Personal Narrative : My First Combat Deployment

We were told to get in rows and stand at the positon of attention, this was frightening. We were told to run to the bus from here, this is where I was split up with everyone I came with. The base was three hours away from the airport. On the bus ride over there I called and texted everyone I knew for three hours. I called Jed first, he could not talk long because he had a meeting, although I knew if I called my mom or Ayden they would both cry and that would make things harder on me. After I talked to Jed and he convinced me everything was ok after 20 minutes of me crying to him as if he could come pick me up and take me home. After this I texted Boone to be sure he made it on a shuttle, he did. Boone was on the Shuttle behind me. That was the last time I talked to him until the day after graduation. We made it to the reception building at nearly 11 o’clock and briefed until about one. We finally got to bed at 2, and we were woken up at 4:30 the following morning. During reception they checked our dental, blood type, eye sight, etc. this is where we received our uniforms, and most importantly where we met our first Drill Sergeants. In receptions Drill Sergeants are almost done with their contracts, they cannot make you preform corrective action, or give you RBIs, all they can do is get really close to you and scream as loud as they could. I was here for seven days, and then after those seven days were

Growing up as the son of a career Naval Officer, I have experienced a background that varies greatly from that of an applicant who has grown up in a strictly civilian family. The constant relocation, the exciting places I have lived, and the countless great, unique people I have met, have all contributed that that he unique childhood I have enjoyed. While at times my identity as a military child has made life challenging and difficult, I strongly believe that it has made me a stronger, more adaptable person because I have been molded by past experiences and I don't think that my application would be complete without this information.

Millions of men and women have served in the armed forces before me and millions more will serve after. Some have paid the ultimate sacrifice; some lost and captured, others received wounds, physically and or emotionally, and that time

I’m a military child. Change was instilled in me since my birth in Spain. My childhood was spent briefly in Europe, the east coast of the U.S, and eventually the Midwest. This change of scenery, schools, friends, and just about everything else in my life led me to be the person I am today. Travelling was amusing and I enjoyed change of pace every couple of years, but it wasn’t easy. I learned early on that getting attached to people wasn’t a good idea and should be avoided in preparation for the next move. This led me to being an incredibly shy child who couldn’t open up to people. The world I come from is an adventurous but problematic one. When I concluded making friends would assist with each transition I found myself too terrified to attempt

My father, Christopher J. Bufmack , had a career as an infantryman and fought in the Afghanistan war. When he was 16 he left from home to join job corps and he had some experiences as a kid and young adult that impact him now.

My mindset was what other way to find out if the army life was for me, than to join as an Active Duty soldier? Being sheltered my whole life, I saw it as an opportunity for me to grow, and get to know the real world. Now, when I look back on my decision and see how much I have changed over the past ten months, I could not be any happier. I have learned so much from my Leadership, and I would not trade the experience I have gained for anything in the world.

My hands were covered in blood.. It was only a matter of time till they caught me.. I could hear the roaring of the wind. The heavy breathing coming from my own chest.. My stomach ached in pain. I could feel the tears beginning to escape from my eyes...

Overall, my feelings and thoughts about this experience were positive, emotional, as well as informative. I feel that some of the things that were mentioned I would have never known until this interview was actually conducted. The thought of troops living conditions while being deployed was just horrific. You have military troops out fighting for our country and protecting, ,but don’t have a descent bed to sleep in, no air conditioning, being on missions that they don’t know whether they are going to make out dead or alive. They are not able to contact their families as much as they would like to because they are so many miles and hours away. I give the upmost respect to our military troops because it if wasn’t for them who knows what the world

strong soldier inside and out. Leaving home and having little to no idea what I was going to

When I received my orders to be stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii with 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division I was beyond excited. One, it was in Hawaii, but also, it was because I would have the opportunity to further my interaction with the people and

I was assigned to B Co 1-12 Cavalry as a dismounted fire team leader when the 1-12 Cavalry deployed with the rest of 3rd BDE, 1st Cavalry Division in support of Iraqi Freedom in December of 2008. I deployed a few weeks after everyone else due to a death in the family. Once I finally arrived at the coalition outpost (COP) where my company was positioned, I quickly fell in with my platoon as they had already begun their patrolling of our Area of Operations (AO). Our COP was positioned, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere in the Nineveh Province. After a few weeks of patrolling, our platoon was tasked with taking over a COP to the north in the city of Hammam al-Alil, which is about 30 kilometers south of Mosul. We were taking over an area that was, up to that point, the responsibility of a Military Transition Team (MiTT). The COP, COP Scorpion, consisted of a small open area just large enough to park our vehicles, two long rectangular two story buildings that at one time served as a college dormitory, with a small space to the rear of the second building that served as a mechanics bay. Around the complex was a 12-15 feet high stone wall, with one entrance on the COP, with a large metal slab on wheels that was used to secure it. Around the COP was the remains of a college, which had since shut down and was now being used by the Iraqi Army to house a battalion of soldiers.

As a military war veteran, Iraq struck a nerve with me for the simple fact that I had to go there to fight a war that was really unnecessary and drawn out. When first hearing about us going to Iraq I was a little nervous, but also excited for the wrong reasons. I was excited for the fact that I could say that I deployed. I could simply show off my deployment patch and put something on my class A uniform. as well but the thought of possibly going there and losing my life was kind of disturbing. I remember getting off the plane in the middle of Zafaniyah, which was in the Baghdad, Karadah area. The compound was made up of unused connexes and made-shift bathrooms. We did however have a dining facility that was pretty efficient. There were two guard towers that were to the North and South and also there were guard shacks that was on top of the building of the post. The first time that I heard mortars and bombs going on my bottom was puckered. In my head I thought that the streets that I had once grew up in was dangerous. I would come to surely realize that-that could not be further from the truth. I came in at 25 years old, as a hard head but still disciplined. I caused trouble before leaving to come to Iraq because I thought it might be my last hooorah, boy was I wrong. I finally came to realize that there was more to the world than Hampton, Virginia. That there was much more important issues than what was going on in the streets. Life became more meaningful, and I felt as if

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

I grew up in a military family. My father was an air force officer who trained others in piloting helicopters. As a young boy, I found this to be very fascinating and I thought I was going to follow in his footsteps. Sadly, he died in a helicopter crash in 1998. He was a very important person in my life that I considered as a mentor. Consequently, I gradually started losing interest in serving in the army. It was a major setback.

For us it was amazing, great opportunity but also great responsibility. First time in my military career I had had full scale of freedom of action. In front of us there was nothing but blank paper and given legal and strategic framework. Making