Sapere Aude
I am an Airborne Infantryman in the United States Army. I served in the active duty army for four years and then separated to go to college. I continued to serve in the National Guard. While I was active duty we had duty cycles. Training, deployment, detail, and DRB (defense ready brigade) while on DRB 1 status I was subject to two-hour recall. If the decision to invade a country was made by the president, I would have been on an airplane “wheels up” within four hours of that decision. Within 18 hours we would have been “boots on the ground.” My job is dealing death to the enemies of the United States. I want there to be no illusions. I am not a support soldier, I am not mechanized or armored. I live out of a rucksack and my tools of the trade are weapons. I have been trained to “reach out and touch someone” at ranges up to a kilometer, or to get up close and personal during room clearing operations. I know how to use explosives, radio equipment, parachutes, can rig trucks and equipment for sling load operations using helicopters. I can call in mortar and artillery fires as well as close air support from planes and helicopters. I am well schooled in small unit tactics, can see in the dark, survive in any environment and along with the rest of my kind am one of the most dangerous weapons in the world. This is not bragging, this is not me claiming to be Rambo. I have been doing this job for over seven years now. I have had a lot of practice, and practical experience. I am good at what I do. I do a job that a lot of other people wouldn’t or couldn’t do. The experience has changed me. Not in a brainwashed, jarhead kind of way. In fact, exactly the opposite has happened. I have traveled across the globe. I have seen humanity at its best and at its worst. I have been through physical and mental challenges. I have pushed myself beyond my breaking point and I know my capabilities, not just my limits. I have gained an appreciation of life from almost having lost it enough times. I can see the beauty in a desert sunrise or the purity in a dirt-covered child in a third world nation. I have sacrificed much since I signed the papers in 1996. My daughter turned five in July. I have been there for two of her birthday parties. I have arthritis in my knees at the age of 25. I have also been given much. I understand what freedom means. I understand that if I do not like the policies being implemented not only is it my right, but it is my duty to work to change them. I understand more than I ever imagined I could how challenges can build character. I would not have traded a day of my existence for the easy life of those born to privilege. Although any of you reading this are more than likely from a first world nation. You enjoy freedoms, a strong economy and a wealth of opportunity. We are all born to privilege. I stumbled across this site one day due to being a fan of Douglas Adams’ writing. I have been a little bit limited in my ability to access the internet and in my posting. So I have stuck to those forums that I think I know the most about. In January of 2003 I left the United States for the Middle East. Waited around for a little while as diplomacy ticked its last beating heartbeats and died, and invaded Iraq. A year to the day after walking into my school and withdrawing from all of my classes I am still here, with no real idea as to when my sojourn will end. 5*5-4+1+(4*5)=42Latest Messages
| Messages left for this Researcher | Posted |
|---|---|
| debate | Nov 29, 2005 |
| Still around? | May 6, 2004 |
| Thank You | Feb 5, 2004 |
| New Zealanders | Feb 1, 2004 |
| Opinion sought | Jan 21, 2004 |
Conversations
| Conversation Title | Latest Post | Latest Reply |
|---|---|---|
| It's Saddam, it's Bush | Feb 1, 2004 | Jun 18, 2019 |
| debate | Jan 31, 2004 | Nov 29, 2005 |
| Still around? | No Posting | May 6, 2004 |
| Peer Review: A2191358 - Iraq, a soldier's view | Jan 18, 2004 | Mar 29, 2004 |
| Gorillas and lions | Jan 30, 2004 | Feb 19, 2004 |
seargantFlipper
Researcher U544515
Entries
Most Recent Edited Entries
- This user has not written any Edited Entries.
Entries
Disclaimer
h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Not Panicking Ltd. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."