After this I decided to call for evacuation. Eventually, we got him out of there via helicopter.
Combat
A rite of passage I had to pass through when I was twenty-one was combat. The Army uses rigorous and repetitious training scenarios to instill automatic reflexes to respond to any given situation. The Army does this to short circuit the fight or flight reflex that is build into humans. The passage usually comes when your emotions catch up to the situation you find yourself in and whether you pass or not depends on your actions after that point. Something else often missed is that every time you find yourself in that particular position you have to go through the rite all over again. A veteran can freeze just like a new soldier facing his first combat experience. I personally had experiences where I was totally disinterested in the situation, I felt cold, furious, and mechanical, or I had the sickening feeling that “I am going to die”. The key to passing through the “rite” is how you act and your first indication of whether you have passed is your buddies’ reaction to you."
Fatherhood Is My Rite of Passage
"Fatherhood is my rite passage, a change from a man to a complete person. I currently have six children with my wife. I have been deployed to combat zone five times in my career. I have had soldiers and good friends wounded or die in combat. I never showed much emotion accept anger. But when my first son was born, I cried. It was an overwhelming emotional experience for me. This was the biggest event in my life. His birth changed me forever."
A Soldier's Call
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here I am; send me. ISAIAH 6:8
"How would I know if God was calling me?
I really could not see where any of this could possibly relate to my personal experience. I was standing about twenty feet away, looking out of a very small window. I had confusion confound my brain. I joined the Army at 30. What could this have to do with a calling? I guess all I needed was a nudge in the right direction.
Mine were baby steps to that window. I was pointed in the right direction, by a few good NCO’s and a great Officer, Chaplin Borders. As I neared the window, I began to notice, the picture growing. I saw a world opening up before my eyes.
I was living life for myself. I was making good money, but somehow I felt unfulfilled. Everything I had done up to this point, brought me to this point. I needed something in my life, that was bigger then self.
The window got closer and the picture swelled before my eyes. I suppose all the people I spoke with before my enlistment, in a sense, were my personal conversations with God. I was very conflicted at the time. I felt it though, I felt the burning need for something bigger then myself. So I enlisted, and met one of the greatest men I have known. He was a Chaplin at Fort Jackson and he guided me through my conflict of faith. I still had a long journey ahead, although I could not yet see it.
The test came, and it hit me in the chest like a shotgun blast. Home on Christmas Exodus, of all times, my son passed. The window shattered. I stand at the sill, surrounded by the shards of my broken life, a crossroads. What do I do? How do I coup with such a thing? This singular event could send me back to the other end of the room. It could send me back to seeing only what I could through this little square hole. My world was destroyed. So I prayed, truly, for the first time in years, I prayed. Regression was not the answer. Falling down would not bring my son back. So I put my faith in the same place where my only son now resides, with God.
I stepped through the window, took a deep breath, and a whole new world opened to me.
I am here for a reason. I may not understand why, I don’t have to. Why is not for me to question. If I help one person, touch one life in a positive way, it was worth it. Yes there is a purpose, that person I help could be me.
When God calls will you hear him?"
Wrestling With Faith 1
"I don’t really believe that there is a god or a higher being. However, my mom prays every day for me while I am here in Iraq. Being in this environment, a person needs a source of comfort to go to in order to survive a year out here. I am a non-believer, but I started to pray in my room at night, asking to leave this place unharmed. Why did I start believing? I have no choice. When there are rockets and mortars landing near me, and I lie on the ground helplessly hoping that I will be lucky enough to live another day, I comfort myself by hoping there is Someone who can help me."
Wrestling With Faith 2
"I have also been in harm’s way and felt the overpowering need of prayer, wishing God to see me through. Yet after all that praying, never once did I say, Thank you, God. Instead, I picked myself up and thanked a buddy for looking after me. I seem to reflect Feurbach's theory that religion is just the projection of our wishes. When people become more knowledgeable or powerful, their religion withers away..."
On That Day In January
"The rite of passage that I have experienced is transferring into manhood. My Transformation was not the normal one that every boy goes through. It was realizing that I am not bullet proof.
Sure, I went through the normal stuff. I thought when I turned 18 that no one could break me. Then, 20 years later I got sent to Iraq. One day during a normal deployment I was woken by a knock on my door with one of my soldiers telling me to get to work. Something was wrong. When I arrived at work I was informed that an aircraft in my unit’s formation was shot down. I knew my job and did it flawlessly. Not until about 4 hours into the event did I realize that one of my very dear friends was the pilot of the helicopter.
At that moment I grew up. I had to be an adult. There was no time to grieve for my friend: only time to recover my officer and his crew. It wasn't until four days later that I had an opportunity to realize what had happened to me on a personal level, and react. At that moment, the soldier gave way to the man. Only then did I realize that I finally had become a real man. No matter what I thought or believed for the 20 years prior, I crossed over to adulthood in Iraq on that day in January."
At that moment I grew up. I had to be an adult. There was no time to grieve for my friend: only time to recover my officer and his crew. It wasn't until four days later that I had an opportunity to realize what had happened to me on a personal level, and react. At that moment, the soldier gave way to the man. Only then did I realize that I finally had become a real man. No matter what I thought or believed for the 20 years prior, I crossed over to adulthood in Iraq on that day in January."
Becoming a Marine
"In my life, I consider to have made it through several Rites of Passage; the most important to me is my earning the title of United States Marine. In 1985, I began this journey that few men and women make to become one of the Few and the Proud. It was a passage from being a civilian, young, seventeen-year-old boy to earning the title of United States Marine. Three months of cognitive and psycho-motor skills were honed, and then evaluated by The Crucible. This transition from civilian to military was the first step in a long career, which gave me tools of courage, poise, and self confidence, because of the mind set instilled upon me at Parris Island, South Carolina."
Combat
"In looking back, I have had many rites of passage.... I think one that had an impact on me is the first time I actually went into combat. I recall that, in the late 80’s as a young Marine, the Marine Corps was lots of partying, drinking, and traveling, with bouts of training in between. The training was serious, and sometimes dangerous, but in the end it all appeared to be one giant amusement park, where we had a great time, worked hard (but not too hard) and life was one big party.
During the deployment to Saudi Arabia
Response
"Your rite of passage was very inspiring. Thank you for serving. I know it had to be tough, but I am sure it did make you go from boy to man real quick! The marines seemed all fun and like a party life at first until you deployed and then it was all about staying alive.
I went through a similar situation. I was 18 and wanted to leave my mom and dad's house, so I joined the army. When I first enlisted, I came here to Fort Hood and was having the greatest time of my life! It was like a big party when we weren't working. There was a lot of bonding, like sister and brotherhood. Well, we all became real close and then it came time to deploy to Iraq. I was a young party girl, and then when I deployed I changed my life forever.
My great friend Bryan became a triple amputee when we deployed to Baghdad. We all grew up real quick when we were there. It was all about staying alive. Then a team leader in my squad was KIA. After that, I came home and I have changed so much. I don't party like I used too. Life is too short."
Near Death: My Rite of Passage
“My rite of passage came when I was on my death bed, and God asked me if I was ready. At that time, I had just given birth to my second child and a couple of weeks later I got sick. While in the hospital, I was passing in and out of consciousness and I awoke to see all these people in white standing around me stating they couldn’t understand why I was not dead with all the problems I had going on in my body. I recall managing to look at them all and to smile and to say, GOD.
“My rite of passage came when I was on my death bed, and God asked me if I was ready. At that time, I had just given birth to my second child and a couple of weeks later I got sick. While in the hospital, I was passing in and out of consciousness and I awoke to see all these people in white standing around me stating they couldn’t understand why I was not dead with all the problems I had going on in my body. I recall managing to look at them all and to smile and to say, GOD.
As I was drifting, God asked me if I was ready. I said, Jesus, if I’ve done my work on earth for you, yes, but I don’t want to leave my infant baby and have my husband raising the children by himself: you know he will be a nervous wreck. I actually saw God smile and say, OK. All the while in my head I could hear myself: I was calling, Jesus.
I was scared as they had flown me in a helicopter to another hospital and my family was many hours away. I recall that the next day I awoke to a nurse beside my bed, smiling and stroking my hand, telling me I was going to live and not die, because God said I could be with my baby. As the doctors came to take me to surgery to operate on my heart, I asked the nurse not to leave me, and could they check my blood again as I did not want to go to surgery. She smiled. Later on, the doctors said they were not going to do surgery, because what they had seen earlier in my echo-cardiogram was no longer there.
That night, the same nurse came to sit with me and talk to me about my life and what I was going to do with it. I told her, I ask God never to leave me: let me stay on earth at least until my daughter is seven. I think she will be OK then as my other daughter is seven. The nurse visited me every day, and in two days I was able to get out of bed to walk, and I went looking for the nurse.
At the time I remembered her name and I went asking for her and they said they had no one there by that name. I described her and the clothes she had worn each day and they stated they had never seen anyone like that. I was totally confused, and then it hit me. Jesus had talked with me: he sent his angel to be with me since my family couldn’t be there. Psalm 91:11 says, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. Jesus was there and gave me another chance at life, a chance to change my life. That was my personal rite to passage.
As a result of this, I live each day as if it is my last. I have to have an intimate relationship with God. In everything I do, I do it unto God. I not only had to have work done on my heart medically, but more important, spiritually. I now treat people with the utmost respect and kindness.
If you were to die now, what would have been the last thing you said? What is the last thing someone would remember about you?” (Deborah J., soldier and mother)
A Paratrooper 's Rites of Passage
"The most symbolic rite in all of this, would have to be my "Blood Wings". This occurred when, during the pinning of my wings at graduation, Sergeant Airborne punched the wings without the backs on them, and I then had to pull the prongs out of my chest. If not for this, I would not have endured what nearly every Paratrooper before me has endured. I considered it a way of not forgetting the pain that often accompanies the life of a Paratrooper."
Never The Same After You Almost Die
"The one rite I could have done without and consider the most stressful would of course be the passing from a Cherry to a Veteran. This rite isn't an option for most people. One minute you're a rookie, never seen your life flash before your eyes, and the next you're making life or death decisions. You're never the same after you almost die. It's hard to explain, but you're different. You appreciate everything more, and you see everything new, as if your eyes are just now seeing the world. It's a huge transition from a Cherry to a Veteran, and not one every body is cut out for. Among the Native Americans, if a youth fails to survive the Vision Quest in the wild, they are no longer accepted in the tribe. The same is true of soldiers who fail to act in times of crisis: they are shunned by team mates and considered unworthy to serve with. This Rite of Passage marks the transition from being just like 90% of the Army, to being a Soldier."
Dark Night of the Soul
"I am Jewish by birth right and I practiced until my rebellious teenage years. I believed Catholicism was the answer until I was 24yrs old. During my first tour in Iraq, I lost 7 brothers in a helicopter crash. I was at rock bottom. I could not help but search the skies for an answer, but I did not like the one I received. My wife also left me that year. On that note I denounced my faith and started believing in myself as the driving force of my life. I am taking this class to see how other religions and cultures deal with such tremendous losses, and still retain their faith."
Second Tour
"There have been times that I wanted God to deliver me from suffering, but I had to go through something that would cause a change in me before I could be delivered. Sometimes we need to change before we can expect a change in the situation. I wonder if that's why I was sent back to Iraq for a second time. I feel there is still something within me that needs to be changed, and the only way that God can get through to me is to remove me from my normal comfortable environment, so that He can speak to me and I will hear Him."
Air Assault Qualified
This student studied the classic stages of primitive Rites of Passage. He carefully relates them to his military training. These classic stages include: (1) Being outside the blessed community; (2) Introspection, leading to the desire to seek entrance; (3) Induction and separation from the world; (4) Liminality: the twilight between this world and the next; (5) Re-incorporation and re-entry into the world as a member of the blessed community.
"My rite of passage had nothing to do with age, but passing into a select group of Warriors who call themselves Air Assault Qualified. Following the stages, I was among the population without. Then upon introspection I found a need to join the ranks of those who have gone before me, by passing through the gates of the Sabuliski Air Assault School, Fort Campbell, Ky. On zero-day, we were separated into those able and those unable to successfully complete the physical requirement for entrance. Of the remaining 50%, another 50% may not complete the liminality phase of the rite, which is the classroom instruction and testing. This includes hands-on testing plus physical demands. The final stage of the rite, incorporation, occurs on graduation day when students, after a loud rendition of the Air Assault Song, cross back into their unit, Air Assault Qualified."
Response to A Soldier from Another Student
"I sit here in solemn silence as I read your words. War as a rite of passage is mind-boggling. I am lost in thought wondering how we are dealt the cards of life, making marriage one woman’s rite of passage and war anothers. Words can not express my admiration and gratitude to you and all the amazing soldiers, both male and female, that risk their lives to allow people like me to have something as ordinary as marriage, my rite of passage. I was amazed by your strong faith and resilience. How amazing are you. If it wasn’t for you, in the midst of something grim and dreadful, unbroken by the will of evil and destruction.... You are in my thoughts and prayers, now and always. Thank you for being extraordinary so that I can be ordinary."
War Really Can Change You
"I am a combat arm soldier (11B) In Iraq and i tell you them IED's they do not discriminate. The war has changed me as an individual i used to feel bad for those people over here in the middle east, but not now. Seeing dead bodies over here at first used to bother me, but a month or two i became numb. I think being in a war situation really can change you, some for the worst some for the best."
"Rite of Passage Under Moon"
(Should a teacher correct this soldier's grammar, or nominate him for the Penn-Faulkner Writing Prize? Perhaps we should just send this to the White House with a note that says: 'Please, be very careful when you sacrifice the blood of lambs.')
"My rite of passage was over 3 years ago in July 2004. I went trough a very difficult rite of passage from being a civilian to become a mighty warrior in July 14 2004 arrive basic training at FT Knox Kentucky. First time away from home no clue how to survive by myself a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt my only belongings. Nervous but ready to start my odyssey. PVT C----- with a lost look clueless of what is about to begin. The drill sergeant arrive. Oh my GOD what did I did this was voluntary my mind wanders around. My rite of passage just start I lost my freedom my dignity I lost complete communications with the exterior world. My path to become one soldier in the world finest Army begin I went trough sleep deprivation than never seen in my life before. Physical deprivation I took my body over the limit. 16 weeks summit to a total stranger he said and I did, if he said jump I jump if he said run I ran he know what I need to become a warrior he trained me to be effective under stressing combat conditions in 16 weeks I learn all need to go to combat and defend my country at the end of 16 weeks we conduct the conclusion of the rite of passage under moon we conduct the ceremony that recognize us as soldier of the finest Army in the world."
(Should a teacher correct this soldier's grammar, or nominate him for the Penn-Faulkner Writing Prize? Perhaps we should just send this to the White House with a note that says: 'Please, be very careful when you sacrifice the blood of lambs.')
"My rite of passage was over 3 years ago in July 2004. I went trough a very difficult rite of passage from being a civilian to become a mighty warrior in July 14 2004 arrive basic training at FT Knox Kentucky. First time away from home no clue how to survive by myself a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt my only belongings. Nervous but ready to start my odyssey. PVT C----- with a lost look clueless of what is about to begin. The drill sergeant arrive. Oh my GOD what did I did this was voluntary my mind wanders around. My rite of passage just start I lost my freedom my dignity I lost complete communications with the exterior world. My path to become one soldier in the world finest Army begin I went trough sleep deprivation than never seen in my life before. Physical deprivation I took my body over the limit. 16 weeks summit to a total stranger he said and I did, if he said jump I jump if he said run I ran he know what I need to become a warrior he trained me to be effective under stressing combat conditions in 16 weeks I learn all need to go to combat and defend my country at the end of 16 weeks we conduct the conclusion of the rite of passage under moon we conduct the ceremony that recognize us as soldier of the finest Army in the world."
The Rite of Returning Home
"Rites of passage do not necessarily have to be for birth, marriage, puberty or death. For me, the one rite of passage I will never forget was simply returning home from Iraq. The Army did a good job of giving a home-coming celebration, but it was nothing compared to walking in through the front door of your home with your wife and kids in tow. The feeling of peace and tranquility was the only thing that convinced me that, that night, I did not have to worry at all about any thing happening to me. It was late when we got home, so I put my children to bed, and held my wife as we watched TV till we could not stay up any longer. Nothing fancy, we just came home, watched TV, and went to bed. The simplest acts marked a major point in my life, and when I return from the next tour, we will probably do it the same way again." (J. J.)
“Congratulations Soldier”
"One of the most significant points in my life was when I became a Father. I was 21 years old when I had my first child. I was simultaneously participating in another “rite of passage”, Basic Training. I was recently married and in training to become a Soldier. I needed to provide for my wife and soon to be born daughter. While I was conducting extra physical training one evening I received a Red Cross message that my wife had delivered my daughter. My Drill Sergeant yelled, “Private Romeo, get over here.” I ran over to him as fast as I could with my Battle Buddy right beside me. I was standing before him at Parade Rest. My knees were shaking. I thought to myself, “What did I do wrong now?” He looked me in my eyes and told me my wife had delivered my daughter and both were fine. I was then told to call her. Once I completed my phone call my Drill Sergeant walked up to me. He stood right in front of me staring me straight in the eyes. He extended his hand and said, “Congratulations Soldier”. It was at that moment, when this man, who looked at me everyday with a glare of anger and unworthiness in his eyes, treated me as an equal that I realized I had finally and truly become a man. “Congratulations Soldier”
Shortly after, I completed my training and was assigned to For Bragg. Three months had passed and I was finally reunited with my wife and met my daughter for the first time. I held her in my arms a realized that it wasn’t about me anymore. Any “rite of passage” in your life is significant. I had gone through three in quick succession. I became a Husband, Father and Soldier."
Being Humbled Helped Me Be A Stronger Medic
"A traumatic event in Iraq is my rite of passage as a combat medic. Going through the struggles and tests of basic training and Healthcare Specialist/Combat Medic training were tough, but nothing could prepare someone for their first serious trauma patient. You can go through the algorithms that are supposed to stabilize someone from dying over and over, but sometimes you can’t avoid the inevitable. The trauma team tried everything they could to save a life. The patient was terribly wounded, and this was my first time seeing something so grotesque. After trying everything we could to help, the patient then passed away. The thought of someone leaving their family and loved ones frustrated me. There was nothing we could do that could have saved that patient's life. After that, I was humbled and it helped me become a stronger medic. I will proceed to try to help anyone that I can in any way possible, life-saving or not. Events like this can make someone turn back to religious values. Most religions that I have encountered so far mention that good spirits end up in heaven. The dead and all the memories and thoughts of that person must end up in some type of afterlife. It really makes you think that there must be an other worldly force out there, even if you are atheistic."
A Message for Our Politicians
"If there is one thing I have noticed over my last two deployments to Iraq - hearing soldier stories, eating with Sheiks, working with Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army, including the Sons of Iraq - it is that Politicians don’t know the hardships soldiers face. They don’t know the direct evil of war, and at the same time they don’t know the good being done here. As Sun T’zu said in The Art of War, if you want to understand, then talk to soldiers who have been on the ground, who have experienced the evils of war. And if you want to know what good has gone on here in Iraq, and how much the Iraqi people appreciate us, talk to those who have trained Iraqi Security Forces and supplied schools, talk to medics who have mended wounded Iraqi combatants. Then you will know what goes on here. But all too often, the politicians are just pushing their own personal agendas."
Karma in Combat
"Though I am Catholic, I do have a firm belief in Karma. I feel that if you do something bad or good that things will be returned in the same way, never knowing when or where it will happen: but it will.
"A good example and lesson was learned while on deployment. There were some Afghan children going out into an impact area to get brass and play. One day two kids were tossing around an unexploded mortar round and it detonated on them and the two children died from their wounds. The next day in preparation for a mission my platoon and I were confirming our zero's on our weapons and we observed some children playing in the impact area again. I told my guys to standby while myself and our interpreter drove the gator out to get the kids out of the area. When I got out there our interpreter told the kids to leave and they would not listen. I told them, "fine, continue playing around with this crap, I hope you die." Upset we went back to the platoon. I reported it up and continued on preparation.
"About thirty minutes or so later we heard an explosion: one of the kids set an unexploded Rocket Propelled Grenade off and died and the other kid was hurt pretty bad. We went out and rendered aid to the child and got him to medical treatment. The next morning I loaded up on a chopper and headed out on mission to conduct a raid. During the movement in towards the target location we came under small arms contact from the enemy.
"While taking cover I moved next to a building with an improvised explosive device laying next to it. Needless to say it was set off and I got hit pretty good. While trying to move, stumble to another location, and bleeding all over the place, I was shot through my legs and decided I had moved far enough at the time.
"I was medically evacuated shortly after. I obviously survived, but my firm belief is that if I had not been so heartless to those children the day before, then what happened to me may not have happened at all. Lesson for me was: no matter what you have to do, try to do the morally correct thing and follow the path of the hard right over the easy wrong." (J.L.)
Karma in Combat
"Though I am Catholic, I do have a firm belief in Karma. I feel that if you do something bad or good that things will be returned in the same way, never knowing when or where it will happen: but it will.
"A good example and lesson was learned while on deployment. There were some Afghan children going out into an impact area to get brass and play. One day two kids were tossing around an unexploded mortar round and it detonated on them and the two children died from their wounds. The next day in preparation for a mission my platoon and I were confirming our zero's on our weapons and we observed some children playing in the impact area again. I told my guys to standby while myself and our interpreter drove the gator out to get the kids out of the area. When I got out there our interpreter told the kids to leave and they would not listen. I told them, "fine, continue playing around with this crap, I hope you die." Upset we went back to the platoon. I reported it up and continued on preparation.
"About thirty minutes or so later we heard an explosion: one of the kids set an unexploded Rocket Propelled Grenade off and died and the other kid was hurt pretty bad. We went out and rendered aid to the child and got him to medical treatment. The next morning I loaded up on a chopper and headed out on mission to conduct a raid. During the movement in towards the target location we came under small arms contact from the enemy.
"While taking cover I moved next to a building with an improvised explosive device laying next to it. Needless to say it was set off and I got hit pretty good. While trying to move, stumble to another location, and bleeding all over the place, I was shot through my legs and decided I had moved far enough at the time.
"I was medically evacuated shortly after. I obviously survived, but my firm belief is that if I had not been so heartless to those children the day before, then what happened to me may not have happened at all. Lesson for me was: no matter what you have to do, try to do the morally correct thing and follow the path of the hard right over the easy wrong." (J.L.)
