Global War on Terror

HM2 Neath Williams, U.S. Navy (1999-2022)

Global War on Terror, VA Military Memories Competition

Who or what influenced your decision to join the military? Which service branch did you select, and what do you remember most about joining up?:

You did what? Why?” That’s the question I got from my family and friends. I don’t think I had a simple answer for them at the time. I don’t think anyone who knew me in high school expected me to join the military. I don’t remember considering it an option; then again, I swam competitively 4 days a week at the local university and never considered going to college there. I just wasn’t a kid with a lot of foresight, especially in high school. I was coming up on graduation in 1999, and I knew I was expected to do something, but what that was, I wasn’t sure. I’ll never forget the day the recruiters started showing up in our cafeteria. Their uniforms pressed perfectly, their size, posture, tattoos, and overall confidence. They would always hand out stress balls or little nylon backpacks, and if you stopped and chatted with them for a bit, you might score a t-shirt or ball cap emblazoned with “Let the Journey begin,” GO NAVY or USMC or ARMY. Now, I can’t speak for the other kids in my class, but I didn’t have ties to the military. I had no idea about the differences between the Navy and the Marine Corps, let alone any of the other branches. With over 20 years of military service on my resume, now, I’d like to tell you that I did some research or deep soul-searching to make a decision about which branch to join. Still, if I’m being honest, the Navy recruiter was the coolest and most persistent out of them all, so I chose to let the journey begin and begin it did!

MSgt Kevin Nichols, U.S. Air Force (1996-2017)

Global War on Terror, VA Military Memories Competition

Who or what influenced your decision to join the military? Which service branch did you select, and what do you remember most about joining up?:

It wasn’t that my oldest brother was a Marine or that another brother was a Sailor. It wasn’t that my Dad always talked about his DOD sanctioned school as a child during the Manhattan Project days.

That’s not why I joined; that actually influenced me NOT to join. After several calls from Marine recruiters who knew “Gunny Nichols,” I’d tell them I was going to college to make something of myself…so I did.”

Iraq War – The Siege of Sadr City

Battlefield Chronicles, Global War on Terror

On Mar. 28, 2004, Paul Bremer, administrator of the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq, ordered the closure of al-Hawza, an Arabic-language newspaper that was a sounding board for the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Bremer shut down the weekly paper because he believed it encouraged violence against U.S. troops in Iraq. It was only supposed to last 60 days, but the action would spark a series of events that led to a four-year siege and a series of battles between Coalition forces and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. On April 3, 2004, Bremer ordered the arrest of Mustafa Yaqoubi, one of al-Sadr's senior advisors. An estimated 15,000 Iraqis took to the streets to demand his release. Demonstrators claimed that Spanish and El Salvadoran troops opened fire on them as they gathered, and the protest took a violent turn. In response, al-Sadr ordered his Shia militia, the Mahdi Army, to take control of the Iraqi police stations in Najaf, Kufa, and Karbala but especially in...

Baghdad Underground Railroad by Steve Miska

Global War on Terror, Military Book Reviews

In 2007, Iraq was mired in a nearly country-wide civil war. The United States military needed Iraqis to help them quell the violence between Sunni and Shia militias who were tearing the country apart and ambushing American troops. Bodies were turning up in the streets overnight, IEDs were a constant threat to U.S. forces, and innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire. Thousands of Iraqis, most with no military training, risked their lives to be interpreters for American military units throughout the country. Their services proved invaluable in the years to come, and they became part of the “family” of the American men and women with whom they served. At home, however, they and their close relatives faced violence, death threats, and other reprisals for aiding the United States. Death Squads roamed the streets and raided homes to find, intimidate and kill Iraqi interpreters. To incentivize Iraqis to continue their service, Congress authorized special visas for...

Famous Military Unit: American Forces Network (AFRTS)

Famous Military Units, Global War on Terror, Vietnam War

In 1984, the first commercially available DynaTAC audio-only cell phone cost just short of $4,000, with each call billed at 45 cents per minute. Forty years later, anyone in uniform accesses audio-visual news from thousands of sources using a personal cell phone throughout the world, wherever a signal and transmission tower can reach. Yet, for eighty years, the most reliable military broadcast remains the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). AFN Was Founded in 1942 as the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) In 1942 the War Department established the ARMED FORCES RADIO SERVICE (AFRS), followed in 1954 by its first television detachment at Limestone AFB, Maine. American Forces Network global operations are now headquartered at Fort Meade, MD, and emanate from AFN BROADCAST/DEFENSE MEDIA CENTER in Riverside, CA. The modern network was founded in London and later moved to France. Always tying us together has been news from home whether we are assigned to a Tender at sea or an...

Service Reflections of CSSN David Leasure, U.S. Navy (2011-2015)

Global War on Terror, Navy Reflections

When I was little, my uncle used to talk about his experiences in the Navy, and he joined before Vietnam kicked off because he saw the writing on the wall. At MEPS, guys were lined up, and a man with a clipboard in his hands went down the row and assigned each individual to a branch, “Army, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Army, Army.”

Service Reflections of SSG Kevin Lipinski, U.S. Army (2002-2018)

Army Reflections, Global War on Terror

I wanted to serve my country, but it took about a year after 9-11 to decide, and I was still on the fence, so I did the National Guard first, and I found out I loved it and went active. I also have a strong family military tradition that is important to me. As they say, the rest is history

“Let’s Roll” Todd Beamer – Hero of UA Flight 93

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

The years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have seen a lot of changes in the cultural fabric of the United States and in the armed forces. With the 20-year anniversary of that tragic day, it’s important for us to look back and remember some of the heroes that emerged from the ashes of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93. One of those heroes was a civilian named Todd Beamer. Beamer died when United 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. But his memory carried on, giving the U.S. military, American police officers, and firefighters around the world a new battle cry: "Let’s Roll." In many ways, 32-year-old Todd Beamer was the quintessential American. He was born in Michigan to middle-class parents who moved around the country wherever their work took the family. He was a Christian and an athlete who studied business in college. When he graduated, he got a good job with a major corporation and taught Sunday school in his spare time. On Sept. 11,...

Service Reflections of CAPT James Garrett, U.S. Navy (1966-2008)

Global War on Terror, Navy Reflections

I was graduating from Westminster High School in a few months (1966) and knowing that I would not be able to afford college, I thought enlisting in the military would be a good thing, especially if it was possible to get college paid for afterwards. Being landlocked and with Lowery Air Force Base across town, the recruiting ads I thought the Air Force might be a good place to go. The Air Force recruiter came to my house to talk with me but to my amazement the recruiter told me there was a waiting list, imagine that with the Vietnam War going on.

Sgt Dakota Meyer, U.S. Marine Corps (2006-2009)

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer is a United States Marine Corps veteran, the recipient of the Medal of Honor and the New York Times best-selling co-author of 'Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.' He is also an entrepreneur, having founded a successful construction company in Kentucky. Dakota Meyer earned his Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is the first living Marine to have received the medal in 38 years and one of the youngest. Humble and soft-spoken, Meyer insists that he is not a hero, and that any Marine would have done the same thing he did in battle. Biography of Sgt Dakota Meyer Born June 26, 1988 and raised in Columbia, Kentucky, he is the son of Felicia Gilliam and Michael Meyer. In 2006, after graduation from Green County High School, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at a recruiting station in Louisville, Kentucky and completed...

Service Reflections of SPC Reginald Furtick, U.S. Army (2006-2014)

Army Reflections, Global War on Terror

Both of my grandfathers served in World War II. One as an Army Chauffeur to his Battalion Commander during Canal Zone operations in Panama. The other was a Naval Radarman Third Class aboard the USS Livingston.

Despite them being similarly reserved and not the type of men to brag, I could hardly wait to visit them so I could beg them to tell me war stories. The experiences they shared with me made a lasting impression during my early childhood, which further aroused my desire to serve my country.

Service Reflections of BM1 Alvin O’Brien, U.S. Coast Guard (1996-2012)

Coast Guard Reflections, Global War on Terror

I had graduated high school and had no desire to continue my education. I started working in the “Chemical Plants” for a 3rd party contractor. After about three months, I was laid off. I told myself this was not the life for me to live.

I looked at the Armed Services, more particularly the Air Force. My dad mentioned the USCG, and I said who? He said USCG. I see them guys drive boats up and down the Houston Ship Channel all the time and issue tickets for missing bolts on flanges over the water. So we decided to see a recruiter. When he showed me the recruiting video of a 44 MLB crashing through the surf, I said that is what I want to do. He said sign here, and the rest is history.

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