Face of Defense: Soldier Focuses on Comrades' Nutrition

By Army Pfc. Michael Schuch
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - Army Staff Sgt. Colin Goldson gladly takes on the difficult, tiring and endless task of feeding the soldiers and civilians of the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. A contracting officer/technical representative and food service specialist, Goldson began his culinary career nearly 25 years ago, and he has been preparing, supervising and serving meals for soldiers for the past 10 years.

Goldson joined the All-Army Culinary Arts Team shortly after beginning his military career. He specialized in hors d'oeuvres and entrees in primarily French cuisine and participated in seven competitions. His skill earned him a silver medal and two bronze medals while serving on the team from 1999 to 2005.

"I live the life of food service because of what it does for our soldiers," said Goldson, a native of Landover, Md. "The food presented to the soldiers can do just as much for morale as receiving mail from family."

Goldson said the health and readiness of each soldier who comes through the dining facility is his responsibility.

"I am a subject-matter expert, not just with the food itself, but keeping track of calories and helping each soldier maintain the proper balance and diet," Goldson said. "Ensuring that the soldiers eat healthy enhances their morale and fitness, sustaining their readiness and ability to fight. The responsibility of keeping our soldiers fit and ready to fight falls directly on the food service specialists like myself."

Goldson ensures Army values and standards are met and that the food is properly prepared, stored and maintained; contractors actually prepare the food. He also works to make each item on the menu visually attractive. When it comes to preparing food for the soldiers, he said, it is about more than just taste and nutrition.

"When most people choose the food they are going to eat, they choose based on what looks most appealing to them rather than the nutritional value," he explained. "By using creativity when preparing the foods, we are able to ensure that each item on the menu appears tasty and attractive to the soldiers."

On an average day, Goldson assists in the preparation of more than 8,000 meals for Forward Operating Base Hammer's residents. Preparing the food, however, is not the most important part to Goldson.

"The most important thing about this job is striving to make everyone happy and continuously improving the quality of the meals we feed our soldiers," he said. "We try to improve not only the quality, but the effect it has on the soldiers by offering a wide variety."

Goldson is highly skilled and talented in the area of culinary arts, and he recently earned his bachelor's degree in psychology.

For now, he continues supervising the kitchen staff, ensuring proper sanitary practices are being kept, and ensuring the food cooked in the kitchens is cooked to nutritional standards.

However, Goldson also has plans after retiring from his military career. He hopes to be either a culinary arts and food services teacher or a psychology teacher.

"I have always wanted to take the role to enhance the capabilities of others," he said. "I believe that you can always use the knowledge you have to advance the skills of others."

(Army Pfc. Michael Schuch serves in the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)

Program Gives Senior Officials 21st Century Skill Sets

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

July 1, 2008 - A new Defense Department program for senior-level civilians seeks to develop the skills and competencies needed to lead the 21st century national defense effort. The Defense Senior Leader Development Program, which replaces the current Defense Leadership and Management Program, is the new "premiere executive development program for senior defense civilians and a key component of the department's succession planning strategy," said Patricia Bradshaw, deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel policy.

"Civilians are playing a much greater role alongside our warfighters," she said. "Today, they are on the front lines, and civilians, including [Defense Department] civilians, have a role in reconstruction phases as well as other areas on today's battlefield."

The new program targets already-successful senior leaders needing to strengthen their knowledge of national security and broaden their enterprise view, Bradshaw said. Experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Hurricane Katrina, shown the need for senior-level training to evolve beyond the Defense Department into the multinational and interagency world of the State Department, nongovernmental organizations and country allies, Bradshaw said.

As the U.S. aids the Iraqi government, for example, civilian teams from the U.S. Defense and State departments are working alongside military personnel assisting in rebuilding Iraq's ministries. Civilians are advising Iraqi officials on areas ranging from rule of law and economics to government and education, she said.

"Civilians are called upon to serve in ways we have not in the past," she said. "So it's not only the basic competencies we need to focus on; it's the ability to lead in our environment and make decisions."

Efforts such as the new training program will give senior civilians the tools they need to be successful in environments such as Iraq, Bradshaw said.

The need for the new program was recognized in 2005, and it was approved in 2007. Nominations for the first class, which begins in February, are due in September, and up to 50 people will be selected by December, said David A. Rude, chief of senior leader development, Civilian Personnel Management Service.

Individuals participating in DLAMP all received a letter last year explaining that the program would end in fiscal 2010. They must complete all program requirements to apply for completion, Rude said.

Graduates from the previous program aren't eligible for the new one; however, supplementary courses, training and seminars are available to help them, as well as those who don't get into the new program, become more competitive, Bradshaw said. Eventually, department employees will be able to go online and see what kind of leadership seminars and courses are available and how they map to a particular leadership competency, she added.

Those selected for the new program can expect four weeklong seminars, participation in case studies and 10 months of military education at one of the five war colleges to give them a broader sense of national security and working side by side with servicemembers, Bradshaw said.

Each service component will implement its own process requirements for how individuals are nominated. Basic eligibility requirements for the two-year program are:

-- Permanent, full-time Defense Department civilian employee at National Security Personnel System Pay Band 3, or GS-14/15 and equivalent;

-- Bachelor's degree as required to attend professional military education at one of the five service war colleges; and

-- One year of supervisory experience, which may be waived upon component recommendation.

An hourlong town hall meeting about the new program will be held at the Pentagon Conference Center at 8:30 a.m. July 8. The meeting will stream on the Civilian Personnel Management Service Web site for those who cannot attend in person.

Why We Serve: Small-Town Marine Broadens Horizons in Iraq

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 8, 2008 - With the aid of an unmanned aerial vehicle -- what she refers to as "a little bird with a video camera" -- Marine Sgt. LaDilvia S. Gregg used her eyes to safeguard troops on the ground. As an imagery analyst in Iraq in 2005, Gregg often spent 12-hour days scouring before-and-after photos while looking for changes to the landscape. These subtle "disturbances" are sometimes the only evidence that an improvised explosive device, the deadly roadside bomb responsible for the most U.S. deaths and injuries in Iraq, is buried underground.

Gregg, a modest Marine whose efforts to sniff out IEDs likely saved U.S. troops' lives and limbs, is one of 10 servicemembers selected to tell the military's story to the American public. As a member of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" outreach program, Gregg shares her tale of service at community and business events, veterans' organizations and other gatherings.

From a Marine base in Taqaddum, Gregg issued advice to ground forces in Iraq based on aesthetic details imperceptible to untrained eyes. Gregg said that about half the time her analyses proved nothing more than red herrings: landscapes seemingly altered by insurgent handiwork actually were changed by natural forces -- a breeze that scattered dirt, a road surface muddied by a rain shower.

"Sometimes you feel like you're wasting a unit's time because they don't find anything," she said. "It is hard to tell whether it was an old IED hole, a new IED hole, or if it's nothing at all.

"But sometimes," she continued, "it could be an IED troops dug up before, and insurgents put another one in the hole."

With 50-percent accuracy, Gregg protected ground forces from deadly buried homemade bombs from a bird's-eye view. In addition, Gregg and her team, using images taken near Iraq's border with Syria, helped troops interdict rogue trucks smuggling tons of stolen oil.

"That was another big success we had," she recalled. "We saved the Iraqis a lot of money."

Like many other servicemembers, Gregg's desire to enlist was born of a hope to gain worldly experience -- and practical training -- she couldn't receive in her small hometown. After graduating from high school, the Florence, S.C., native worked in a local bowling alley. Gregg said she moved beyond her hometown, but that she wasn't yet prepared for college.

Having settled on enlisting, but unsure of which branch she'd enter, Gregg met with recruiters from each service before making her decision. The Marine Corps captured her attention, she said, because people regaled her with stories about the difficulty of the Corps and the level of commitment it demanded from Marines.

The prospect of becoming a member of what she considered the most challenging branch motivated Gregg instead of intimidating her. "That's why I did it. It was the most challenging service," she recalled. "I was going to join the Army, but I went with the Marines. If you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to do it just to show you that I can."

In August 2001, Gregg began her service 160 miles from home at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C. A month later, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shook the nation and set in motion events that ensured Gregg would see unfamiliar parts of the world.

During her first tour in Taqaddum, Gregg provided troops a set of eyes in the sky; in her second deployment, however, Gregg served fellow Marines on a more gut level. As the "chow NCO," or the noncommissioned officer in charge of dining facilities, Gregg worked nonstop from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., seven days a week. She moved 700 pounds of food throughout "chow halls each day. To ensure the health of her Marine comrades, Gregg was responsible for enforcing strict regulations for food quality.

In the meantime during deployments, the ambitious Marine dedicated a daily three hours to studying schoolwork through the American Military School, through which she hopes to earn an associate's degree in accounting. In addition, Gregg wants a bachelor's degree in intelligence, perhaps parlaying her education into a career at the Defense Intelligence Agency. "Maybe I'll be coming back to the Pentagon," she said.

But before transitioning into the civilian sector -- which the Marine says she's in no rush to do -- Gregg will embark on her third deployment to Taqaddum in April.

"I love going on deployments. People think it's bad being away from your family, but you're with your unit so much that it becomes your family," she said. "It's like being with your sisters and brothers; it's like a big sleepover in the girls' barracks, staying up all night talking. It's like having a home away from home."

If not for the Marines, Gregg said, she likely would have given in to the complacency of easy life in her hometown.

"I would probably still be sitting at home working at the same bowling alley I was at before I left," she said. "The Marine Corps gave me initiative to challenge myself. I don't think I would have challenged myself as much as a civilian."

Face of Defense: Military Wife Shares Experiences Through Writing

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 29, 2008 - Being married to the military has its benefits, but it also comes with some very rigid truths, as one Virginia native began to understand when she and her Marine husband married 10 years ago. Those realities are part of Anne Miren Berry's written contribution to a National Endowment for the Arts project that gives voice to military family members enduring deployment.

"Operation Homecoming," a mixture of stories, poems, letters, essays and journal entries, is written by family members discovered by authors the NEA sent to military bases around the globe to find literary talent.

"It's all about our experiences with wartime," said the long-time writer and journalist. "I haven't seen one like it, because it actually includes the words of the family members. You've got some parents (and) some spouses that give their accounts of being part of homecomings (and) leavings."

Berry's short story, "Down the Road," is just one of about 100 personal writings in the anthology edited by Andrew Carroll, editor of "War Letters." It's also a recounting of her first combat deployment as a military spouse.

"When my husband deployed to (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in January of 2003, during the worst of it I'd say I was barely functional," she said. "One thing that I did – we all did it, all the spouses – if you knew of an embedded reporter that was with your husband or wife's unit, you followed that reporter."

She learned through tracking the embedded journalist's reports that her husband's unit was, at one point, near Nasiriyah, where some of the heaviest fighting took place during the opening phase of the war. While she was reassured every time she heard one of those reports, her subconscious was working overtime.

"I awoke one morning at like 4 ... and the thing that had awakened me was I had turned on the BBC on the radio in my sleep," Berry said. "I can't remember the reporter's name, but I was thinking, 'Well, if he's OK, he's with my husband's unit.' It seemed a little comforting."

As the grip of anxiety and depression began to ease up toward the end of her husband's deployment, she started thinking ahead to what she wanted their life to be like. That included the dream of a house on the water in eastern North Carolina, and hunting for the perfect property was a terrific distraction, she said.

She called a realtor and spent a couple of days driving around taking pictures of property on the ocean or the Inter-coastal Waterway. The pictures went into care packages for her husband.

Many care packages later, Berry had become friends with a woman working at the shipping store. Soon, she learned the woman was enduring her son's deployment to Iraq.

"She was very maternal, very comforting," Berry said. "Then one day she wasn't there any more, and I learned that ... (her son) had passed away."

After that, Berry realized that where she lived with her husband didn't matter nearly as much as just being together. "As long as he's with me, it doesn't matter where we are," Berry said. "That's sort of the theme of ("Down the Road"), I guess. It was sort of therapeutic to get these feelings out about what that was like."

Her husband, Joel H. Berry III, now a Marine colonel, returned safely from his first deployment to Iraq. In June 2006, he was deployed again, this time with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which eventually was diverted to aid in the evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon.

While Berry said her second experience with deployment was still awful, she had a better idea of what to expect.

"Still, it's just the worst feeling," she said. "You just don't want to let go of them. Once you get that day over with, that's one of the worst days you'll have in the deployment."

Col. Berry is now the commander of Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools on Camp Gilbert H. Johnson, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, N.C. Consequently, his wife is worrying less and pursuing freelance writing while continuing to work on an original novel that she wrote for a contest in 2005.

"It didn't win, (but) I just felt strongly about the book and I felt like it was a good story," Berry said. "So I kept submitting it to agents, and finally one said, 'I want to read the whole thing.'"

The work of fiction, which is currently in the agent's hands, does have a military element to it, but that's not the true theme. "The theme of the book is really friendship – in the service, in combat, at home," Berry said.

Listening to Berry describe her experience with military life, there is little doubt it influenced that theme.

"I love it. I love the people I've met," she said. "I've met servicemembers from all branches, and I think they're tremendous people. They're generous. They're smart. They're kind.

"I can't say enough good things about them," she added.

Berry has a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in history, both from George Mason University in Virginia.

Why We Serve: Deployment Gives Sailor Message to Public

By Sgt. Sara Moore, USA
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 18, 2008 - When Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Ralph Chavez volunteered for a deployment to Afghanistan, he didn't really know what he was getting himself into. It ended up being one of the best experiences of his military career. Chavez, a yeoman, or administrative specialist, decided to volunteer for an individual augmentation deployment in 2006 while stationed in California. He said it was important for him to volunteer because he knew soldiers and Marines who were on their second or third deployments. He felt it was his duty to go.

"I just felt that as a chief, in order for me to lead my sailors by example, I wanted to do my part," Chavez said. "How can I tell my sailors one day that they need to volunteer if I had never done that?"

Chavez went to Afghanistan in February 2006 as part of a four-man civil affairs team supporting the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Initially, he didn't know what civil affairs was, but four months of training with the Army prepared him. Once Chavez and his team got to Afghanistan's Paktiya province and began working with local leaders and citizens to facilitate reconstruction projects, he was amazed at how fulfilling the mission was.

"Our goal was to try to build the trust in each village that we visited and just improve security. It was very rewarding," Chavez said. "The locals welcomed us into their homes, shared their food, and we got to hear their stories."

Chavez is now touring the country as part of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" outreach program. The program, now in its sixth iteration, takes servicemembers who have recently deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and sends them to various community, business and veterans groups to tell their stories.

One message Chavez would like to convey to the American public is that there are many "good news" stories happening in the war on terror, and in Afghanistan, local citizens are very appreciative of the coalition's mission.

"In each case, they always expressed gratitude and appreciation for the Americans being over there, far away from their homes, far away from their families, and helping them," Chavez said of his meetings with Afghans during his deployment. "They knew why we were there, and they appreciated the sacrifices that we made to help them."

The Afghan people also appreciated the sacrifices of the American public, Chavez said, as many of the humanitarian supplies his team distributed were donated from corporations and private citizens. His team helped rebuild water wells and schools, delivered supplies and set up temporary housing and aid after natural disasters.

Chavez, an 18-year Navy veteran, was raised in San Antonio, a city with strong military traditions. He had several relatives who served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, and growing up hearing their stories instilled in him a sense of duty, he said.

After high school, Chavez went to college for about three years. Before he enlisted, he was working three jobs, but didn't have a sense of job accomplishment, he said. Also, he was craving adventure and remembered his good experiences in junior Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Air Force ROTC.

"I developed an affinity toward the structure and the discipline that the military offered," he said. "So I went to talk to recruiters. I liked what the Navy recruiter had to offer, and 18 years later, I'm still enjoying it."

Chavez has enjoyed the opportunities to move to different commands throughout the Navy and the military's system of rewarding people for good performance. He's also enjoyed the different challenges he's faced during his career and the educational opportunities, such as finishing his bachelor's degree and working on his master's, he said.

Chavez plans to stay in the Navy and is hoping to be selected for a warrant officer program soon. He said he doesn't know if he'll have the chance to deploy again, but he is more than willing. For now, he said, he feels honored to be part of the Why We Serve program and hopes he can bring the American public a different perspective about the war on terror.

"It's not all doom and gloom like they see in the news; there are a lot of success stories out there, and we are helping to change attitudes and perceptions of Americans, one generation at a time," Chavez said. "I think that that's going a long way toward winning the war against terrorism in Afghanistan."

Why We Serve: Army Major Wants to Share Her Success Story

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 11, 2008 - Army Maj. Lisa L. Carter, a two-time Iraq veteran, wants to share her life's success story with the American public. Carter recalled her days as a single mother working at a post office in Atlanta while caring for her 2-year-old daughter a few years after her 1984 graduation from Fulton High School there.

"I met a lot of retired military personnel" at the post office, Carter said, noting the veterans encouraged her to join the Army Reserve as a way to improve her life.

Today, Carter is an active-duty Army officer. She also is among 12 servicemembers participating in the sixth quarterly iteration of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public-outreach program. Carter will tell her story to community, business and veterans group audiences, and at other gatherings.

Carter said she enjoys her career as an Army officer and wants the public to know military people have the same dreams and aspirations as their civilian counterparts. "We are human beings just as they are," Carter observed.

And although wartime deployments may be hard on servicemembers' personal lives, military members remain dedicated to their pledge to defend the nation, she said.

"It is stressful to be deployed. It is stressful to be away from your family. But servicemembers know that this is their job and responsibility -- to serve," Carter said.

Following the advice of her post office co-workers, Carter enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1987 as an administrative specialist. During her initial training at Fort Jackson, S.C., she said, she experienced a revelation that jolted her mind.

"I saw a black female officer," Carter recalled. "I looked at her and thought: 'If she can do it, surely I can do it.'"

Then and there, Carter set a personal goal to obtain a college degree and a commission. In 1996, she graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor's degree in social work and earned an Army lieutenant's gold bars through the school's ROTC program.

Her quest to obtain a degree and a commission as a single parent "was a long process," Carter acknowledged, citing the effort and time required to balance work, school, and caring for her daughter.

In 1997, Carter, then a junior Quartermaster Corps officer, took her daughter along on a three-year duty tour in Hanau, Germany. "It was a great experience," Carter said of her service in Germany, noting her daughter learned German while overseas.

In the spring of 2003, Carter was a captain and the commander of a maintenance company in Iraq that supported a Patriot missile unit during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She earned the Bronze Star Medal for her wartime service.

Carter said all commanders carry responsibility not only in wartime, but also during periods of peace.

"I came to understand the importance of making sure that you take care of soldiers, because the family members depend on you as a leader to bring their son or daughter or husband or wife back all in one piece, and that is a great responsibility upon one individual's shoulders," she said.

Carter, whose maiden name is Weems, said she enriched her personal life when she married a fellow Army officer about three years ago.

In November 2007, Carter deployed to Iraq for a second time, but that tour was cut short due to her selection to participate in the Why We Serve program. By this time, she was an Acquisition Corps officer specializing in the management of unmanned sensors used for reconnaissance and targeting purposes in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation.

The Why We Serve program provides unfiltered communication between military members engaged in the war on terrorism and the American public, Carter said. The program, she added, features servicemembers' thoughts and viewpoints on military life, she noted.

Carter intends to convey a key personal message at each of her Why We Serve speaking appearances: "I wear this uniform and I enjoy doing what I'm doing," she declared.

Vet Receives Hero's Welcome, New Home

By Devin L. Fisher
Special to American Forces Press Service

Dec. 19, 2007 - A disabled Iraq war veteran thought he came here Dec. 14 to pick out colors and tiles for a bathroom remodel, but instead was surprised with the keys to a new home. Brandon Burke, a U.S. Army combat medic permanently disabled during a 2005 mortar attack in Baghdad, was speechless when presented the 1,500-square-foot mobile home, not a check for $5,000 as anticipated.

"It was so unexpected, ... I didn't know what to say," said the 30-year-old who enlisted in the Army in June 2002 in nearby Aurora. "All I could think about was how this was going to change my life."

Burke was presented the keys to his new home during a live radio broadcast in front of more than 100 people who weathered the snow and bitter cold to show their appreciation.

The call to assist the wounded warrior by providing supplies and labor free of charge was met with an overwhelming response. In fact, people had to be turned away, said Tom Tarver, a partner with Greiner Electric, who said he donated his time to give back to those who fight for the freedoms he enjoys every day.

"I met a young man with one leg trying to make his home (handicap) accessible," Tarver said. "I knew I would not let him pick up another nail."

"You just want to do what's right," echoed Tim White, founder of White Construction.

The project was a compilation of efforts as 30 contractors "rose to the occasion" to help the wounded warrior, said Debbie Quackenbush, founder of American Military Family Inc., a nonprofit organization established in January 2005 to assist members of the U.S. military and their families in times of need.

American Military Family is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.

After a five-month recovery at Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Burke returned to Colorado and purchased a mobile home in the town of Watkins. With the assistance of his friends, Burke began to remodel the mobile home in late 2006, but he ran low on money, and his friends were sidetracked with personal issues, he explained.

What started as a request for a grant to remodel a bathroom turned into much more after contractors determined it was not cost-effective to make the existing home handicap-accessible. The $5,000 grant -- from money raised through the American Military Family's "Support the Troops" Colorado license plate program -- was then used to purchase a mobile home in foreclosure, offered at a reduced price by Castle Park, Inc. owner Jerry Hall.

It was then that the "passion and hard work" of many transformed the once abandoned unit into a fully functional home with many upgrades and conveniences to including widened corridors and handicap-accessible granite countertops and faucets. The inside of the home was fully furnished by Sam's Club, and King Soopers stocked the refrigerator.

"A gift of a few weeks (of your time) ultimately became a gift of a lifetime," Tarver said.

But, White hopes this project reaches further than Burke. "There are more Brandons out there. If we all help a little, we'll all be better off."

Burke said he misses the camaraderie of the Army. Fellow soldiers are "like family," he said. "You live with them; ... you fight with them."

He said he knows he must now focus on his new future, continuing his love of the medical field. Burke is pursuing his bachelor's degree and then plans to apply for the medical scientist program at the University of Colorado Denver.

Burke was all smiles when he talked about his new office.

"No more going to the library or local bookstore to study," he said.

Burke wasn't the only one overwhelmed by the generosity. "It's phenomenal; ... we never could have imaged this in our wildest dreams," said Tom Burke, Brandon's father.

Brandon agreed. "It's going to be great. It's nice to call something home; ... I can't wait to settle in."

(Devin L. Fisher works for the U.S. Army Recruiting Denver Battalion.)

Face of Defense: Virginia Soldier Excited About Future

By Cpl. Ryan M. Blaich, USMC
Special to American Forces Press Service

Dec. 13, 2007 - For Army Spc. Gerald Bradner, here on his first deployment, serving at Camp Blue Diamond is not only an opportunity of a lifetime, but also a way to relate to those in his family who also answered when their nation called. "I was brought up to believe that every man should serve his country however he can," said Bradner, 21, from Brookneal, Va. "Everyone from my grandfather all the way down to me has served when our country was at war. It's a great family tradition."

Bradner, an intelligence analyst with 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, joined the U.S. Army shortly after he graduated from William Campbell High School in 2004. His grandfather and great uncles all fought the Axis aggression in World War II. His father volunteered to fight communism in Vietnam. And today, Bradner is proud to be combating terrorism in Iraq.

"This may be the only conflict in our lifetime, and I couldn't imagine just sitting it out," he said.

The greatest compliment to Bradner's character may be when his superior officers, after knowing him only a short time, recommended he apply for a commissioning program. Up until that point, Bradner constantly questioned his future in the Army, but this deployment changed all of that.

"I didn't think I was going to like the Army as much as I do, but I really love wearing the uniform, and I like serving my country," he said.

Bradner will have to complete four years of college and earn a bachelor's degree. He will have to chose a major, which he said would be history, but he will not have to choose a university. His superiors felt he was a prime candidate for one of America's premier institutions: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Bradner will become a cadet in the class of 2012. He said this is a challenge he is eager to begin.

"I've got mixed feelings about it. I'm really nervous. I'm worried about the transition from being a soldier to being a student," he said. "I'm sure it'll be exciting."

Another testament to Bradner's unique character is the rarity and relationship his high school has with West Point. The last time someone from his high school attended West Point, Bradner's father had yet to deploy to Vietnam.

"I'll be the first person from my high school to go to West Point in 40 years. So I'm really excited about that. I look at it as an opportunity to set myself apart from my peers," he said. "Growing up in a small town, I'm glad to be able to stand out and represent my community however I can."

Not only will he stand out in his community, the ribbons on his chest will immediately set him apart from those in his freshman class. By then, he will be a combat vet, having spent more than a year in Iraq.

Bradner will enroll in August 2008 for the fall semester. West Point admits only about 1,200 students a year. About 200 each year are prior enlisted, and most have to attend a prep school first. Bradner is part of a select few who get to bypass prep classes and go straight to the academy. Only 20 soldiers are given this chance every year.

For now, thoughts of college life will have to wait. Bradner said he cannot afford to think about freshman year because he still has a lot of important work left to do in Ramadi.

Currently, Bradner gathers all sorts of information and aids in the counterinsurgency fight against al Qaeda.

"We collect information to determine where al Qaeda is maintaining safe havens and try to figure out where they are going to strike next and what we can do to prevent that," he said. "We also try to keep abreast of the enemy's latest tactics."

His role here is much more aggressive and involved than it may appear. He spends a lot of time behind a desk and speaking to leaders in the Iraqi army and police. Although the conversations are casual, the information gathered from them can have a direct impact on the actions of men with guns out in Ramadi.

"The simplest way I can put it is, an infantryman kicks in doors, but intel points at which door to kick in," Bradner said.

His deployment started in mid-January, when Ramadi was still in the midst of transition and a bit unstable. This place was still dealing with roadside bombs, sniper fire and mortar attacks.

"When we first got to Ramadi, the place was bad," he said. "We were seeing 10 to 15 attacks per day, and that was normal. Some days we'd see 20 attacks. Before we left, we conducted an operation with the Marines, and that really helped clean up Ramadi. Since then, we've galvanized the tribal leaders, and they've basically ousted al Qaeda. A lot of it is due to kinetic actions from U.S. soldiers, but a vast majority of it is due to the cooperation with community sheiks and them not allowing al Qaeda to take safe haven in Ramadi anymore."

Bradner also has noticed changes in the people of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar.

"When we first got here, the Iraqis were kind of standoffish," he said. "Now they really look at us as friends, like we're here to help and not like we're a threat or have some type of ulterior motive."

If Bradner could point to one thing about his deployment he takes the most pride in, it is being able to make a difference while he was here, he said. He said he will be able to look back years from now and feel like he was a part of the success of Anbar province. And, although he misses his family and will be spending his first Christmas away from home, he said he wouldn't change a thing.

(Marine Cpl. Ryan M. Blaich is assigned to 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.)