Why We Serve - Troy

[This is the next installment of our “Why We Serve” series. The post is from Troy who writes the Bouhammer’s Afghanistan Blog.]

The reason why I serve has changed several times over the last 19+ years I have been in the Army. Actually my career probably started long before I ever raised my hand for the first time. It probably started on the day I was born in 1969. I was born at Ft. Bragg to the father who was a Green Beret at the time, home on leave from one of his multiple tours in Vietnam, for my birth. This was the life I was raised in my whole life, Ft. Bragg NC, Ft. Devens MA, Presidio CA, Panama, and then to Mesa AZ where my dad finished up his career being an ROTC instructor at ASU.

Growing up I could not stand the military, in fact I hated it with a passion. Why was my dad so strict? Why was I restricted, while other kids were “grounded”? I remember having to explain the term restricted, because non-military types had never used that term. I grew up hearing “I am the SGT, you are the private so you will do what I say”. A Special Forces house is a tough one to be raised in, but I am so glad that I was. Not that I wasn’t a trouble-maker or got out of line, but it was rare and when I did I knew the dire consequences. Somewhere along the way I became very independent and wanted to do everything myself. I know now it was because I did not want stuff held over me. It was this resentment towards my Dad’s child-raising style that led me to the same career that I hated while growing up. Once I matured up in high-school and realized all the things he had done in his career I got a lot closer to him. I was a photographer growing up and in high-school he converted a room in our house to a dark room for me. As I reprinted a lot of photos for him from negatives he had left over from his tours in Vietnam I think I realized that was the life I wanted. When I saw him and a few green beenies standing around a group of Laotians or some other local people, I think this is what planted the seed.

I did not want to place the burden of higher education on my parents, as they could not afford a lot or at least the schools I wanted. I wanted to be a photo-journalist and wanted to attend some pretty nice schools. The Army was the answer, and it had been the whole time. I could do a 3 year stint, pick up some nice college money and then get out and go to school where I wanted to. I wanted to be a freelance photo-journalist so I figured the Army experience and training would be a benefit. So I came home one day my junior year, sat my parents down and told them I was joining, what I wanted to do and what I would get for it. I don’t remember my parents’ expression or comments, but I am sure it was one of surprise. Many of my friends thought my Dad pushed me that way, but I was always happy to tell them, no I made this decision on my own. I could have been a lot of things in the Army based on my ASVAB scores, but I wanted to be a grunt. I wanted to jump out of planes, like I grew up watching my Dad do, and I wanted to be infantry. I remember the recruiters trying to push me into more technical specialties, but I would not budge…Infantry or nothing.

So I joined, did my 3 years and then ended up re-enlisting while I was in Korea. The dreams and thoughts of a life as a photo-journalist had pretty much vanished. I was very good at what I did in the Army and I really liked it. I grew up bouncing from place to place as Dad was transferred, so it was not a new concept for me. I loved leading soldiers and training them too. I was on the fast-track and moved very fast in rank. I gave 110% at everything I did, and always shot to be #1. This is evident by the number of military schools I graduated as Honor Graduate or Distinguished Honor Graduate. I lived by the mantra of “either you are first place or you are last”, there was no in-between.

After I got back from the first Gulf War, I had seen enough, or so I thought. I had moved so fast through the ranks and had worked at positions so far above what I was supposed to that I was not challenged anymore. I was starting to get bored. I was losing the spark that made me love the Army. Not long after returning from the Gulf, I was married to the light of my life and spending time raising a family and not deploying anymore was starting to be more attractive. However after only a few months of being married, I got the orders to PCS to Alaska. Since my wife was raised in Florida her whole life, this was a big decision. We decided, lets try it. We would probably never get up there again and here was a chance to see some awesome country and make it more of a 3 year vacation.

This duty assignment was a challenge and re-lit the fire on why I loved the Army. I was back on jump status, and I got to work in a variety of assignments. I established a good reputation in the battalion with everyone and had a lot of pull. I was even able to swing a 1 year extension in Alaska thanks to by BC going to bat for me. However, at the end of 4 years there I was starting to get burned out again. I also went from having the best 1SG I had ever had in my career to having the worst I had ever had. The last 1SG I had was the worst example of leadership and what it means to be an NCO, and quite frankly he burned me out. I was not alone, as many NCOs called it quits after working for him and just up and left the Army. I had been working with computers for the last couple of years and had a real interest in doing that full-time. I found myself fixing a lot of them at the BN HQ and it was my BC at the time that encouraged me to get out and do that full time. He said I had a talent there and he could see I was passionate about it. So I decided to end my time with the Active Army, but not with the military. I loved soldiers, working with them and the military life in general. I was just burned out of doing it every single day. So I joined a NG unit and stayed on jump status. This was a nice transition since it was not the stereo-typical NG unit and kept higher standards which offset the slow-down in optempo.

I ended up moving to NY and joining the NG there. I served in several positions, but always in charge of soldiers. This is the passion I have and I why I still serve today. These are my boys and there is nothing I would not do for them. NG soldiers are some of the most motivated I have ever seen and they bring a unique set of challenges to dealing with them that is not existent in active duty soldiers. When I stand in front of my company and look at those faces I see the faces of my sons. In fact my own son serves in my unit, but when I see those 100+ faces staring back at me, regardless of age, race, or anything else, I see the boys that I have been entrusted to look over. I use the leaders that I looked up to as the guides and examples of how I deal with soldiers. I also look at the terrible leaders I have had as an example of how not to act.

I remember thinking in the rental car racing back from Boston to Buffalo on 9/12/01 that I was very happy that I was still serving. Little did I know that the days of 9/11 would transform the NG overnight into an optempo that resembled being back on Active Duty.

Currently I am the team 1SG of an Embedded Training Team serving in Afghanistan, which advises, mentors and fights alongside the Afghanistan National Army. Even though my team is small and all senior ranking officers and NCOs, they are still my soldiers. Many are older than me and they all have years of experience, but I am their 1SG and it is my job to look out after them, their welfare, safety and training. The Team Chief and I have made it our sole mission to bring all these guys back alive. Regardless of what happens over here and what good we do with the ANA, as long as we bring these boys back then this mission will have been a success.

I am not sure how much longer I will serve after this tour, as my 20 year date is coming up in a few months. I may call it quits and turn the reins over to someone else or maybe hang around a little while longer. Either way, it has been a good ride and something I will never regret. I have been blessed with a great up-bringing, great family, lovely wife and kids, awesome friends all over the world and some of the best damn soldiers I could have ever served with. Regardless of what path I take after this tour is over, my military career has been a fruitful and successful one as far as I am concerned. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without out, except to know it would not have been as fulfilling.

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